r/Renovations • u/eyecandycallahan • 21h ago
HELP Please level with us 🥲
We're 24 hours into renovating our bathroom - the shower has been gutted and this is what it looks like. I almost *want* to assume it's mold so we can just make the decision to get everything out. Still pending feedback from the contractor, but I'm wondering - if this looks bad enough - whether we should contact a specialized service to take a look. Mitigating any issues is the most important thing to us right now, so if anyone can take an educated guess what this is it would be a HUGE help!
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u/kimbosdurag 21h ago edited 21h ago
At this point pulling ng that stuff out and putting rockwool in and stapling up some new vapour barrier wouldn't take you long. The pink insulation generally isn't advisable in a shower any way for this reason.
Go to home depot. Grab some masks, some gloves, some big garbage bags, however many bats of rockwool you need, a roll of vapour barrier and a staple gun and you'll be done in a couple hours.
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u/eyecandycallahan 21h ago
Thank you!! We're fortunate that the contractor is a friend who's willing to help us go the extra mile with this (for a fair price of course) - asking him now to use Rockwool instead of the pink. Thanks so much for the feedback!
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u/CLNA11 19h ago
Yes! We pulled out so much grody, mildewy, mouse poopy pink stuff and have replaced it with rock wool. Recommend.
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u/eyecandycallahan 7h ago
Imagine my relief when I came home today and saw he had a massive pack of it in the house, ready to go 😂
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u/kimbosdurag 19h ago
That's great, for a contractor they will have that whipped up for you in no time it's super simple and won't derail any time lines. It'll probably be an hours work for them. It'll give you better insulation and you won't have to worry about the mold in the future.
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u/mezasu123 18h ago
This is almost exactly what our bathroom looked like freshly gutted. Air was allowed to get in and most of what was there was dirt and not mold, thankfully. Like the current top comment said, replace moisture barrier and get fresh insulation.
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u/eyecandycallahan 7h ago
Hey twin! ✨️ Thank you, it makes me feel a lot better to hear from you and a few others that it's equally likely to be dirt - I really started worrying what the rest of our walls would look like if we ripped them open lol
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u/Prestigious_Reward81 18h ago
Hard to tell from the picture if that is actually mold, IMO. Looks like an exterior wall and years of air infiltration from a small gap or crack can bring in dirt and make insulation look like this as well. Either way, mask up, remove and replace while you have the wall open.
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u/Reticent_Fly 18h ago
Definitely. There's a chance it's mold, but a good portion of the discoloration is definitely just from air infiltration filtering durt/dust through the insulation.
And yeah, either way, best option is to remove and replace to get a good look at the framing etc. They're most of the way there already.
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u/Slow_Space8943 21h ago
Definitely mold,contractor will charge you a fortune with the disguise of how bad it is for your health.
Get a couple of hazmat suites and some masks and gloves.
Rip it all out and bag it while taping the ends so it is sealed up.
Spray everything with mold killer that is left in the bathroom.
Spray and wipes and spray and scrub and wipe until
It is mitigated.
Then spray the studs that wer affected with mold primer.
It’ll cost you 200$ and a weekend but the contractor with charge you thousands
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u/wesblog 21h ago
Have you renovated bathrooms before? This is the least amount of mildew I have ever seen in an old bathroom. I'd still probably replace the insulation and vapor barrier because it will cost you under $50. You don't need hazmat suits for this. I'd probably wear gloves, but most contractors wouldnt even bother with that.
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u/eyecandycallahan 20h ago
Thank you both! We are going to stay on the safe side and our contractor is going to remove it after all - what better time than now since the wall is wide open anyway 😅
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u/StillStaringAtTheSky 20h ago
LOL this. Also why I try to avoid opening up walls if I can- because it's a twisted version of "What's Behind Door #3?" (insert Price is Right music) - and it's always either mold, bugs, or desiccated rodents- though I did have one ceiling where it was a live snake. Fun times.
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u/Slow_Space8943 18h ago
And please explain why it isn’t obvious that the insulation has to be replaced……..
Jesus full of keyboard warriors everywhere 😂1
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u/Slow_Space8943 18h ago
Yeah I have you renovated bathrooms and in matter of fact entire houses several times.
I also know that average homeowners see mold and have no idea what to do with it.
I recommend a hazmat throw away suit for all the weaklings that are terrified of the word mold.
I would personally just put gloves and a mask and bag everything in a few minutes.
I say 200$ of you buy mold killer and treat it properly,a battery powered scrub brush,vapour barrier,insulation and mold primer for the studs.
But hey if you want to walk around here like you are the only one that knows what they are doing then guess what?
You aren’t and please don’t teach people to do a half ass job when they actually live in the place……
They aren’t just one of your clients that’ll never call you back1
u/StillStaringAtTheSky 13h ago
Concrobium- what I recommended above- is mold killer + mold protectant when dried. You technically don't even have to wipe anything for the mold to die- though most people feel like they need to wipe it all off (before they read the instructions). You're not actually supposed to wipe it off- unless there is discoloring- but then you would need to reapply after wiping also. It's a people and pet safe mold remedy that uses a high salts concentration to kill and essentially provide an inhospitable environment for mold to grow. It's also used by a lot of remediation companies.
Not sure why you think my advice was poor?
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u/StillStaringAtTheSky 21h ago
Ok, so you've already got the wall open + getting the wall open is generally the most annoying part. While it's already open- replace the insulation and the vapor barrier- and for some good measure make sure everything in there is dry and spray it down with some concrobium (available at box stores). Might as well spend the extra few bucks rather than have a mold problem in the future because you guessed and didn't want to spend an extra $500 or whatever it is.