Advanced Mold Diagnostics Inc

In response to Vendor's comments below I have updated my review Scheduling---Our realtor called and booked our Mold inspection, when I called to get a confirmation of the appointment since none was given to my realtor I was informed at this time that if the Seller did not turn off all heating/cooling devices 3 hrs before the appt that they would not be able to perform the inspection/we would have to pay a cancellation fee, a point that was never mentioned to our realtor so they could inform the seller! Punctuality--Craig was scheduled to arrive between 1 and 1:30pm, he called at 1:30 to let us know that he was running late and proceeded to show up at 2pm. Services performed--I was generally satisfied with the services performed, the equipment used was state of the art and very informative. However, I felt misled by our inspector/owner Craig who said it was not worth our money to send samples out for testing because "we all know it's mold," yet when I asked for that to be put in our report after the inspection, he recanted and said since he didn't submit samples for testing he could only call it mold-like growth and that if he had to come out again it would be another $200 plus $95 per sample. Having someone say it 'looks like mold' does not help you in negotiating mold remediation for a home you are under contract Responsiveness--I was thoroughly dismayed with the responsiveness from Craig and this company. Knowing that it was a home inspection (ie you have a 10 business day window) I don't see how someone can say at the END of the inspection that it will take 2-3 weeks to prepare a report since the knowledge you gain will be useless at that point of arbitration of buying a house. I was told via email that even though we did not send out any samples it would still take 2-3 weeks to receive any sort of report because "the report takes a good hour or more to put together." For the cost (almost 2x most inspections) I feel like an hour of time should not take 3 weeks to produce a simple table report compared to other detailed inspection reports that we received within 3 business days (structural engineering analysis/termite/radon/general home inspection). When I pushed the issue/explained we needed something to request repairs by seller, I was then promised by email that we would receive our report in 7-10 business days. After the 10th business day I contacted Craig via email with no response. We finally received our report 3 weeks after the initial inspection and it took an additional email and a phone call to get it since the original email sent had nothing attached to it. The report included Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, ozone and Volatile Organic Compounds, relative humidity etc however in order to be useful for me, I feel that the VOCs should have been analyzed further and broken down by benign sources (fresh paint which in a house on the market is common) or hazardous. I can understand if the technology brought to our house cannot distinguish these compounds, but this should have been fully explained to us what type of knowledge we would gain from the inspection (I honestly had no idea what to expect except a thermographic camera to inspect for water intrusion). I also found the report very difficult to digest (I am a PhD level scientist!) and so having to sift through 25 pages of a report just to find the real information buried in the report is unnecessarily painful. All of our other inspection reports had clearly listed summaries with critical items to be addressed and suggested remediation to fix problems.

I had a home inspection that raised some questions about the exterior stucco of the house we were going to buy. Craig and Nick did a visual stucco inspection of the house. The inspection was very detailed with infrared pictures and explanations throughout the inspection. It was like an episode of Holmes Inspection. Anyway, it ends up the stucco was done all wrong and would have cost a fortune ($40,000) to have fixed and there was moisture getting into the house. Even though the price seems high for an inspection (more thank the home inspection), it was well worth it for the extra details you get. I would definitely use them again if I look at another house that has stucco.

I was pleased with the consultation and would recommend having a consultation and air quality testing done by Advance Mold Diagnostics.

After detecting a strong mildew smell coming from the crawl space under my house, I contacted Advanced Mold Diagnostics. The man who took my call was extremely knowledgeable and able to answer all of my questions in a professional and friendly manner. After talking with him, I scheduled an evaluation. A few days later, after making some corrections of my own toward the problem, the mildew smell started to dissipate so I called Advanced Diagnostics back on the morning of my scheduled evaluation to ask them if I could cancel my evaluation. Despite it being 7am when I called, Frank Richardson answered my call and spent 30 minutes on the phone with me discussing my options, not once pressuring me to perform the evaluation scheduled for that day. Instead, he answered all of my questions and told me if my problem didn't continue to improve, that they would be more than happy to help me. Frank didn't use scare tactics regarding mold to get me to use his company, he just gave me good factual information and let me make my own informed decision. While my problem is much better, I would definitely use Advanced Diagnostics in the future if the need arises.

The technician came out to the house and did a thorough inspection. He was able to tell me what was going on and that it was not symptomatic of a bigger problem. The re-assurance was just what I needed and I learned how to take care of it myself. I was very pleased, not only with the outcome, but the service. The technician was punctual, courteous, took the time to answer questions and was very knowledgable. He didn't push additional products or services on me. The visit was a bit pricey, but I would do it again. I felt I got what I paid for.

