Checking a contractor before work starts

1. The state contractor license

Under the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Act, anyone who undertakes residential construction, alteration or repair for pay where the job costs $5,000 or more must hold a state contractor license. A mold job that involves cutting out and replacing drywall, flooring or insulation often reaches that.

The West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board's site has a Public Contractor License Search. Ask for the license number and the exact business name, then check three things: the license is active, the name matches the one on the estimate, and the license belongs to the business that will actually do the work.

2. Insurance, on paper

Ask for a certificate of liability insurance naming the business that will sign your contract. Check that the name and dates match. If the crew is a subcontractor, ask whose insurance covers them while they are in your house.

3. Experience and a method

EPA's own advice when hiring is to make sure the contractor has experience cleaning up mold, to check references, and to ask the contractor to follow the recommendations in EPA's remediation guide, the guidelines of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, or other guidelines from professional or government organizations. The industry's written standard for mold remediation is IICRC S520. Ask which one the crew follows. A specific answer is a good sign; "we use a special spray" is not a method.

4. A written scope

Before work starts, the scope should say:

• what area will be closed off, and how;
• what material will be removed, and how far past the visible growth;
• how the source of moisture is being dealt with — and if it is not part of this job, who is fixing it;
• how drying will be confirmed before anything is closed up;
• what is and is not included in putting the room back.

5. Questions specific to an older house

In a house built before 1978, anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces must be certified under EPA's lead-safe rules. Ask for the certification. If old flooring, pipe insulation or similar materials will come out, ask whether they will be sampled for asbestos first — asbestos abatement is licensed in West Virginia even though mold is not.

Warning signs

• A claim of a "state mold license." West Virginia does not issue one.
• Pressure to sign the day of the visit.
• A test offered by the same company that will do the removal, with the result used to set the price.
• No written scope, or a scope that only says "mold remediation."
• A lump-sum payment requested before any work begins.

When you call

You will be asked the size and location of the growth, the cause of the moisture, your ZIP code, and whether you own the property. The contractor you reach is independent. Check them the same way you would anyone else.