Commercial Mold Remediation in Brentwood, TN

The leak came from another suite or the roof. Who sorts that out?

In a multi-tenant building, the mold is often in one space while the water starts somewhere else: a suite upstairs, a rooftop unit, a shared riser or the roof itself. Before any cleanup, the tenant, the landlord and the property manager should agree on where the water came from and who is repairing it, because removing mold without stopping the source only buys time. EPA's commercial guide puts the moisture fix at the front of the plan. Put requests and findings in writing, keep photos with dates and ask for the remediation scope to name the source and the person responsible for fixing it.

Does Brentwood's creek flooding matter for a commercial building?

It can. During the May 2010 flood about 16.6 inches of rain fell on Brentwood over two days. The Little Harpeth River flooded the far west side of the city, and Mill Creek and Owl Creek flooded the far east side; both areas are mostly subdivisions, but buildings near those streams share the same exposure. Williamson County emergency management says flash floods can come with little warning, that standard homeowner's policies do not cover flooding and that coverage is available through the National Flood Insurance Program. Owners can check a property's flood zone on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center. If a building took water and was dried slowly, the lower walls and floor coverings are the first place to look.

What does the city require once walls come out?

Mold removal by itself is not usually permitted work, but rebuilding often is. The City of Brentwood Planning and Codes Department on Maryland Way issues building permits and has an online permitting portal; inspections are requested by phone. Its Codes Enforcement Section handles property maintenance and nuisance codes, and suspected violations go through the city's Citizen Comment Form. For contracts of $25,000 or more, Tennessee requires the company to hold a contractor's license before it bids, with the mold remediation (S-F) classification for this kind of work. Confirm it on TDCI's Verify a License search.

Local note

Brentwood is about 12 miles from Nashville, and many of its commercial buildings run large HVAC systems for long hours. Clean drain pans, clear condensate lines and indoor humidity below 60 percent go a long way toward keeping mold from returning after the job. For health questions, the Williamson County Health Department is in Franklin.