It went very well and I am very satisfied.

I bought my house in July, 2007, knowing it was a fixer-upper. After two winters, I became aware of areas which the home inspector missed - or glossed over. Mid-2011, some of those spots began to reveal mold, but I had no idea how bad, or how to proceed with taking care of it. I opened up the Yellow Pages and found the relatively short list of nearby mold inspection/remediation specialists. Before calling, I decided it was time to join Angie?s List to find out which one I should pick. I called several and left messages. Advanced were the first - and ONLY - company to return my call. Craig was very personable and professional on the phone. He asked me pointed questions about the amount and appearance of the mold I had seen, how long I had known about it, and if my family were experiencing health problems which might be related to mold. He quickly decided that my problem was serious, and made an appointment for me, He assured me that his team would be able to assess the situation and decide on an action plan. Frank, the one-man ?team? showed up ON TIME, and went right to work. We walked through the house to the places I knew were being affected. Every step of the way he explained what we were looking at, why it happened - whether negligence of previous owners or poor craftsmanship by shoddy contractors. Frank opened up his box of equipment, and started taking detailed readings of air quality, moisture (leaks and condensation), and temperature (poor insulation). He showed me things I hadn?t even noticed before. After a very THOROUGH top-to-bottom inspection, he laid out a handful of options on how to proceed. He reassured me that, although my situation was serious, it was not grave. He even offered help with finding a contractor to help fix the structural problems that gave my mold the chance to grow in the first place. I DEFINITELY GOT MY MONEY?S WORTH. I will return to Advanced in the future for consultation on my eventual bathroom remodel.

After our basement flooded, mold spread throughout. We called Advanced Mold Diagnostics, and Craig, the owner, came out to our house personally to assess the damage and provide an estimate for remediation. He was extremely knowledgable and took his time pointing out all the locations of various mold colonies. We contracted with Advanced Mold Diagnostics to perform the remediation. It took Craig's crew most of a week to move our belongings to a POD, demolish various moldy shelving units, demolish a bar, bag and trash moldy insulation in our crawlspace, and remove almost all of the drywall in the basement. The work was completed in a timely and thorough manner. We would use Advanced Mold Diagnostics again.

After our basement was flooded, my husband and I began to notice the after effects of the water damage. We were concerned that there could be mold growth in addition to the obvious damage from the flooding. After a great deal of research, we decided to call Advanced Mold Diagnostics. I first spoke to Suzanne G. at Advanced Mold Diagnostics who was informative, professional, prompt and kind. She immediately did an intake of all our pertinent information so we could have testing done at our house for mold. Craig Camel, the owner of Advanced Mold Diagnostics, came to our home with his high-tech equipment and vast knowledge to evaluate our situation. Craig not only utilized the latest technology for mold detection, but walked my husband and I through his entire process to ensure we understood what he was doing and why, and answered all of our questions along the way. Craig did not rush his process or his answers which made us feel even more confident in our decision to hire Advanced Mold Diagnostics. After Craig was finished at our house, he sent all the samples to an independent laboratory for testing. After the independent lab did extensive testing on the samples, we were sent a complete report on the conditions that existed in our home. Craig even went the extra mile to answer additional questions that we had regarding the lab report and promptly compiled a proposal for us to have the mold remediation work done in our house. Craig sent Nick and his crew to our home for the mold remediation work. From the beginning, Nick was a consummate professional. Instead of just starting to move things, he introduced himself to me and my husband and then started to ask us what we wanted to move, keep, throw away, etc.. This was a particularly difficult and intricate job, because there were many items to handle appropriately, from small toys such as Legos to large kitchen cabinets. Nick and his crew did an outstanding job, and were meticulous and tireless in their work ethic. During this entire process, Nick continuously and competently communicated with us regarding his progress and answered all of our questions. Nick showed his leadership skills and excellent communication and customer service skills at every opportunity. Every member of Nick's crew was professional and worked nonstop. Since Advanced Mold Diagnostics had our duct work cleaned and sealed, and there was an air pressure seal in our basement, it was necessary for our heat to be turned off for the duration of the remediation. Craig was kind and thoughtful enough to drop off several heaters at our home to ensure our home was comfortable. Again, he went the extra mile in customer service. During this time, Suzanne G. continued to keep us updated regarding items such as POD storage and dumpster arrival and removal. Craig continued to call us with updates, stop at our house to review the situation and answer questions. All work and communication by Nick and his crew, by Craig and by Suzanne were done with the utmost professionalism, highest ethics and tremendous customer service. I have been in the Service Industry for over 20 years and I can say that Advanced Mold Diagnostics is one of the best companies, if not the best company, that I have ever had the pleasure of working with and hiring. They turned what could have been a very difficult situation into a manageable situation and finished on time and on budget. Advanced Mold Diagnostics provided an invaluable service in a professional, ethical manner with kindness and compassion. We would highly, highly recommend Advanced Mold Diagnostics.

