Trash between basement wall and sheetrock

We just closed on a three story brownstone house in Bed-Stuy. The house was already renovated, but I am making adjustments to it. I just found mold in different sections in the basement near the floor. The contractor cut a hole into the section with mold and found out that there are debris/garbage/old scrap metal/wires stuffed between the sheet rock and the brick wall. Is the mold caused by the garbage and debris that was stuffed between the sheet rock and the original brick basement wall? Is it a good idea to remove all the sheet rock from the basement? Is it better to have the original brick and stone basement wall exposed in these old brownstone house?

yangw

in Walls and Interiors 11 years and 1 month ago

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tjbk | 11 years and 1 month ago

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I looked at quite a few of the Bedstuy flip Brownstones in various stages of construction and noticed a lot of below code work, which is why we took our money and went to the other side of Brooklyn. Yangw – Did you have an inspection before purchasing? If you did not, I strongly implore you to get one in order to identify any other issues that might come up.

no-permits | 11 years and 1 month ago

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don’t buy a flip.

yangw | 11 years and 1 month ago

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Thank you all for the responses. I do not plan to live in the basement, it will be a place to store bikes and skate boards. After removing all the sheet rock from the basement, i plan to keep the original brick and stone basement walls exposed. Is it okay to be a washer/dryer down in the basement? What the seller had done by stuffing the walls and sheet rock with trash is completely unethical. I hope this does not happen to others. Thank you.

cate | 11 years and 1 month ago

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Agree with all of the above. Stone foundations (and dirt floors) are inherently porous and moist, so putting up sheetrock over a 19th century rubble wall is a terrible idea. That said, once you expose the foundation, if you don’t have actual leaks, you don’t need to do anything further — unless you plan to sink a ton of money into making it a finished basement with proper waterproofing on the walls and floors. Don’t store anything made of paper or fabric down there; it will definitely be ruined.

yangw | 11 years and 1 month ago

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“Skanky contractor” — I definitely agree with you… however, is what they did even legal??? Do I have any legal recourse in small claims court?

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 1 month ago

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And, from what I have been told, the best, and only way that really works, to seal out the moisture in these stone foundations is with spray foam insulation.

slopefarm | 11 years and 1 month ago

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Agree with both replies above. Are you trying to use the basement as living space or just storage and mechanicals? If the latter, then yes, get rid of all the sheetrock and don’t even think twice about it. Sheetrock is very susceptible to mold if there is moisture. So even if you are trying to live in this space, you will need to take out the sheetrock enough to see where the moisture is coming from, and to figvure out whether there is any way to get the basment to be sufficiently dry to replace the sheetrock.

daveinbedstuy | 11 years and 1 month ago

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And disposing of construction debris like that is certainly characteristic of a skanky contractor doing the work.

BSDOD | 11 years and 1 month ago

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The mold is related to the presence of moisture, which could be coming through your foundation walls, since they are porous, or up from the ground, after heavy rains. These cellars were never meant to be lived in, the way modern folks expect. To reach this standard it requires serious water proofing, air ventilation, good insulation, and dehumidification; Or else expect a basement smell. Since you have evidence of construction short cuts, it’s probably a good idea to remove portions of the Sheetrock to reveal the foundation walls, to get to know how it performs and where the water intrusions are.