Hi, Me & my mom recently purchased a vacation condo apartment in FL. When we came in with the realtor beforehand to look at it, there was a very heavy stale smell. We figured that since the apartment had been vacant for 6 months, that after we move in, clean it up, and air it out, the smell would go away (the place was in good condition when we bought it, just needed a paint job, and to fix some stuff here and there), but it didn't. The smell was mainly in the kitchen area (which is also near the HVAC closet). We started trying to narrow down the cause. Called the A/C people first, thinking maybe the A/C unit was giving the smell. But it wasn't, although we did find out that the A/C had a broken compressor, which they fixed. Then we called them to clean the vents & ducts, thinking that was the problem. But after they were cleaned, the smell was still there. Next, we thought to check in the kitchen (where it smelled the strongest). We replaced the old garbage disposal, cleaned out everything underneath the kitchen island, fixed the dishwasher (which was giving off a similar smell). Even though the smell became less noticeable, it was still there. Especially when you walk into the apartment, and oddly enough, you can feel it slightly throughout the rest of the apartment. But today (and earlier in the month), when I opened the HVAC closet, I noticed these blacks spots on the pipes, and on the ceiling (pictures are attached). And I'm starting to wonder if that's mold, and if that's what was (and still is) giving off that smell. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, nyc79

We hired a drywall contractor to drywall our 1st floor townhouse recently. We took the walls in the kitchen, dinning room, living room and landing down to studs to repair many problems within the walls. While they were applying drywall around a large picture window, 6 foot by 6 foot, I noticed the horizontal seams were 2-1/4” below the header and even with the sill. I also noticed they were butt joints. I expressed my concern to the lead drywaller, but he insisted it would not be a problem even though we live in a seismic area. I was always under the impression that horizontal and vertical seams around windows and doors should always be well away from the bottom of headers and top of sills. I suspect this was done because they were short material and they did not want to hold up the job waiting for more material to be delivered. So instead of using two pieces of drywall with beveled edges at the seams and routing out the opening. They used four pieces of drywall with butt seams at the header and sill. This drywall contractor was highly recommended. He just returned my call to him regarding my concerns. He said butt seams at the corners of windows were common and he does this al the time in the multi-million dollar homes that he works on. I am curious what others in the trade think about butt seams at the corners of windows. I am very concerned about the seams cracking. Thank you for taking the time to read my post and consider my concerns.