Caprock Mold ProsThe part most mold companies leave to somebody else
Mold damage repair and reconstruction in Lubbock is what happens after the plastic comes down. Remediation is subtraction. Somebody has to put the room back, and doing that with the same company that did the removal is the difference between a finished project and a coordination problem you get to manage yourself.
Here is the situation we hear about constantly. A homeowner hires a remediation company. The company does good removal work, passes clearance, hands over a certificate, and leaves. Now there is a bathroom with no wall, studs showing, and a homeowner calling drywall contractors who cannot get there for three weeks and who did not see any of the original scope.
We rebuild what we removed. One contract, one crew sequence, one phone number when something is not right.
What we rebuild
Drywall and texture
Hang, tape, float, and texture to match what is already on the wall. Texture matching is a real skill and a bad match reads as a patch forever.
Paint
Prime and paint. On a wall repair we generally paint corner to corner rather than spot painting, because a patch always shows in the right light.
Trim and baseboard
Base, casing, crown, and shoe. On older homes we match the profile or have it milled if the original is no longer stocked.
Flooring
Tile, luxury vinyl plank, laminate, carpet, and hardwood repair or replacement, including subfloor when it had to come out.
Cabinets and countertops
Base cabinet replacement after a sink or dishwasher leak, toe kick repair, and countertop reset or replacement.
Tile and shower rebuilds
Backer board, waterproofing membrane, tile, grout, and a new pan when the old one failed.
Insulation
Wall cavity batts and attic insulation blown back to the depth the house should have for this climate zone.
Ceilings
Drywall ceilings, texture matching, and popcorn ceiling repair or removal after a roof or condensate leak.
Doors and hardware
Interior doors, jambs, and casing that swelled and no longer close after a water event.
The order matters
Reconstruction cannot start early, and pushing it early is how people end up doing the job twice.
1. Clearance first, on regulated jobs
On a Texas project where contamination affected 25 contiguous square feet or more, an independent licensed assessor tests before containment comes down. Nothing gets closed up until it passes. Building a wall over a space that has not been cleared is how a project turns into a lawsuit.
2. Documented dryness second
Framing and subfloor get metered and have to reach target moisture content. Closing a wall over damp studs traps moisture behind a vapor-retarding paint film and gives mold the exact conditions it wants. We log the readings.
3. Then the source repair is verified
The plumbing repair, the roof repair, the condensate line, the ventilation correction. We confirm it is actually done before we cover it.
4. Rough-in
Any plumbing or electrical that was disturbed gets reinstalled and inspected where a permit applies.
5. Finish work
Insulation, drywall, texture, paint, flooring, trim, fixtures. In that order, for the same reasons any remodel runs in that order.
Matching what is already there
The measure of a good repair is that you cannot find it. That is harder than it sounds and it is where a lot of restoration work falls down.
Texture. Lubbock homes run heavily to knockdown and orange peel, with older houses carrying hand-textured patterns that were applied by a person with a trowel decades ago. Matching those takes practice and a sample board, not a can of spray texture from the hardware store.
Paint. If you have the original paint, we use it. If not, we scan a sample. Even then, paint fades on the wall over years, which is why we prefer to paint wall to wall or corner to corner rather than blend into a ten-year-old finish.
Flooring. Discontinued tile and vinyl is a constant problem. Options are pulling material from a closet or pantry to patch the visible area and using new material where it will not be seen, or replacing the run to a natural break like a doorway.
Trim. Older homes near Texas Tech often have profiles nobody stocks. We match with a custom knife when it is worth it, or replace the full run in the room.
Reconstruction and your insurance claim
When a covered water loss caused the mold, reconstruction is generally part of the claim, subject to your policy's mold sublimit if the mold portion is capped.
A few things worth understanding. Adjusters usually write estimates using standardized line-item pricing software, and our scopes are written to line up with that format so the two documents can be compared item by item. Disagreements are common and normal, and they are usually about scope rather than price, meaning how far the drywall cut needs to extend or whether the whole floor gets replaced instead of a section.
You are generally entitled to repairs of like kind and quality, which does not mean an upgrade, and it does not mean a lesser finish either. If you want to upgrade something while the wall is already open, that is often the cheapest time to do it, and we will write it as a separate homeowner-paid line so the claim stays clean.
Related: water damage cleanup and drying, black mold removal, commercial mold remediation.
