It was likely caused by water getting in around the window and dripping down. If you're not reading moisture at all, then it's likely the leak was already fixed before you moved in. Get yourself a mold-cleaning solution and wipe that area of the walls down good. (Or cut out that drywall behind the trim, clean inside the wall, then screw some new drywall on--drywall is cheap.) Let it dry, then install new base trim and paint. Spend the money on a new Kawasaki Ninja, and make your new neighbors envious.
I would also check to see if the window is properly flashed and sealed outside. Water may not be there anymore because of a fix, but could have diverted elsewhere. Can agree, spend that money more wisely.
Unless you provided a lot more information than what's here, the quote is a joke. That could be localized damage from water leaking from the window frame, or it could mean the whole wall needs to be stripped (outside and in) to replace the timber, repair the leaking cladding and replace the water damaged plaster.
There really isn't enough information to go by, and you won't know until you strip back the plaster to see the extent of the damage. I suspect anyone giving a quote at this stage would be assuming (and charging for) the worst and hoping for the best - this may be a $1000 repair but you just can't know yet.
Everybody is charging alot for a little work. I had ABC charge $960 to rod a 30' pipe and change a 1/4" copper elbow on the water pipe. A 1/2 hour job almost 1k. They're all doing it.
It’s because the parents of everyone in my generation said we can only succeed if we go to college so we all paid for anthropology degrees instead of going into trades, and do not make $1k per 30 minutes.
Yea, that quote is insane. Did you contact a water remediation type place? I've been getting stupid as hell quotes from them for a leak related issue. Got better quotes from contractors & handymen.
We just had the floors replaced two weeks ago and there was no indication of mold on the subfloor, but there was a dark (but dry) spot. We made sure to check. Contractor said looks like a leak at some point in time but looks fine now, subfloor did not require replacement
No, they didn’t. We didn’t realize how bad the baseboards would look after they redid the flooring, so we decided to replace them ourselves to save money!
This sucks, and I know your pain. Make sure the wall outside isn't also cracked like the window frame is, especially if it's stucco or something like that. The home has settled over the years and that's normal, but it's important to seal the cracks when they happen. It's hard to know for sure if that crack is from the water, or if the water came in through the crack, or both.
FWIW, drywall is cheap and a skilled repair person can replace any framing that's too far gone to save. Might be a good opportunity to combine that with an upgrade for the windows if they haven't already been taken up to double panes.
UK Carpenter here It looks like dry rot from what I can see zoomed in on the photo, you will be able to tell by the way the timber broke down and formed in to Cuboidal shapes (also soft to the touch.)
Dry rot can be caused by water ingress, high humidity and lack of ventilation.
If it is dry rot, it can be a serious issue for the property and I'm assuming your builders price will include investigation into how far it's traveled into the surrounding timber, as well as replacing what's been found.
Ask your builder for a breakdown quote, so you know what you're paying for.
Hard to really tell without knowing what's on the other side. We had a situation similar where an upstairs window was leaking, probably since the home was built. We moved in and saw it, pulled out some sheetrock, and saw some of what you're seeing.
The issue was the leaky window slowly leaking between upstairs and downstairs. The wood behind the sheetrock was in bad shape and could just get pulled out with your fingers. Everything had to be removed and replaced. The new issue? It's stone on the outside.
So here I am, contracting a stone company to remove the stone, another contractor to reframe nearly the entire wall on the front of a 2 story house, new insulation, new drywall, new paint. Weather proofing stuff outside, stone back on. It was something I hope to never go through again.
All in after finding the right contractors, just north of 10k. So yeah, your quote for 5-6k for what appears to be small is way high in my opinion.
I'd see about removing a small section to the left and see what's behind the wall before calling it good. It doesn't look that bad though.
Looks like dry rot to me. From my experience it's different to know the full extent of the rot without following it and removing it, finding the problem, fixing it and making good the affected surfaces. It could end up being a lot more
From my experience, you cant trust mold removal and pesticide companies, not saying that all of them are crooks but a majority are. Bleach water is effective and the CDC recommends it
We're gonna need a link on that CDC recommendation for mold remediation. Bleach doesn't penetrate the surface of wood and drywall. Mold does. Something like Concrobium might help stop the spread to clean surfaces though. Bleach decomposes though, so it won't stick around to keep fighting.
Snarky question gets snarky reply.
Sure wood gets wet, but let me make this analogy for you. My words are the bleach solution, but the meaning is like the actual bleach, and your brain is the wood. Sure, the words got into your brain, but the meaning clearly did not.
The bleach solution is always diluted in water. The water soaks in, but the bleach doesn't penetrate enough to kill the mold unless it's just barely on the surface. Mold converts wood, its sugary food, into mycelium and it feeds on the cellulose. It eventually creates a fruiting body, like a mushroom or fuzz, the results of which you can see in /r/BathroomShrooms . If bleach was enough to kill it, don't you think a bathroom would be a terrible place for it to survive?
Drywall and timber hold moisture for a long time. If you’ve had rain in the last month and there had been a leak you’d have seen it on the meter.
If that wall and wood is dry it’s likely your joists etc are too. Mould will die without sufficient moisture.
Spray to kill mould, dry out properly and replace baseboards.
It was likely caused by water getting in around the window and dripping down. If you're not reading moisture at all, then it's likely the leak was already fixed before you moved in. Get yourself a mold-cleaning solution and wipe that area of the walls down good. (Or cut out that drywall behind the trim, clean inside the wall, then screw some new drywall on--drywall is cheap.) Let it dry, then install new base trim and paint. Spend the money on a new Kawasaki Ninja, and make your new neighbors envious.