The guy who came out was exceptionally professional and knowledgeable. I thought they were a little bit pricey but he was right on time for his appointment. I will use them again in the future.

Initially we hired Advanced Mold to look at black mold around our windows. We ended up having them test our stucco and ended up having them remove the stucco and clean up the mold in our walls. They were able to get most of the mold from outside. When they did come in inside they put down tarps and built walls out of plastic and all the dust was kept inside the plastic. As for the stucco work I wrote a report on Advanced Building.

We enlisted the services of Advanced Mold Diagnostics to help us with a visible mold problem on our basement walls after a flood in our basement. Craig came out and tested the area and also discovered that there was mold in our crawl space, which was under the floorboards of our breakfast room and family room. His thorough inspection, even going into the crawlspace with a camera to show us what was under there, made me feel confident that AMD was the company to remedy our mold problem. Once we hired them for the job, they did not disappoint. The crew was prompt and attentive and did a thorough job of preparing the area by sealing off the basement in order to prevent possible contamination of other parts of the house. They then did an amazing job of ridding the basement of mold. Our house even smelled fresher once they had finished! I would definitely recommend AMD for mold remediation services. Craig has been in the business for a while and it shows. He and his crew are professional and hard-working and really made the process much easier than it could have been.

The conversation was immensely helpful.

Craig and Frank (the job supervisor) and his crew, came as promised. Before they showed up, a dumpster was delivered to hold all the carpet and drywall. Frank and his crew began by protecting our flooring, after which they removed all the carpeting and cut the drywall about 2 feet above the floor line and removed it. They brought about 5 industrial level dehumidifiers and heavy duty fans to dry the remainder of the basement. This drying process took about 3 days total and Craig or Frank came daily to check the humidity levels and reposition the fans as needed. Once the drying was complete, Frank's crew returned to remove the equipment, and clean up. They did a great job. The basement was dry and ready for "re-construction". Craig and Frank were both very helpful to a couple of "newbies" as we'd never had the problem before. We appreciated their professionalism and the level of care and concern for our home. The job actually came in under budget as Craig worked to try to help us through the process as painlessly as possible, but always with an eye to minimizing the water damage and the likelihood of mold growth. I would recommend Craig and Frank and his team to anyone. We are confident that without his help we could have had some major issues in our home.

Mold Assessment - Craig Camel (the owner of AMD) and Nick used several high-tech instruments as described in other Angie reports to do the mold assessment. Craig was very thorough in his explanations and showed me all the readings he was obtaining. The assessment was done in October 2010 and it took 12 days to receive the report. As expected we found high levels of mold and moisture in our basement and front walls of the foyer; they also showed us how it was growing on personal items in the basement. This process alone cost us $880 which included 3 air samplings. Mold Remediation in Basement - Craig Camel has 25 years of experience in the building sciences and is an expert with indoor air quality, mold and mold remediation. This is definitely their area of expertise and they did a terrific job remediating our basement. First I personally cleaned every container with a Borax solution, cleaned and transferred cardboard boxed items into plastic containers, and disposed of stuff that was not salvageable. Everything was removed and stored in a POD during the remediation; AMD could have done this but we chose to do it ourselves b/c I knew I would be more thorough. AMD then came in and set up an air-lock containment at my basement door, created negative air pressure, and set up massive machines in the basement and first floor to ?scrub and clean? the air. They HEPA vacuumed all surfaces in the basement, cleaned/scrubbed with a EPA registered disinfectant all surfaces, HEPA vacuumed a couple more times and applied anti-microbial coating to all wood where the mold growth could not be removed. This entire process lasted a week. AMD completed this work in March and it cost us another $6600. Stucco Removal and Replacement and Mold Remediation Lastly we contracted with AMD to remediate the mold, mildew and water damage to the front walls of our home, which resulted in a very significant contract. After the stucco was removed from the front of the house, visible inspection of front wall revealed significant deterioration of the exterior OSB boards and studs behind the black tar paper along foyer wall from ceiling to floor; the most significant damage was below the large foyer window down to the floor. Similar damage was found in the front walls of the living room, bedroom and garage. Consequently, the job involved demolishing and rebuilding the 2 story foyer front wall, remediating all remaining front walls of the house and garage, replacing windows including a large 2nd story foyer window and replacing a front door. We purchased the windows and door ourselves from distributors. Specifically all the OSb boards were replaced with half inch exterior grade CDX plywood sheathing. Next a weather resistant barrier (WRB) was attached to the CDX plywood consisting of: 1. Forti-fiber 2-ply black Jumbo Tex (very heavy duty), 2. Forti-fiber yellow Weather Smart wrap, 3. Keen RainScreen (1/4? drainage and ventilation mat) to facilitate drainage and drying The next layer was a zinc galvanized screen or lath to which the stucco cement was directly applied. Then 3 layers of stucco were applied. Again Craig was very thorough. He is a perfectionist and was frequently onsite ensuring his contractors were doing the work correctly. He patiently explained the process and the application of the drainage plain many times to us and township inspectors. Craig?s crew members were polite and they cleaned-up fairly well after themselves every day and at the end of the project. They also did a very good job protecting our hardscaping and landscaping; we didn't lose any bushes and they replaced several EP Henry pavers that were ruined during the process. Craig also addressed punch list issues without hesitation, including the replacement of a couple screens that were ripped during the process (suggest removing all screens from windows before any work is started). Diane and Debbie in the office were also very helpful and courteous. Our only complaint had to do with the window installation. In our situation we needed to install new windows since the seal was compromised in our old windows. With the installation of 7 new windows the existing windowsills and trim all had to be removed; unfortunately, AMD really did not have the expertise and time to complete this finishing work, so we had to find another contractor to do it. Also, we had them reinstall 4 old windows and here the caulking around the inside of these windows was a bit sloppy, so we had the finishing contractor fix this too. This last phase cost us $39,000 and took 8 weeks to complete. Otherwise, we were very happy with the quality of AMD?s work. It?s a great comfort knowing our front wall is solid, water is not getting behind all the layers and into our walls and home, and mold and mildew is no longer growing in our basement and walls; the record rainfall and hurricane of August 2011 is a testament of this fact.

