Mold Assessment in Gretna for Raised Pre-War Houses
A survey that goes under the floor as well as into the room, and writes up what it finds for whoever has to act on it, owner or tenant.
Mold Assessment quote in Gretna
Tell us what you can see or smell, roughly where in the house it is, and whether the house is raised or on a slab. Those three things narrow it more than the size of the patch does, because they point at how the water is arriving rather than where it ended up.
Would you rather talk it through? Call (315) 640-3590.
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Gretna's pre-war stock and the air beneath it
Gretna has 8,352 housing units with a median year built of 1966, but 1,378 of them, 16.5 percent, were built in 1939 or earlier, the highest pre-war share in Jefferson Parish and second in this service area only to New Orleans. 73.1 percent of the stock predates 1980 and 51.2 percent of occupied homes are rented.
Source: United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five year estimates, accessed 2026-09-22
This metro carries both foundation types on the same streets. Raised pier and beam construction with an open or vented space underneath dominates the pre-war stock and much of what has been rebuilt since, because federal rule 44 CFR 60.3(c)(2) requires the lowest floor to sit at or above the base flood level. Slab on grade dominates the post-war suburbs, where the American Community Survey puts the median year built at 1972 in Metairie, 1976 in Terrytown and 1978 in Kenner and Chalmette.
Source: Office of the Federal Register, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 44 Section 60.3, accessed 2026-09-22
The Building America Solution Center states that during warm seasons in humid climates the outside air can contain more water vapor than the air within the crawl space, and that rather than helping to dry out a crawl space, the vents can actually encourage condensation in the crawl space by allowing warm, humid air to enter and condense on the floor joists, which are likely to be cooler, especially if the rooms above are air conditioned.
Source: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Building America Solution Center, accessed 2026-09-22
Louisiana R.S. 37:2158(A)(19)(a) makes it a violation for a mold remediation contractor to fail to provide a written report to each person for whom he performs such services for compensation.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors, Contractors Licensing Law and Rules and Regulations, effective August 1, 2022, accessed 2026-09-22
Why a Gretna survey goes under the floor
If the smell in a Gretna house is strongest near the floor, the survey should start underneath it. 1,378 homes here were built in 1939 or earlier, the highest pre-war share in Jefferson Parish, and pre-war stock in this metro is mostly raised on piers over an open or vented space. Federal building science guidance is blunt about that space in a humid climate: in warm seasons the vents let outdoor air in to condense on joists the air conditioning above is keeping cooler. The survey reads the joists, the subfloor and the ground cover, and says whether the room above is the problem or the victim.
What Gretna owners and renters should agree first
Settle who the report is for before booking. Just over half of Gretna's occupied homes are rented, 51.2 percent, so a survey is often read by two parties with different interests, and a dated document with readings and photographs is fairer to both than anyone's recollection. If the work behind it turns into a removal above $7,500, Louisiana requires the remediation contractor to give a written report to each person served, but that duty does not reach a survey you commission yourself or a smaller job, so ask for the survey in writing regardless.
Whether there is access under the house
A hatch, an open side or a crawl space door. If the surveyor cannot get underneath, half the answer in a raised Gretna house stays hidden.
Who commissions it and who receives it
An owner, a tenant or both. Agree who orders the survey and who gets a copy before anyone opens a wall.
Whether the vents are doing what you think
Foundation openings are there for flood pressure and airflow, and in summer they are also where the wet air comes in. The survey notes what each one is admitting.
Can someone get under the house?
Tell us whether there is a hatch or an open side. In a raised Gretna house that decides how complete the survey can be.
What comes after a Gretna survey
Gretna survey questions from renters and owners
I rent in Gretna. Will the landlord accept a survey I ordered?
Nobody can promise how an owner will respond, but a dated written survey with moisture readings and photographs is the kind of evidence that is hard to argue with. Tell the owner you are arranging it, agree access under the house, and share the document when it arrives. The rental guide sets out who usually does what.
Does Gretna's flood map date matter for a survey?
It tells you whether the house was built before any flood elevation rule applied here. Gretna's first flood map took effect on August 14, 1970, the earliest in this service area, and 657 of its 753 repeat-loss properties were built before it. An older, lower house takes water under the floor more readily, which is one more reason the survey goes underneath.
Send the Gretna house, owner or tenant
Say which you are and what you have seen. A person reads it and tells you what the survey would need to cover.