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hey Tom Watkins- Welcome back. Sorry to hear about your Mother-in-law's illness. Hope she has a speedy recovery. Awhile back there was a discussion on another thread about a 'rendering plant' on a topic you introduced - I think. I had posted that I had heard of one in Canton, GA where I live, and I had committed to let you know when I learned more about it. The site that I was told about is in fact a Pilgrim's Pride poultry rendering plant right on the Georgia Northeastern between exits 14 and 16 on I-575. (If you need specific directions email me) The facility appears to be '60s / '70s modern style and quite tidy. A couple of rr spurs were evident, as was a wierd industrial "loco" not unlike the ones you see in intermodial yards. The facility is quite large, and far larger than most would want to model in HO or even N, unless they really love chicken. . . Inspite of the rumor I heard from the person who told me of its existence, their wasn't any smell present on a warm and humid work weekday. That isn't issue if you're modeling it, but could be if you live downwind of the facility, as I do ! Hope this helps. I'll advise you if I learn of another facility or get any info on what the place looked like years ago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another point to consider if moisture, and esp. mold is evident -- diluted household bleach will kill mold. An inexpensive 'mold detection kit' is available at home centers. (Some molds are very serious health hazards, while others are harmless to humans but will cause long term structural decay to your house's framing.) Wear a respirator !!! And, have a fan going directing fresh air into the basement at one end of the space, and another fan, if possible, at the other end of the space, to exhaust the bleach fumes. Wear eye protection and suitable gloves, a long sleeve shirt, and something on your head unless you've always wanted to be a blond. Spray the diluted bleach w/ a plastic sprayer used more commonly for spraying insecticides and fertilizers, and discard it after completing the job. Wear old clothes and plan on throwing away when done, as they will be all stained by the bleach, and give you that instant hippy look, definitely passe today. Leave the bleach on and allow it to evaporate. The area will smell like a community swimming pool in a bad neighborhood for weeks, but the mold will be gone. I had to do this on another property and it worked like a champ. I repeated the process several years later due to an unusally wet year. (That was in a crawl space, and not a full basement.) Another point worth noting -- there typically is an open, running seam between the basement walls and the poured floor. This is both an expansion seam and one created when the floor was poored after the walls were constructed. Anyone spending a fair amount of time in a basement should consider filling this seam in its entirety. I use a waterproof, flexible construction adhesive such as one of the products offered by Liquid Nails, and just apply it into the crack, after the crack area has been cleaned of loose debris, greese, etc. A high powered shopvac w/ a thin nozzle attachment works great. The construction adhesive will remain flexible over a great range of temperatures, and will tend to collect concrete 'dust' blending in over time You could substitute one of the new polyurethane water proof adhesives that expand when in contact w/ moisture, but I haven't tried them yet in such an application. (Their expansion may exert side pressure on the seamed area and that may cause cracks, although unlikely.) You do want a flexible seal, and perhaps a caulk will work, although they can discolor and often get mildued. Occasionally this crack may be a source of moisture intrusion, but more importantly, a major source of Radon gas infiltrartion, as is any crack in below-grade walls or the floor. Although there is a lot of info re: Radon on the internet, very little has been addressed in the model railroading press, and it should be, since we tend to be bottom dwellers, (not bottom feeders, unless we one is a model railroading attorney). Some locales are very seriously impacted by the presence of Radon - a naturally occurring radioactive substance all over the world. Two things must be done if Radon is present- adequate and constant ventilation - a simple fan and a vented window may suffice, and to seal up any potentilal paths where it can gain entry. An inexpensive test can be performed by an inspection company to determine if Radon is a problem for you. As in mold abatement, Radon abatement can be unnecessarily costly, and there are lots of very eager firms out there ready to dive deep into your pockets, when you can achieve much the same results for pennies on a dollar, if you elect to do it yourself.
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