Other reviews praise Craig for his work, and he was excellent, but Dyan was the MVP in my my story. We needed the work done quickly, and she was able to schedule Craig for our estimate, and then schedule to have the work done within a short time after the estimate. Craig was indeed knowledgeable, and not only explained the process for the remediation, but also how to mitigate the risk in the future. He also looked around and gave us advice on other suspicious spots. Our original date had to be postponed because of a snow storm, but Dyan made sure that the specialists came out. She explained the post testing required, and gave us a list of firms that could do the post-testing. Once everything was completed, Dyan gave us a letter we needed saying that the work was completed, before our deadline. The work was done extremely well, but the service provided by the entire company, especially Dyan, was what really made me think AMD deserved an A.

This is my first experience buying a home and I couldn't have been happier with the service provided by AMD. Craig was extremely through and his 25 years of experience was quite obvious. I am a physician, and before knowing that, Craig provided me a very accurate description as to why mold inspection is important and what types of people may require more vigorous testing and remediation (ie <6 month old children, immunocompromised people, etc). Throughout the inspection he provided thoughtful solutions to small issues that were simple enough for me to do myself. I felt no pressure to purchase additional services from him as he carefully described several options to correct problems. As I am sure is the case in most homes, we had some issues to address in the basement. The unfinished area had obvious water staining pretty high up on the concrete. Craig discussed several ways this could be corrected, describing both outside and inside solutions. We ultimately decided that simply adding a humidity monitor and additional dehumidifiers to cover such a large basement space would be an acceptable temporary solution until the time we can properly seal from the outside. The most interesting part of the inspection was in the finished area of the basement. There was a small TV viewing area with really old-looking furniture that, on inspection, had obvious mold growing on it. The funny part is that the other items in the finished area (ping pong and Foosball table) had absolutely no mold on them. The walls were dry and there was no other mold present. It was quite bizarre! We deduced that the owners may have dragged in old furniture from somewhere else to try and spruce up the basement and make it look more "sellable". Pretty dumb move to drag in moldy furniture to enhance a sale, if you ask me. Our solution is to have them bag and remove the affected furniture (even though Craig said that as soon as you move it, that will release the mold spores into the air), then perform sampling to see what we are going to be dealing with. Although we have not yet completed our dealings with Craig's company, I was so pleased with the way he performed that I wanted to make sure and get a posting published. I am confident that we will be able to deal with the basement in a way that will keep our home's potential mold issues controlled for a long time.

