Small update: I did a 48-hour test of two sealed plastic squares over different parts of the basement concrete floor. We even had a good rain storm on the first day. No condensation on either side of the plastic! My theory that the musty smell is mostly trapped in the old pad and carpet seems more reasonable since we've never seen/felt any water in the finished area (and the unfinished area is where the sump is, which doesn't go off but in very torrential rains). The previous owners did have several dogs, which I suspect contributes to the smell. And we had a bathroom sink overflow last winter. I thought we ripped out all of the wet carpet, but it may have seeped further into the pad than what we ripped out. I'm hoping all of this bodes well for putting down carpet (without pad) after we paint the walls and then rip out the rest of the carpet and pad. I've read that olefin is the best fiber for basements and to make sure the backing is also olefin and not jute. Does that sound reasonable? Worthy: Thanks for the link. I printed it out and looked it over, but I can't seem to find anything about encapsulating it. I'm wondering if I even need to worry about the adhesive if we do carpet because the residue is rather thin at this point (maybe somebody scraped it in the past?). The lady at Home Depot said she just carpeted over her old adhesive.

you should really start a new thread as you'll get more input Donna. first understand that for mold to grow it needs two things, moisture & a food source. eliminate the moisture source, once you find out what it is. I'd start at the roof. open the ceiling, remediate..maybe as simple as letting things dry out once moisture is stopped, maybe materials need to be replaced. you won't know until you can see it. it takes time for mold to grow, it doesn't happen overnight, so maybe hoa will have to cover it if it predates your repair of roof. inside the home it can take 5 years...but in a garage? don't know. you'll want someone experienced in mold remediation to handle materials properly & safely as they are removed. and be able to prove it if necessary to hoa. that may be expensive. I do a some of mold remediation, respirators, sealing off room, double bagging materials etc. reason for doing the work is that too many people treat mold like a gold mine & scare homeowners with toxic mold stories. realistically, only 2 types are toxic, and every house has mold...somewhere. so try to steer clear of those folks. so, if you were to diy, fix leak, open ceiling. once you open a spot up...you can look to see how far the damage extends. cut out sheetrock to that point & look again, cut so that you can easily replace it with new sheet/piece. remove insulation, if any & look at 2x's to see if mold has grown on them. I use tsp (tri sodium phosphate or something like that) & scrub with a brush. let dry, rinse, scrub again. let it all dry for a few days. put a fan on it. check moisture level of wood & at 30% you can close it up again. tape & float sheetrock. sometimes I'll kiltz or bullseye/zinner the framing members when the area is opened. hope your hoa will do what is right here for you. best of luck

This is one of those "over the Internet' problems that is virtually impossible to solve because each case is unique. I've worked on houses where a bleach and water mix cleaned the existing mold. And one where bleach did not work well. I've used a specific mold product as well. Also ripped out framing because the mold/water damage weakened the wood in the framing. Mold cannot grow/spread when there is no moisture. It basically goes dormant. However, if moisture returns, the mold spores(which are the dormant part) come to life and grow. And the bleach mix does not kill the spores. So, given the numerous types of mold, the probability of a later infestation, and the possibility of one or more of the existing strains of mold to be dangerous, I'd rather have a professional opinion. The gotcha is who is selected. You already know there is mold. The mold guy will confirm that. No use in paying $300 for a "Yup, there is mold" report. If he also recommends a plan of action---tear it down/wash it/encapsulate/etc.---and the resulting estimate of the cost, that may be worth doing. An air quality test/report should provide the same info at a similar cost, but that report will also include some other information about possible contaminants.

two tile installers actualy told you it was OK to do a mortar wall directly over gypsum?? How did they propose to do this? just curious. wire lath over tar paper,,,,mortar goes on this. So not sure where they do the drywall? behind the tar paper?? That is not the correct way. do they not use wire lath? do they not know what happens to gypsum when water absorbs into it? wow. did you see this one over at john bridge. https://www.johnbridge.com/articles/showers/tile-shower-start-to-finish/ The new shower pan is installed (correctly), walls are closed in with sheetrock, and metal lath is attached (over clear plastic sheeting). The shower is now ready for the mud work. The mortar (mud) is applied to a thickness of about 1/2 inch. Since the sheets of lath are overlapped, there are no joints in this shower. another article in the forum. https://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=127937 which one is going on the floor?