Mold in Walls & Drywall in Richmond, TX

Our house took water from the Brazos years ago. Could mold still be inside the walls?

It is possible, especially where drywall was dried in place rather than cut out. In the Memorial Day 2016 flood the Brazos reached 54.37 feet at Richmond, a record, and the city issued a voluntary evacuation advisory. Hurricane Harvey followed in 2017, damaging about 200 Richmond homes, and the Edgewood subdivision off Hwy. 90 next to the river flooded both times. Fort Bend County counted about 1,200 homes affected across Richmond, Rosenberg and unincorporated areas in 2016 alone. If a wall that took water now smells musty, shows faint staining near the floor, or feels soft, a mold assessment consultant can take moisture readings and look into the cavity through a small opening before anything larger is removed. EPA's flood guidance is to assume mold where materials could not be dried within 24 to 48 hours.

No flood here. Why would mold be growing behind the drywall?

Most wall mold comes from ordinary sources. An attic air handler with a clogged condensate line can overflow its pan and send water down an interior wall. A slow leak at a shower valve or under a kitchen sink can wet the bottom plate for months. Wind-driven rain can get past window flashing on an exterior wall. In Richmond's older buildings, many of which have been reused for shops and offices, repeated patching over the same stain is a common clue that the source was never fixed.

Who does what, and do I need a city permit?

Texas splits the job. A consultant who holds a TDLR mold assessment license writes a protocol listing the areas, quantities, containment and clearance criteria and gives it to you at least one calendar day before work starts. A different company, one that holds a TDLR mold remediation contractor license, does the removal; the same company cannot do both on one project. When it is time to rebuild, ask the City of Richmond Building Department at the City Hall Annex, 600 Morton Street, whether your drywall, plumbing or electrical repairs need a permit; applications and inspection requests go through the MGO Connect portal.

A note for Richmond renters

Richmond's Building Department also runs residential rental property registration. If a landlord has not fixed a leak feeding wall mold, the city's Code Enforcement Department at 600 Morton Street, (281) 342-0559, enforces the Development Code and general ordinances and is a place to ask about property conditions.