Musty smell coming from outer edges of our floors.

4 years ago

We have a 50 year old house in South eastern Pennsylvania. We moved in about 2 years ago and gutted the first floor of the home. Part of the first floor is built on a slab. (Just the family room, powder room,and mud room)

Over the past month or so, we've been smelling a musty smell in a couple sections of the house that sits on a slab. We also have electric hot water heat through baseboards. The smell is strongest by one of the outside wall floors and in the mud room where it is surrounded by outdoor walls. I believe the smell is coming from the floor. I've poked my head around and just generally sniffed everywhere trying to find the source of the smell. The weird thing is, is that you'll get a good whiff sometimes, and then other times it's completely gone when you're standing in exactly the same spot. It seems to smell the worst during days that it’s in the 50 degree temperatures.

I'm not even sure who to call to get this checked out. Our contractor came out and took a look at the spots and and said he couldn't see anything and everything was bone dry. Could it be something in our pipes in the baseboards? But then I would smell it all over the house, right? What kind of company should I be calling to investigate this?? Thank you.

Featured Answer

DavidR

4 years ago

Not that I mean to insult or upset anyone, but it's clear that the cheapest and easiest solution here is to pull out the wood flooring and go back to carpet.

I love wood floors too, especially in century houses, and of course it's your house and your choice. In case some encouragement helps, though, I'm casting a vote for saving your nest egg for bigger battles, and putting down really nice good quality carpet.

Also, perhaps this can serve as a warning for others. Usually, houses in or close to original condition are the way they are for a reason. In most cases, the original architect knew what he or she was doing. Trying to make an older home look like what it isn't - a brand-new in a new-home style - can end up being much more complicated and expensive than you'd expected. The home "improvement" television channels and websites will never admit that, however.

Whatever you decide to do, best of luck with it.

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Comments (12)

ci_lantro
4 years ago
How high is the slab above grade?

What is the exterior cladding?

Did snow pile up next to the house in that area?

Did the contractor remove baseboard on that is on the exterior walls. Wood baseboard, not the heater? Did he use a moisture meter anywhere?
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
A 50 year old house on a slab (or partially so). That's all I need to know to be suspicious of moisture moving UP through the slab itself. Concrete slabs are porous. In fact they are so porous they can wick hundreds of gallons through them PER DAY via capillary action (minute hollow tubes in the slab created when the water evaporated out of the slab when it was poured 50+ years ago).

With a house that is 50 years old (built in the 60's) you are guaranteed there is NO vapour barrier underneath the concrete. That is to say, the slab is sitting on bare earth. The slab will be as damp as the earth is (imagine a massive swimming pool the size of our Planet with your home sitting on a blade of grass in that swimming pool).

The renovation probably included new flooring, am I right? What USED to be there? What is on the floor NOW?
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HU-463025896
Original Author
4 years ago
New flooring yes. It used to be carpet before we renovated. It is now hardwood flooring that is engineered hardwood on the bottom with real wood on top. Who do we call, mold and remediation specialists?its only on the outer walls.
HU-463025896
Original Author
4 years ago
And will it eventually go away with dry weather?
HU-463025896
Original Author
4 years ago
I’m not sure how high we are above grade. The outside of our house is vinyl. I don’t think a moisture meter was used. No snow build up at all.
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
How was the wood installed? Glue down or floating?

Carpet has a long history of allowing moisture to move through. That means the moisture in the slab is allowed to pass through. Mustiness does not have a chance to gather.

A solid floor, like hardwood, can 'cap' a slab thereby keeping the moisture IN the slab. That moisture then allows the growth of things.

Have you seen any cupping or any signs of moisture in the wood itself? Do you have photos of the room/wood?

What else was done to the rooms?

How about exterior grading away from the slab? Down spouts? Eaves?
HU-463025896
Original Author
4 years ago
The floor was glued down. We then had some issues with the floor where the parts that we stepped on the most were starting to come up and make somewhat of a popping sound when we walked in them. But no smell at that point. Last July our contractor came back and fixed most of the floor by inserting more glue. However, Not the mud room yet. As far as exterior grading and such I will try and take pictures. For the mudroom, theres mulch that’s sits on one of the exterior wall, as well as a sidewalk and garage. The other side that smells is butted Up to another concrete patio slab put in for a screened in porch.
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
Sigh....you've already had issues with this glue down wood floor. You can have a moisture mitigation company (who specializes in wet basements or wet slabs) come in and do some diagnostic testing (moisture testing) which you would pay for. At that point, you would have to consult your financial institution to find out how much money you have access to.

**If I'm correct and the slab moisture is what is causing this, there is no quick or cheap fix. Hopefully this is an exterior issue due to two slabs touching each other and moisture building up between the two. It is an easier issue to deal with (but still a money eater). If it has to do with exterior elements, it means you *might be able to save the interior finishes.

You can hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Of course the 'simplest' solution is the one you just got rid of: carpet.
HU-463025896
Original Author
4 years ago
How much money do you think it would cost if it is Just an exterior issue?
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
It depends on what the diagnosis is. It could be a couple thousand. It could be much, much more. And it could have nothing to do with exterior issues. Again, a diagnosis must be done before you go ahead throwing money at something that might not be the problem.

Bring in moisture mitigation experts to help you figure this out. In the end you might just decide to go back to carpet. But that is only WHEN YOU FIND the problem and make a decision based on FACTS...not guesses.
SJ McCarthy
4 years ago
I'm wondering if the adhesive (as vapour barrier) has 'capped' the concrete (prevented it from letting the 'wet' out). And the ONLY place the wood is NOT = the edges of the room. I would guess the water in the slab is being pushed to the EDGE of the room because there is no adhesive/wood there.

I bet dollars to doughnuts the moisture mitigation experts are going to find some VERY high numbers underneath the wood. And all the moisture is being forced out at the edges. The edges are the only escape route = that's where the moisture is and therefore were the musty/moldy odour is.

Musty smell coming from outer edges of our floors.

DavidR

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Musty smell coming from outer edges of our floors.

DavidR

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