Mold Remediation · Lindbergh, Atlanta, GA
Mold from an upstairs leak in a Lindbergh condo
A failed supply line in the unit above sent water down into the kitchen and laundry of this Lindbergh condo, and by the time we were called it had become a Category 3 mold loss. Here's how we contained it, worked the added scope with the HOA, and dried it back to standard.
How the job went
Where it came from
The water had come down from the unit above, but the damage here concentrated along one kitchen wall, where the drywall, insulation and cabinets were saturated and mold had already taken hold. It had sat long enough to reach the most contaminated category, with lighter damage carrying into the laundry room next door.
Sealing off the work area
Before any demolition, we sealed the kitchen off as its own zone, with barriers across the door and window openings, the floors protected along the path in and out, and a HEPA air scrubber running to hold the space under negative pressure so spores couldn't drift into the rest of the unit. In a shared building, keeping the work from reaching neighboring units matters even more.
Working the added scope with the HOA
As we pulled the cabinets, the damage ran farther than the inspection had shown, over toward the sink and dishwasher side where more of the base cabinets were wet. We disconnected the sink and dishwasher to reach behind them. Rather than push past the approved scope, we stopped, documented the added damage, and got the HOA's authorization before taking anything more out. Getting that in writing keeps everyone aligned and the claim clean. We set aside the cabinet doors, drawers and countertop to save them, and before leaving for the day we covered the exposed mold on the drywall with plastic so nothing was disturbed overnight.
How far it had spread
Back the next day, we opened the walls and ceiling fully. Behind the finishes the growth had spread through the wall cavities, far more than the surface had let on, and we found moisture trapped under a section of vinyl flooring that had to come up so the subfloor could dry. We took the drywall back with flood cuts, removed the primary affected wall top to bottom, and opened the ceiling where the moisture had reached. Then we cleaned every exposed surface back to sound structure: a HEPA vacuum, a peroxide treatment, a second vacuum pass, a hand scrub, and a botanical disinfectant to finish. The idea is to get the mold out of the structure, not bury it behind new finishes.
Drying to standard
With the structure clean, we set a dehumidifier and air movers, kept the air scrubber running, and took moisture readings on every visit. The studs and ceiling joists came back to dry quickly; the sill plates along the base of the walls were the holdouts, so we kept the airflow aimed at them until the numbers got there. Nothing gets closed up on a guess, the readings have to reach dry standard first.
Sealed and ready for the rebuild
Once the final readings confirmed dry, we sealed the cleaned framing, the studs, sill plates, ceiling joists and the subfloor above, with a mold-resistant coating, then pulled the equipment. We packaged the readings, a sketch and photos for the reconstruction team and for the HOA's records. The kitchen and laundry were clean, dry and ready to be put back together.
