Post-Remediation Clearance Testing in The Woodlands, TX

Our street flooded from the creek during Harvey. Does clearance account for that?

It should, if the protocol was written with that history in mind. During Harvey, Spring Creek, Panther Branch and Bear Branch all reached historic levels, preliminary data showed 141 homes in The Woodlands with flood damage, and the local fire department made 224 high-water rescues and evacuations. When a house took creek water, the consultant's clearance criteria often cover how dry the framing must read as well as how clean surfaces look. Ask to see those criteria before removal starts. The post-remediation assessment then confirms no visible mold or wood rot remains, that the contractor followed the protocol, and that the criteria were met.

We're selling in a few years. What paperwork matters?

The Certificate of Mold Damage Remediation. The remediation contractor must give it to you, with before-and-after photos, within 10 days after the project stop date. It's signed by both the consultant and the contractor, and if the consultant finds the underlying cause fixed, the certificate says so. Texas rules require sellers to give buyers each CMDR issued in the five years before a sale. For a home, it can also help keep an insurer from making an adverse underwriting decision based on past mold damage, though it doesn't promise coverage.

Is the township in charge of permits for the rebuild?

The Woodlands is a township in unincorporated Montgomery County, about 27 miles from Houston, with a portion in Harris County. On the Montgomery County side, building and floodplain permits run through the county Permit Department under Environmental Health in Conroe, and the county requires a Development Permit for substantially damaged structures in the floodplain. Check with the county before replacing drywall in a flood-damaged home, and ask your neighborhood association about any design review that applies.

A local note

Villages like Grogan's Mill, Cochran's Crossing, Sterling Ridge and Creekside Park sit under heavy tree cover, which keeps roofs and siding shaded and damp longer after rain. Have the consultant look at attic and exterior-wall moisture as part of the bigger picture, even when the clearance itself covers only the rooms in the protocol.