It feels great to have my home back after seeing scaffolding set up around my house for two months. I hired this company to fix my stucco that was allowing water to leak into our new home. I couldn't believe Craig was able to rip out some of the wood with his bare hand He told us it would be bad, but we had no idea how bad. The wood sheets were black in some areas and rotted away in others. Two windows were just hanging by a thread there was so much damage. These guys were great, they worked so hard. Craig orchestrated the whole process and made sure the job stayed on track, not that there weren't some hick ups along the way. I became more aware of the weather then I ever had before. They protected my landscaping and patio's outside and my floors inside. They even put up plastic inside so that mold wouldn't get carried throughout the rest of the house. The stucco looks great. We even had the option to change the bands around our windows, which I really didn't like. My husband likes the idea of trim that doesn't require painting or maintenance. I've got my great room that I wanted and everybody's happy. Without a doubt, this is a first class company. What they do isn't easy, but they make it look that way. Craig and Dennis the project manager were great; the crews were always courteous and respectful of my home. We had received prices that were less than what Advanced Mold had given, but my husband and I really felt Craig was the most knowledgeable and we’re happy we selected him.

Craig identified several problems and traces of past problems which were new to me. In particular, he found one "smoking gun," a colony of mold on the bottom of a recently acquired antique dresser, and the presence of moisture in one area which he traced to a roofing issue. Craig came equipped with an impressive array of high-tech sensors, and he performed tests for microbial/fungal colonization (extra cost above the assessment fee). Although we have not yet determined why there's a musty smell in a certain room, Craig's followup was impressive, and he advised me on the logical next step, a mass spectroscopy evaluation which he is certain will identify what the smell is. He also helped me evaluate which air cleaner might be best for my application. Overall I was happy with his service, and I will use him again and recommend him and his firm.

As described above, the company was very honest in that they did not try to convince me of the need for unnecessary testing, nor for any follow-on work. On top of that honesty, the company billed me for a fraction of the projected cost for their review activity, refusing to take the larger amount as they felt "they hadn't really done any work". I was very impressed with the ethical behavior of this company and would definitely engage them in the future for any related home concerns.

The men arrived promptly, were obviously experienced, and rapidly set up very advanced equipment to check air particulates. They had cameras that could check for heat/cold, moisture, etc. They found an outside wall that was saturated with water that the home inspector missed- this was in addition to the mold that was already there. They also found mold in the bedroom flooring. They showed me with flashlights where the moisture was and allowed me to look over their shoulder to see infrared pictures. It was fascinating. Now that I know how extensive the problems are, it will help in my negotiations with the seller. While the cost was a bit expensive, I have no regrets now. I'm not sure what will happen with the transaction but I will definitely ask them to do the mold remediation if it's my choice. I highly recommend them.

My fiance and I had been looking to purchase a home for quite some time. We found a home we liked in the price range we wanted to be. We had a home inspector come out to inspect our dream home. He said that there was mold in the attic and in the basement, which made us quite nervous, as I?m asthmatic. He suggested we get a professional to look at it. We called a couple of companies and decided on Advanced Mold Diagnostics. The owner of the company came out and started by giving us information on mold, telling us it?s not as bad as they say on tv, but could be for me with my asthma. He started in the basement and after looking around he said that it wasn?t anything to worry about. He said it had probably been there fifty years and was something the seller could clean herself. Actually, he pointed out a number of things the home inspector had missed like the stucco. He gave us good ideas on how to finish the basement with mold proof products. When it came to the attic he said it wasn?t mold, but discoloration on two sheets of plywood. He used a special camera that showed it wasn?t wet. Again, he gave us pointers on ventilation and insulation. I kind of wish we had hired him for the home inspection and intend to have him come out and look at the stucco.

I have been trying to reach them for two days; calling them constantly. I’ve been trying to speak with the owner or anyone else in the office that would be able to answer questions, but no one is available. The girl that answers the phone says she doesn’t know anything.

Wow, Craig and Nick were great! I was very concerned that I had mold in my basement. I contacted Advanced Mold Diagnostics on 6/2/11 and spoke with Craig. We scheduled a visit for 6/10/11 to assess the situation. They were on time and professional. Nick, with very sophisticated-looking equipment, made assessments all through my home and then took samples. Yes, there is a problem but Craig explained the situation and and made suggestions. I am in the process of following the suggestions and will contact Advanced again for another visit and more samples after completing the remediation. Again, they were great and I have calmed down!

I would not hesitate to recommend AMD for any mold remediation project. I contacted them and they promptly came to my home, viewed the damage and prepared a written estimate and proposal for the repair. When it came time to do the work, I was able to promptly schedule the repair with them. They arrived on-time and performed the job in the time-frame that was promised. They cleaned up after themselves and left no trace of being there other than the work that was performed. I am very satisfied with the work that was performed and the professionalism of the company.