Who knew that houses need to breathe? Not Sally Buckley of Woodland Park.
But she learned that hard lesson when she bought a house in May 2008 and discovered its attic wasn’t properly vented, according to experts who examined the house.
Here is Sally’s little house. Notice the lack of rooftop vents, wind turbines or gable vents. Several soffit vents under the front eaves of the house are not visible in the photos.
Looking at the rear of the house, below, there are no vents in the garage roof or gable, in the foreground. Nor is there a gable vent on the house although there are three roof vents visible along the roofline as well as various sewer vents and furnace venting.
Besides what the experts say is poor venting, the house suffered mechanical problems including a questionable bathroom exhaust system that had pipes running over 20 feet across the attic to reach vents.
Even worse, the pipes were not insulated. And one was broken off, pumping warm, moist air from the bathrooms directly into the attic. The result was nasty toxic black mold, visible in the photo below.
Here are more photos of the mold as it spread into Buckley’s house:
In early stages, the mold looks like simple dirt. Below is some of the mold that remained in Buckley’s windowsills Wednesday as crews worked to safely remove it from the house.
Powers Thermal Insulation employee Ben Benavidez wraps insulation along the length of the repaired exhaust pipe Wednesday prior to blowing in new insulation.
Here is a closeup of baffles to be placed over soffit vents to ensure proper ventilation.
Bobby Cotten, general manager of Powers Thermal Insulation, sent his crews to Buckley’s house to remove the mold after builder John Tottleben of Jett Construction Co. declined to help Buckley remove the mold.
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Shame on you, Mr. Volgrin!!
I am the wife of John Tottleben and although I have many issues with your article today, I have also listened to a recording of the conversation you had with my husband today.
Over the last year, you have no idea how hard John has tried to get this issue resolved. He has spent countless hours on the phone with his insurance company, the insurance for Powers, not to mention meeting with Sally Buckley at her home as well as phone calls from her that ranged from everywhere to thinking he was the greatest man ever to
the devil incarnate. She has left messages threatening to “make his life a living hell,” to wanting to go into business with him. To say he “made a couple of phone calls” is completely unfair and irresponsible.
Every quote you attributed to him was taken completely out of context. Did he say them? Yes, unfortunately you only published the lines that suited your needs to villify him.
Am I happy that Sally Buckley is getting her home fixed? Of course I am.
However, because of you I will never take anything I read in a newspaper at face value. Hope you’re happy.
Lori Tottleben
Wow, that is NASTY! I always say that, as with buying a car and bringing a mechanic, it’s a good idea to bring some sort of a contractor or builder to inspect a home or condo before you purchase.