Believe you me, I know all about hot flashes, lol! :-) Yes, visqueen is a brand name, and it sounds like what you got is the same thing. It also sounds like you used the correct type of tape, so I'm surprised some of it came undone. On that mcgarryandmadsen.com site, you probably read their recommended method for patching, using both staples and the tape. It sounds like a lot of work, especially in the heat and under the house! I agree with you, though, I'd rather be under the house with the visqueen down than on the bare dirt. I also think you're right about the AC and the condensation being a contributing factor to your problem area. I just have a window unit in the living room, so I haven't had to deal with that. I'm hopefully putting in a mini split system next fall, and that eliminates the need for ducts, and I can't wait! You might be able to get a free mold inspection through your state and/or county. It would be worth a couple of phone calls and an internet search to find out. Your state and county also might be able to help with mold removal if any bad stuff is found. I hear you about affordability--everything is just so darn expensive! I got this house (14x64 SW) last January almost for free ($2,000). My daughter and I moved in on March 1 and the previous owners, who are good friends, were still here. Unfortunately, my friend has a shopping addiction and is a hoarder. The MH was falling down around them and they either couldn't see the problems, because they were buried underneath the hoard, or they didn't think it was important, like not thinking a fan in the bathroom needs to be kept in working order, or they "could 't afford" to fix it, like the furnace which they lived through three winters without! Yet, she could afford to spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars every month on clothes, make up, shoes, handbags, etc., 80% of which still have price tags on them. Anyway, when my daughter Joy and I finally got the house cleaned out of the gigantic piles of hoarded stuff, and got the house as clean as we could by ourselves, we were able to see the extent of the damage--and it's bad. Really bad. There's like 4-5 really major projects that all need to be immediately if we hope to salvage the structural integrity of the home...but I am not a wealthy woman by any stretch of the imagination. So it has to be one project at a time, as money becomes available. So I've spent literally over one hundred hours researching every aspect of manufactured homes. This site has been a treasure trove of information! Last October, when I agreed to buy this house from my friend, I actually read through every single thread on this forum! It was like taking a class in MH101. I've also read all the blog entries on MHs on the mcgarryandmadsen site. mobilehomeliving.org is another good one. Joy and I figured out that we spent about 300 hours between the two of us cleaning out the massive hoard they left here and cleaning. That didn't even include the regular home cleaning and maintenance of our own stuff! There are a few things I can't do because I have pretty severe rheumatoid arthritis. The range was one of those things. I managed to get the stove top pretty clean and put in new burner bowls, but there was no way I could have scrubbed the hood, under the stove top, the oven, or underneath the oven where we found all kinds of used, greasy paper plates! Last night, a young couple I hired from craigslist came over and it took them two solid hours, so four work hours, to get it clean! It was definitely worth the $60 I paid them. Well, good luck with your mildew problem...I hope you can fix it without too much expense or too much time crawling around under the house! :-) Sincerely, Debbie

My first thought. too. The grout looks like it is deteriorating and that tile looks pretty vintage. I think it's time to do a tearout. I would also try to figure out whether water is coming from beneath the tub so you don't put in a new tile floor and find out after and have it compromised, too.

Are you leaving the old tiles in place? How old is the house? The issue of the damp slab is still an issue. Technically a vapour barrier (like 10mil polysheeting) will stop most dampness....but it will not stop mold from growing UNDERNEATH the plastic. This normally isn't a concern, but if a slab is old enough, and wet enough and has had PREVIOUS mold growth then you are almost guaranteed to have more problems in the future. My concern becomes what does the drywall look like at the 'floor level'? If the two layers of wood-like stuff has been soaked and contaminated, does the drywall (at the floor level) have issues as well? If the drywall was, in anyway, TOUCHING either the plywood OR the laminate, the soaked wood will have sponged water onto the drywall = soaking = mold growth. It is possible to deal with the wet floor stuff with a SHEEP load of bleach (please be careful with bleach...in it's pure form it can cause breathing difficulties and nausea...and even damage lung tissue if not used with HUGE amounts of ventilation)...but once the mold spores start crawling up the walls, you will want to look at investing in the mold remediation. Sadly you won't know until the wet plywood (bad former-homeowner bad! No biscuit for you!) has been removed and you can take a hands-and-knees-with-flashlight look at the base of the walls (use a screw driver to poke at the bottom of the drywall...if the screw driver pokes through without any pressure, you have more issues than you thought). Make your decision once you have the ability to assess the walls at floor level.

Oh...dear. This is where the IIC/STC ratings are 'old school' numbers. The 'new fashion' number is called the Delta IIC. That's the number that can be ADDED to one another. Why is that you ask? A Delta IIC is equal to the old fashioned IIC number. So we will work with that to 'ADD UP' to IIC 71 (the units of measure are decibels = dB). Because the IIC/STC ratings are ONLY for the floor+subfloor+underlay+drop down ceiling+everything else that went into the test chambers. I've PERSONALLY SEEN companies RIG the tests so they get these MASSIVE numbers...by STUFFING the testing chamber FULL OF EXTRA materials. So much material is 99.999993% UNLIKELY to be found in a home such as yours. And to STUFF the test chamber (the noise recording studio) it COSTS THEM $55,000 for ONE floor. But...they SELL SELL SELL because they have big, beautiful, juicy numbers like STC 73 dB. Do you know how much you have to DO to a CONDO FLOOR/CEILING system to get STC 73 dB? It is IMPRESSIVE. You need: 1. 14" concrete SLAB (found in LUXURY high-rise condos where the starting price = $2M and there are only 20 floors) = Delta IIC 47 dB (all by itself!!!) 2. 14" DROP DOWN ACOUSTIC CEILING in the unit BELOW YOU = Delta IIC 18 dB 3. 3mm Cork = Delta IIC 6 dB 4. Any hard surface floor = Delta IIC 5 dB Total amount of 'noise reduction' = Delta IIC 76 Let me tell you how INCREDIBLY rare the above build is. It is INTENSELY rare. You *might find this in the 'High Roller Suite' in Las Vegas....in one of the newest builds. That's about it. So IMAGINE you have a 5 story condo building. They often work with: 1. 2. NO ACOUSTIC CEILING = 0 That's it. Your NOISE reduction is 27 dB. That's IT! The ONLY thing that reaches those numbers the board requires = carpet with FANTASTIC underpad. I mean FANTASTIC padding. And that's PRECISELY why they do this to their residents. They do NOT want to hear the HUGE amounts of complaints from the 'lower' levels. Honestly...the complaints go UP as soon as solid surfaces are in play. Here's what you 'want to do': 1. A 6" concrete slab = Delta IIC 27 dB 2. An 8mm Vinyl floor with cork underlay = Delta IIC 18 dB 3. A 12mm cork underlay = Delta IIC 22 dB Total Delta IIC 67 dB....oops... Didn't make it....not even close (yes...4 dB in the IIC world is A LOT). The ONLY thing that 'beats' 12mm cork = 8mm SOLID RUBBER underpad. It is EXTREMELY RARE and if you find it: #1. It STINKS to high-heaven #2. It will cost you HUGE amounts of money ($20+ per square foot) #3. It will have issues with the cork backing because cork + rubber = noisy and +++ off-gassing. The smell is outrageous (on top of the 'tire store' smell from the rubber!!!). #4. Your vinyl plank floor WILL have BIG issues on top of so much 'compression' product. I'm guessing your condo board has done this on purpose to STOP people from taking out carpets.