Mold in Walls & Drywall in Tucker, GA

Signs of mold inside a wall

• A musty smell in a finished basement that does not go away with airing out
• Dark staining or swelling on baseboards along the uphill basement wall
• Paint or paneling that bubbles, peels or feels damp
• Efflorescence, a white powdery crust, on exposed block or concrete nearby
• Spots behind furniture pushed against an outside wall

Local conditions in Tucker

Tucker is a DeKalb County city about 12 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Most of its housing is 1960s and 1970s ranch and split-level homes, plus 1970s and 1980s multi-story homes that often have daylight basements. In a daylight basement, the back wall is buried in the slope while the front opens to grade, so the buried side takes constant moisture pressure from the soil. Once that wall is finished with drywall and carpet, moisture coming through the block has nowhere to go but into the board.

Tucker also has a lot of water. More than a dozen creeks start here, including Burnt Fork Creek, South Fork Peachtree Creek, Camp Creek and Henderson Mill Creek, and the Eastern Continental Divide runs through the city. Lots near those headwaters can stay soggy after storms, which keeps the soil against a buried basement wall wet for days at a time. Humid summer air makes it worse by condensing on cool below-grade walls.

What affects cost

Angi's Atlanta cost guide reports most companies charge $12 to $29 per square foot, and lists basement remediation at $587 to $3,522 and drywall repair at $1,174 to $3,405. The total depends on how much finished wall comes out, whether insulation and studs are damaged, containment, and outside work such as gutters, grading or foundation drainage that keeps the problem from returning.

What happens when you call

You will be connected with an independent local mold remediation company that serves Tucker. They will ask about the room, the wall and any history of water, then visit to measure moisture and look at drainage outside. For the rebuild, the City of Tucker Building and Permitting Division handles permits and inspections. Renters can report property maintenance problems to Tucker Code Enforcement online, at codecompliance@tuckerga.gov or (678) 597-9040, after giving the landlord written notice.