★ DEKON Project Case Study · September 2026
Residential Mold Assessment — Attic & Crawl Space
Unincorporated San Juan County, New Mexico · Single-Family Residence · Two Limited-Access Zones
Project Overview
A property owner in unincorporated San Juan County, New Mexico suspected mold growth in two of the hardest areas of a house to assess: the attic and the crawl space. Both are unconditioned, both are difficult to enter, and both are places where a visual look-around tells you very little — spore activity can be significant with almost nothing obvious to see, and a stain on a joist can be years dead.
DEKON was engaged on a firm-fixed-price basis to assess both zones properly: physical inspection, spore-trap air sampling, surface sampling, third-party laboratory analysis, and a signed written report the owner could actually act on — or hand to a contractor, an insurer, or a buyer.
The assessment was performed by a DEKON owner-level inspector rather than a technician. Sampling was completed in a single site visit, the laboratory returned results the following day, and the finished report was issued with the full laboratory package bound in as an attachment.
Project Information
Project Type
Mold Assessment — Spore-Trap Air & Surface Sampling
Location
Unincorporated San Juan County, New Mexico · single-family residence
Areas Assessed
Attic and crawl space — both unconditioned, limited-access spaces
Sampling
3 spore-trap air cassettes · 2 surface swab samples · 5 samples total
Analysis
Independent third-party analytical laboratory (Orem, Utah) — next-day turnaround
Deliverable
Signed narrative assessment report with the full laboratory report and chain of custody bound as Attachment A
Commercial Basis
Firm-fixed price — quoted, approved, and held; no change orders
Key Challenges & DEKON’s Solutions
- Attic and crawl space are limited-access, unconditioned spaces — poor visibility, awkward sampling positions
- Visible staining does not establish whether growth is active, dormant, or long dead
- Airborne spore concentrations cannot be judged by eye or by smell
- Owner needed a document defensible to a contractor, insurer, or prospective buyer — not a verbal opinion
- Two physically separate zones with potentially different conditions in a single mobilization
- Cost certainty required up front on a residential budget
- Owner-level inspector on site — the person interpreting the results is the person who saw the conditions
- Spore-trap air cassettes drawn in both zones to quantify what is actually airborne, not just what is visible
- Surface swab sampling to characterize growth on specific substrates and distinguish it from staining
- Analysis by an independent accredited laboratory — DEKON does not analyze its own samples
- Both zones sampled in a single mobilization, holding the fixed price and shortening the timeline
- Signed narrative report with the complete laboratory package and chain of custody bound in as Attachment A
Scope of Work Delivered
- Physical inspection of the attic and crawl space — moisture indicators, substrate condition, accessibility, and suspect growth documented
- Spore-trap air sampling — three calibrated air cassettes capturing airborne spore concentrations in the assessed zones
- Surface sampling — two swab samples taken from suspect substrates to characterize growth directly
- Chain-of-custody documentation from collection through laboratory receipt
- Independent laboratory analysis by a third-party accredited lab, returned the day after sampling
- Signed narrative assessment report interpreting the laboratory data in the context of observed site conditions, with the full lab report and chain of custody bound in as Attachment A
Why This Project Demonstrates DEKON’s Capabilities
Small residential assessments are where corners get cut in this industry. A cheap inspection is a walkthrough and an opinion. What makes an assessment worth paying for is the part that is harder to do: calibrated sampling, independent laboratory analysis, a documented chain of custody, and a signed interpretation that ties the numbers back to what was actually observed on site.
DEKON runs the same documentation standard on a crawl space that it runs on a federal abatement project. The owner here received a report that holds up in front of a contractor, an insurer, or a buyer — because the sampling, the custody trail, and the analysis were handled to the standard those audiences expect.
Learn more about DEKON’s IAQ and mold testing services, or read the indoor air quality study behind our approach.
★ Project Outcome
“Sampled, analyzed, and reported inside 48 hours.”
Independent Lab Analysis·Full Chain of Custody·Fixed Price Held, No Change Orders