Mold Growth?

[JStructsteel]

What would you call this white stuff on the walls? Some sort of mold? Also, what causes a spall like this, just a bad outer coating?
Its a basement with water issues (standing water on floor). Seems they but a parge coat over the wall, now chipping off. Im thinking its a stone foundation they added a concrete layer over it.
Customer says it about 80 yo house.

 

[ANE91]

I hate that mold is such a 4-letter word in engineering. You can’t go wrong with “organic growth.”

I’m not sure what I’m looking at in the second photo. Delaminated parge? Dunno if I’d call it a spall. Brush it with a coarse-hair brush to expose what’s probably concrete or stone. We have stone foundation walls here, too.

 

[phamENG]

Looks like an extreme case of efflorescence to me.

 

[ANE91]

Looks like an extreme case of efflorescence to me.

Oh, yeah. Duh. Sorry OP; got so caught up with the word mold that I didn’t even look all that closely. @phamENG has the right of it.

 

[jerseyshore]

I hate that mold is such a 4-letter word in engineering. You can’t go wrong with “organic growth.”

This is a good tip. Just like saying wood destroying insects instead of termites. I'm definitely going to use this from now on.

 

[JStructsteel]

Thanks. Are we Building Construction Experts now then, instead of engineers?

 

[phamENG]

Thanks. Are we Building Construction Experts now then, instead of engineers?

To be good at the latter, you need to be the former.

Would I advertise myself as such? No. Because that does get you into a whole different realm of liability and standard of care. But to make effective use of deep knowledge, you need a broad base of knowledge to guide it.