What we will not do
- Close a wall that is still wet. No exceptions, no matter the schedule pressure.
- Rebuild before clearance on a regulated job. The state's process exists for a reason and skipping it puts you at risk, not us.
- Encapsulate over active growth. Painting over mold is not remediation, it is a delay with a cost.
- Skip the source repair. If the leak has not been fixed, we are not rebuilding over it. We would just be back.
- Guess at the scope. Everything gets metered and written down before demolition and before rebuild.
Building it back so it does not happen twice
Reconstruction after mold removal is where a lot of homeowners lose the value of the remediation they just paid for. If the cavity gets closed up with the same materials, the same details and the same missing waterproofing that failed the first time, you have bought yourself a repeat in three years.
Bathrooms
Tile goes back on cement board or over a proper waterproofing membrane, never on drywall. The tub-to-wall and tub-to-floor joints get flexible sealant, not grout, because those are movement joints and grout cracks in them every single time. Exhaust fans get sized to the room and ducted through the roof or a gable wall to the outside. If your old fan vented into the attic, that gets corrected as part of the rebuild.
Walls on a slab
Where a slab leak soaked the bottom of the wall, the bottom plate gets checked before anything closes. If it is compromised it gets replaced. Insulation goes back in dry and at full depth rather than compressed around wiring. On exterior walls that had condensation problems, we look at whether the assembly needs to change, not just get replaced in kind.
Attics
Insulation back at proper depth, baffles at the eaves so it cannot choke the soffit intake again, ceiling penetrations air-sealed, and the attic hatch weatherstripped. Ventilation gets corrected before insulation goes back, because once the insulation is in, nobody wants to move it.
Matching what is already there
On an older Lubbock home, matching is half the job. Texture is the usual sticking point. A lot of homes here have a specific hand-applied texture, and a patch that is technically fine but visibly different is a patch you will look at every day. We feather and match texture across the full plane rather than stopping at the cut line, and where a wall cannot be matched convincingly we will tell you that repainting corner to corner is the better outcome.
Flooring is the other one. Discontinued tile, hardwood that has aged, and carpet dye lots that no longer exist all force a decision. Sometimes the answer is pulling material from a closet to patch the visible area and putting new material where nobody looks. We will lay the options out with prices rather than making that call for you.
Documentation for your insurance
You get a written scope with line items, photos of the affected areas before and after, moisture logs from the drying phase, and on regulated projects the clearance documentation from the independent assessor. That package is what an adjuster needs. If your claim is being handled, tell us at the start so we can format the scope the way the carrier expects rather than rewriting it later.
One thing to be clear about: we are contractors, not public adjusters, and we do not negotiate claims on your behalf. What we do is give you accurate, complete documentation so the conversation with your carrier is about facts.
Related: black mold removal, water damage cleanup and drying, mold inspection and testing.
Common Questions About Mold Damage Repair and Reconstruction
Do you do the removal and the rebuild, or just one?
Both. That is the point. Removal, drying, and full reconstruction under one contract, so nobody is pointing fingers about who was responsible for what. If you already had another company do the remediation, we can still handle the rebuild, but we will want to see the clearance documentation and take our own moisture readings first.
How long does the rebuild take?
A single-wall drywall, texture, and paint repair is typically two to four days including cure and dry time. A bathroom with tile is one to two weeks. A kitchen with cabinets is longer and depends on cabinet lead times. We give you a schedule with the estimate.
Can you match my texture?
Usually yes. Knockdown and orange peel we match routinely. Hand-troweled patterns from older homes take a sample board and a couple of attempts, and we do that before touching your wall. If a match genuinely is not achievable, we will tell you before we start and talk through options like retexturing the full wall or room.
Will you work directly with my insurance company?
We provide the documentation your adjuster needs and we will get on a call with them to discuss scope. We are not a public adjuster and we cannot negotiate your claim on your behalf. The claim is between you and your carrier.
Can I upgrade the finishes while the wall is open?
Yes, and it is usually the cheapest time to do it, since demolition and access are already paid for. We write upgrades as separate line items so your insurance scope stays clean and you can see exactly what the difference costs.
Do you pull permits?
When the work requires it, yes. Most drywall, paint, and flooring repair does not require a permit. Structural work, and electrical or plumbing changes beyond direct replacement, generally do. We handle the permitting on work that needs it.