Mold work in a house built before 1978

Two different Jefferson Counties

The county's housing splits in two. Ranson and Charles Town are mostly recent: in the city of Charles Town the median home was built in 2002. The old towns are another matter. In the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 survey, 47% of homes in the town of Shepherdstown and 60% in the town of Harpers Ferry were built before 1940; Bolivar's median year is 1977. Even Charles Town, for all its new subdivisions, has about one home in five from before 1940 — the blocks around the old downtown.

Old houses grow mold for their own reasons: stone and brick foundations that pass ground moisture, plaster that stayed wet behind a failed gutter, additions joined to the original house with a roof valley that never quite sealed. They are also where removal runs into other rules.

Lead paint: the 1978 line

EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires that anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978 be certified, with workers trained in lead-safe work practices. Cutting out a section of painted plaster or drywall to get at mold is exactly that kind of work. EPA recommends that owners of pre-1978 homes hire a lead-safe certified contractor and runs a public search for certified firms.

The rule generally does not apply to owners working on their own home. It does apply if you rent out all or part of it.

Asbestos: licensed in West Virginia

Unlike mold, asbestos abatement is a licensed activity in West Virginia, under the Bureau for Public Health. Some building materials from the mid-twentieth century can contain asbestos. If a mold job means removing old flooring, pipe or duct insulation, or other original materials, ask the contractor whether anything will be sampled before it is disturbed, and who would handle it if the result is positive.

What changes in the scope

• Paint and plaster. Expect containment and cleanup steps for lead dust as well as for mold, and a clear statement of who is certified.
• Stone foundations. Mold on a fieldstone or rubble wall is usually a moisture question — grading, gutters, the soil against the wall — rather than something to remove. The fix is outside.
• Historic trim and finishes. If something original is worth keeping, say so before work starts. Cleaning in place and cutting out are different scopes.

What to have ready

The approximate year the house was built (or "before 1940" if that is all you know), whether walls are plaster or drywall, where the growth is, and what wet it. If you know or suspect lead paint, say so on the call; it changes who can do the work.