Gov. Mark Sanford is trading the mansion for the pool house — and yes, the futon is back.

As work continues to remove hazardous mold from the Governor’s Mansion, Sanford will move into the adjacent pool house and his family may soon follow.

The pool house — which is, of course, located right next to the swimming pool — is no fancy place. Think garage apartment, not mansion guest cabana.

The governor, who plans to move in Friday, might not be alone for long.

The four Sanford children start school at Heathwood Hall Episcopal School on Aug. 19. If the mansion is not reopened for the first family by then, the Sanfords will be reunited in the pool house, Sanford communications director Chris Drummond said.

The firm hired to remove the mold said the family should be back in the mansion Sept. 1.

There is still no estimate of what it will cost to remove the mold from the mansion.

The Sanfords moved out June 21 after three kinds of hazardous mold were found in the air-conditioning system and the air itself. The Sanfords moved back to their Sullivan’s Island home.

That state could have rented property for him to stay in the interim. When the mansion was undergoing a $5.6 million renovation in the late 1990s, then-Gov. Jim Hodges and his family lived in a home in Shandon that the state rented for $5,500 a month.

But Sanford chose the pool house for temporary quarters.

There are essentially two rooms, plus separate his-and-hers bathrooms. The main room, about 20-feet by 100 feet, has yellow brick walls and a stone floor.

A small galley kitchen is off to the right. There is no dishwasher or stove. Unplugged in one corner is a propane grill that looks — and smells — greasy. In another corner are two large bags of dog food. There’s a folded pingpong table squeezed in there, too.

There is also a foosball table in the main room. Behind it and to the right is a small exercise area with weight bench (set to 95 pounds).

A computer system has been set up on a wicker table in one corner.

In the far back left corner is a set of bunk beds. Another set is being moved in, Drummond said. The four boys will use the bunks.

On the floor next to them is Sanford’s futon mattress — not the frame, just the mattress, covered in a blue sheet. It is the same mattress Sanford slept on in his office during his six years as a congressman in Washington.

What’s not there — yet — is a place for first lady Jenny Sanford to sleep, except for some yellow-cushioned chaises.

“We’re getting her a bed,” Drummond said.

Reach Gould Sheinin at (803) 771-8658 or asheinin@thestate.com.