Jennifer and Bill Marrapese wanted to find a modest house in a family-oriented neighborhood, a fixer-upper with which they could do a deep energy retrofit to improve energy conservation. They found their ideal house in South Deerfield last spring, but had no idea how complicated their project would become.

They smelled something musty in the house when they walked in the door but the real estate agent suggested it was old pet urine on the carpet.

“We could tell there was a problem,” Jennifer Marrapese said. “Coming in there was a smell that made us suspect mold.”

Unfortunately they were right: There was mold in the 1977 ranch house they bought last April.

“From the beginning we were planning to have an (Read More at AmherstBulletin.com)