You and a friend are walking down a busy city street. It’s a hot bustling afternoon. Cars are whizzing by you. Men in suits are yelling into smartphones. You imagine they’re yelling at other men in suits. The scene quickly bores you, but something catches your eye.
“Hey! Look at that,” you say to your friend.
There’s a man climbing the side of a tall building.
“What’s he doing?” your friend asks.
“Cleaning the windows?”
“He IS spraying something.”
“He looks like Spiderman.”
It’s the most exciting thing you’ll see all day…
The man you are seeing is not cleaning the windows; he is testing for water intrusion. Inspectors often have to scale tall buildings in their endless battle against water intrusion. Scott “Spiderman” Mulholland is one such hero. Yes, “Spiderman” is his nickname. See? I told you inspectors are like superheroes.
“Spiderman” Mulholland is the CEO/President of USBCI, otherwise known as US Building Consultants Inc. In his words, “When a case involves water intrusion, mold, and other building envelope problems, USBCI is like the CSI of the construction industry.” That is quite the boast, wouldn’t you say? The CSI of the construction industry? However, the “Spiderman” is correct. USBCI is one of the best. “Spiderman” Mulholland has been involved in over 4000 investigations. Nothing, and I mean nothing, has stumped him.
For “Spiderman” Mulholland and other inspectors, water intrusion is the Green Goblin; never quite going away, no matter how many times he is defeated. Water intrusion is one of the most common causes of mold issues in buildings. It greatly reduces the performance of your building or home’s lifecycle. Water intrusion is like an illness that affects buildings. Mold and cold spots are just some of the symptoms. Below is a video, courtesy of 1SEOFLORIDA, that highlights water intrusion.
Isn’t the video a little frightening? It is not like a horror movie, but the overall mood effectively demonstrates the frightening effects of water intrusion. Once mold spores set up camp in your home or building, they are tough to remove. Moisture gives them strength. Not only will water intrusion and mold affect the structural integrity of the building, together they are disastrous to your health, especially if you have existing health concerns. For example, if you have allergies or asthma, skin rashes and eye irritation are quite possible. Additionally, mold exposure may cause fevers and fatigue. And these are just some of the problems!
Sometimes an inspector has to scale the sides of buildings to test for water intrusion. Mold spores are crafty villains. If you are Scott Mulholland, you climb enough buildings that people start calling you “Spiderman.” The inspection industry needs more people like “Spiderman” Mulholland, because water intrusion and mold spores are not going away. For more information on “Spiderman” and USBCI, look here. If you are in the Indianapolis or Indiana areas and worried about water intrusion, please give Center Grove Inspections a shout.
Next time you see a person scaling the side of a building, it could be an inspector. You should give them a little wave. He or she is fighting the good fight…
-Jim
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