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  • Writer's pictureCorey Provencal

The Design Build Industry vs. The Remediation Industry


The oversight elements of the design build process that most fail to recognize, and are somewhat equivalent to the separation between assessment and remediation, are as follows. (That is unless you are in a state that requires nothing to build a home.)

Plan Review and Permit Application (Design Build Oversight pre-construction)

First and well before you actually begin bending nails, you will need either a Licensed Architect or a Licensed Engineer to review and approve your design before you can proceed to the next step.

You’ll then need to submit your plans to the City Building Department where the plans will again be reviewed and approved before you can proceed to the next step.

That alone eliminates any comparison between the unlicensed mold assessors providing an assessment on a home that he intends to remediate.

At this point and again well before you start bending nails the city will require most if not all of the following:

• Completed building permit application • Site plan • Footing plan • Foundation plan • Floor Plan • Building Elevations • Header schedule • Framing Plan • Truss and structural specifications • Plumbing, Electrical and Mechanical Plans • Engineered Septic plan • Window and Door schedule • Manufacturer’s Installation Procedures • Energy Compliance Calculations

I pulled that list up from City of Rome just to provide an example of the hoops a design build contractor must jump through prior to the actual construction of the design build project.

The equivalent of the Mold Assessment.

Once you actually receive the Building Permit you must then receive the necessary inspections that are required.

Residential Inspection Schedule (Design Build Oversight during construction) All applicable inspections listed below are mandatory and must be completed by a City of Rome Building Inspector prior to use or occupancy.

  1. FOOTINGS / POSTS

  2. FOUNDATION / PERIMETER DRAINS

  3. CONCRETE / UNDER SLAB

  4. ROUGH IN ELECTRICAL

  5. ROUGH IN PLUMBING

  6. FRAMING

  7. CHIMNEYS & FIREPLACES

  8. INSULATION

  9. FIRE SEPARATION

  10. BUILDING SYSTEMS

  11. FINAL ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING INSPECTIONS

  12. FINAL BUILDING INSPECTION Smoke Detector / Carbon Monoxide Detectors Interior and Exterior coverings in place Windows and doors operational. Railing / staircases / landings in place All mechanical systems operational 911 House Number in Place

The equivalent of the Post Remediation Verification Inspection (Design Build Oversight post-construction)

There is one hell of a lot of oversight involved in the Design Build industry and unless there is separation between assessment and remediation there are none thats right 0 in the Mold industry.

The comparison between the Design Build industry and the Mold Remediation industry, Not a fair apples to apples comparison of industries or industry oversight.

The Mold Remediation industry would require only 2 points of oversight.

  1. The Independent Mold Assessment prior to mold remediation (Mold Remediation Oversight pre-remediation) Here in Florida by a State Licensed Mold Assessor when the mold affected area is greater than 10 square feet. The Mold Remediator cannot perform or offer to perform any mold remediation to a structure on which the mold remediation or the mold remediation’s company provided a mold assessment within the last 12 months.

  2. And the Independent Post Remediation Verification Inspection after mold remediation (Mold Remediation Oversight post-remediation) Here in Florida by a State Licensed Mold Assessor that cannot perform or offer to perform any mold assessment to a structure on which the mold assessor or the mold assessors company provided mold remediation within the last 12 months.

It just seems to be much easier than many want to make it out to be.

History and experience tell me that the remediator who skips the initial step of an assessment from a licensed assessor usually finds it just as easy to skip other steps durring remediation and usually also skip the last step of independent post remediation verification from a licensed assessor.

• John P. Lapotaire, CIEC • Certified Indoor Environmental Consultant • Microshield Environmental Services, LLC www.Microshield-ES.com

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