Ceilings and floors in Eichler bathrooms
We have two bathrooms in our Eichler.
In the first, the wood beams are exposed in the ceiling. We constantly have a problem with mold buildup on the beams (and in the grooves in between the beams).
In the second, we have a smooth surface covering the beams (not exactly sure what the material is - it was this way when we bought the house). We have very little mold in the second bathroom.
Does anyone have advice on how to control mold on the ceiling of an Eichler bathroom? Should the beams be covered? If so, how? Any recommendations for a contractor to do this work?
I am also looking for a recommendation for someone to install a bathroom floor (probably tile). One of the bathrooms has a toilet with a leaky wax seal ring. We will need to rip up enough of the floor to clean up the resulting mold... that we will probably ending up redoing the flooring.
thanks
[email protected]
Palo Alto
the best way to address this problem is to insure that your bathroom is adequately ventilated. My gut tells me that your bathroom with a lot of mold on the ceiling either doesn't have a ventilation fan or has one that is not doing the job it should be doing.
Installing a new bathroom ventilation fan which will dramatically reduce the humidity and potential for mold build-up. You DONT need to go thru the headaches of penetrating the roof since there are in-wall options out there that work great (e.g. Panasonic Whisper Wall).
Good luck.
Besides differences in humidity due to differences in frequencies and nature of use (shower vs. bath, guest vs. ensuite), you might also be seeing a difference in the type of paint used.
Latex paints are more prone to mold/mildew than oil base. Cleaning the ceiling of existing mold (for example, wiping or spraying a bleach/water mixture with appropriate protection) then repainting would improve your situation.
Jake