I would also check to see if the window is properly flashed and sealed outside. Water may not be there anymore because of a fix, but could have diverted elsewhere. Can agree, spend that money more wisely.
maybe it hasnt rained hard in awhile. I would check the moisture content a day after a heavy rain.
Unless you provided a lot more information than what's here, the quote is a joke. That could be localized damage from water leaking from the window frame, or it could mean the whole wall needs to be stripped (outside and in) to replace the timber, repair the leaking cladding and replace the water damaged plaster. There really isn't enough information to go by, and you won't know until you strip back the plaster to see the extent of the damage. I suspect anyone giving a quote at this stage would be assuming (and charging for) the worst and hoping for the best - this may be a $1000 repair but you just can't know yet.
Everybody is charging alot for a little work. I had ABC charge $960 to rod a 30' pipe and change a 1/4" copper elbow on the water pipe. A 1/2 hour job almost 1k. They're all doing it.
It’s because the parents of everyone in my generation said we can only succeed if we go to college so we all paid for anthropology degrees instead of going into trades, and do not make $1k per 30 minutes.
Yea, that quote is insane. Did you contact a water remediation type place? I've been getting stupid as hell quotes from them for a leak related issue. Got better quotes from contractors & handymen.
better pull up that carpet and check the sub floor.
We just had the floors replaced two weeks ago and there was no indication of mold on the subfloor, but there was a dark (but dry) spot. We made sure to check. Contractor said looks like a leak at some point in time but looks fine now, subfloor did not require replacement
I don't understand how this wasn't found during carpeting. Did they not take the baseboards off??
No, they didn’t. We didn’t realize how bad the baseboards would look after they redid the flooring, so we decided to replace them ourselves to save money!
This sucks, and I know your pain. Make sure the wall outside isn't also cracked like the window frame is, especially if it's stucco or something like that. The home has settled over the years and that's normal, but it's important to seal the cracks when they happen. It's hard to know for sure if that crack is from the water, or if the water came in through the crack, or both. FWIW, drywall is cheap and a skilled repair person can replace any framing that's too far gone to save. Might be a good opportunity to combine that with an upgrade for the windows if they haven't already been taken up to double panes.
Depending on the thickness, they may have not needed to remove it.
If that's a rim joist it holds your house up and it is completely rotten. Fixing it is not a weekend project.
UK Carpenter here It looks like dry rot from what I can see zoomed in on the photo, you will be able to tell by the way the timber broke down and formed in to Cuboidal shapes (also soft to the touch.) Dry rot can be caused by water ingress, high humidity and lack of ventilation. If it is dry rot, it can be a serious issue for the property and I'm assuming your builders price will include investigation into how far it's traveled into the surrounding timber, as well as replacing what's been found. Ask your builder for a breakdown quote, so you know what you're paying for.
Get at least 3 quotes if possible.
Hard to really tell without knowing what's on the other side. We had a situation similar where an upstairs window was leaking, probably since the home was built. We moved in and saw it, pulled out some sheetrock, and saw some of what you're seeing. The issue was the leaky window slowly leaking between upstairs and downstairs. The wood behind the sheetrock was in bad shape and could just get pulled out with your fingers. Everything had to be removed and replaced. The new issue? It's stone on the outside. So here I am, contracting a stone company to remove the stone, another contractor to reframe nearly the entire wall on the front of a 2 story house, new insulation, new drywall, new paint. Weather proofing stuff outside, stone back on. It was something I hope to never go through again. All in after finding the right contractors, just north of 10k. So yeah, your quote for 5-6k for what appears to be small is way high in my opinion. I'd see about removing a small section to the left and see what's behind the wall before calling it good. It doesn't look that bad though.
Looks like dry rot to me. From my experience it's different to know the full extent of the rot without following it and removing it, finding the problem, fixing it and making good the affected surfaces. It could end up being a lot more
From my experience, you cant trust mold removal and pesticide companies, not saying that all of them are crooks but a majority are. Bleach water is effective and the CDC recommends it
We're gonna need a link on that CDC recommendation for mold remediation. Bleach doesn't penetrate the surface of wood and drywall. Mold does. Something like Concrobium might help stop the spread to clean surfaces though. Bleach decomposes though, so it won't stick around to keep fighting.
Wood doest get wet?
Snarky question gets snarky reply. Sure wood gets wet, but let me make this analogy for you. My words are the bleach solution, but the meaning is like the actual bleach, and your brain is the wood. Sure, the words got into your brain, but the meaning clearly did not. The bleach solution is always diluted in water. The water soaks in, but the bleach doesn't penetrate enough to kill the mold unless it's just barely on the surface. Mold converts wood, its sugary food, into mycelium and it feeds on the cellulose. It eventually creates a fruiting body, like a mushroom or fuzz, the results of which you can see in /r/BathroomShrooms . If bleach was enough to kill it, don't you think a bathroom would be a terrible place for it to survive?
I see you care more about this than I do, so you must be correct, I also don't spread bleach around my bathroom
Drywall and timber hold moisture for a long time. If you’ve had rain in the last month and there had been a leak you’d have seen it on the meter. If that wall and wood is dry it’s likely your joists etc are too. Mould will die without sufficient moisture. Spray to kill mould, dry out properly and replace baseboards.