Family Faces Huge Costs to Fix Mold Contaminated Home
posted 5:29 pm Mon July 21, 2008 - Daniel Island, SC
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At least four Daniel Island homes are contaminated with mold and have the families tangled up in a legal battle with mega home builder D.R. Horton. The company recently conducted their home tests, but fixing the problem could cost more than the houses are worth.
As toxic mold seeped into another Daniel Island home, the Allen family was driven out.
“This is a systemic problem. It’s not just my home. It’s not just my neighbor’s home. Its homes throughout the entire neighborhood that were built by D.R. Horton and Dobson builders in that exact same period of time,” Benjamin Allen said.
His family has been living in a rental house since they moved out of their home last month.
The family had a mold test done by Terrence Tully of Moisture Control Experts months ago. The results of that test proved what the Allens suspected; high levels of mold in the walls, carpets and under the windows. Experts say a lack of flashing around the windows is to blame. D.R. Horton recently sent out their own mold inspector and the Allens say his findings mirrored their own.
“D.R. Horton at this point doesn’t really have a leg to stand on. We know where the water infiltration is coming in and we know that’s causing the mold,” Allen added.
The Allens’ home is not fit to be lived in and the only way to fix the problem is remediation. That process is expensive and lengthy.
“Anywhere between $100,000 and $200,000. Every piece of siding on the exterior has to be removed. Windows have to be removed and flashing has to be redone,” Terrence Tully said.
Remediation is basically taking the house apart and putting it back together again.
“The real fight for purposes of compromise is going to be what type of remediation is necessary for the home. What’s it going to take to get the house back to the condition it should be in and what is it going to take to eliminate the mold,” Fritz Jekel of the law firm Motely Rice explained. He is representing the Allens in this case.
The task and the legal battle are both long and drawn out. The Allens just want the safe home they thought they had bought.
The Allens’ attorney says D.R. Horton has about a month left to respond to the mold test and try to fix the problems. The company’s attorney would not comment on our story.
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