Chinese drywall in your SW FL home............. (Bradenton, Fort Myers: house, homebuyer)

[Lee71]

I recently encountered Chinese drywall during a home inspection in Cape Coral. The smell was the first indication that something was wrong. Then of course, the AC coil was black with corrosion. The drywall brand was "PROWALL" (blue lettering). It clearly stated on the back of the drywall, "Made in China". You may not always see this displayed on ceiling sheets because builders learned that this drywall was not holding up well. Therefore, they started using "American" drywall for ceilings and the "bad stuff" on interior walls. Because some homes contain both types of drywall, the smell may not be as noticable. I recommend removing a cover plate from a light swith or outlet and checking the copper wiring behind it. If it is black...there is a good chance you have Chinese drywall somewhere in the home.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

I don't think it is just SW Florida that the Chinese drywall is appearing in. BigHouse had mentioned that his company was approached about using the drywall and he declined due to fire safety issues, etc. His company is in Maryland so I don't think it's just SW Florida but more of a US or possibly worldwide problem. Just a thought...

Yeah, it is definitely not a SWFL issue or a Florida issue, it is everywhere. We were approached because it was a huge cost savings to use it, and the developer even offered to supply it to us for free, if our installers would put it in. We considered it because we want to save our clients money where and when we can. But, we needed more information, where was it coming from, could we get it stocked and have it available so as not to delay the project. Did it meet the STC ratings (sound ratings), and U.L. ratings (fire ratings)? Those systems are tested as assemblies and the components must be installed exactly to those standards or the construction will be determined to be defective, or even worse systemically defective (and extremely costly to fix), plus it would impact life safety issues since many assemblies (walls, ceilings, floors) have assembly ratings. In the event of a fire, if someone were to be injured the result of constructing something defectively would surely be raised in any resulting litigation. So we have always been very careful to confirm every component we use when building a project, and have prepared detailed quality control measures to ensure that everything is built in accordance with the plans and specifications and all applicable code requirements. It is not easy or cheap to do that, but when done well, you can feel good that you delivered a good product to your client, and is should be a good investment.

I am shocked that our government / jurisdictional building inspectors did not discover this right away as well. I know that in MD they check everything in detail related to fire rated assemblies for compliance, maybe that is why the poster did not list MD as one of the places that has a problem. But, I can assure you that it was used in some places there too. One of the consultants that recommended it for our project said he was using it on a different project that he was working on.

[ddduster]

Originally Posted by AmyLiz

This is a really sad situation. It is tragic that so many homes are involved. President Obama is coming to Ft. Myers next week for a town hall meeting. Maybe someone could get word to him about this situation. Perhaps he could help. Also if the Florida legislature could step in to do something that would help. I agree that the houses should be condemned until action is taken and an outcome is known. It sure isn't helping the real estate market there with so much unknown about which houses have the problem. Fear of the unknown is making me think twice about my relocation to sw Florida.

This situation will spread like a wildfire once the rest of the country catches wind of it. Every person with a home built between 2003 and 2006 will be coughing, hacking and suffering from every symptom they read about. We saw it with mold and we'll see it with this bad board too .

The Obama thought is admirable. Unless this problem can be taxed heavily or taken over by the government, I don't believe he'd be interested.

[Helier]

Hello everyone,
I have just made an offer on a home that was in foreclosure located in the northwest section of Cape Coral. The home was built by United Homebuilders Inc. in 2006.
The inspector will be looking at the house in the attic for chinese drywall. I think I also will ask him to pull some electrical outlets and check the wiring. Other than these steps do you folks have any other suggestions?
Thanks for your replies.
Helier

[Compression]

Check the slab carefully.....I remember seeing many, many, MANY slabs that were cracked before the block went up. Pour 'em fast, pour 'em cheap, before the sand had time to settle out between the footings was order of the day back then. Inspectors signed off on most anything, as they were doing dozens of inspections per day. Most of those guys are long gone, and on the unemployment rolls now. I personally wouldnt buy anything built from about '02 to date, unless I watched them build it myself, and knew exactly what I was getting......but that's just me....
They couldnt build 'em fast enough during the boom. In the future, I'm betting many deficiencies will begin coming to light. Drywall likely the tip of the iceberg here.

[nhkev]

I've always enjoyed yachtcare's posts --except this one. lost a little sleep last night. the house I bought was built in 2006. it was closed up for a long time ... no smell I called my dad first thing this morning and had him pull some outlets looking for black copper and checking mirrors for black marks.... no signs whew. I didn't have him check for any markings from china, but in the hopes of calming potential hysteria , is it possible that some of the drywall from china is ok or is it all bad?

[Big House]

Originally Posted by Helier

Hello everyone,
I have just made an offer on a home that was in foreclosure located in the northwest section of Cape Coral. The home was built by United Homebuilders Inc. in 2006.
The inspector will be looking at the house in the attic for chinese drywall. I think I also will ask him to pull some electrical outlets and check the wiring. Other than these steps do you folks have any other suggestions?
Thanks for your replies.
Helier

Keep your fingers crossed! And, hold your breath until the inspector give you the all clear! LOL Sorry for my joke. I hope you are clear!

[SoFLGal]

I was speaking to a Realtor in Sarasota today that has been in many of the homes with the Chinese drywall and he said that you can smell it. He described it as smelling like firecrackers.

[Compression]

Originally Posted by nhkev

I've always enjoyed yachtcare's posts --except this one. lost a little sleep last night.

Sorry bout that kev....I've found a combination of Melatonin and Valerian root will usually put ya right out on a sleepless night after reading my posts

But if this bothered ya, just stay away from some of my posts in the politics&other controversies section of the forum.

[HomeStager]

Originally Posted by nhkev

I've always enjoyed yachtcare's posts --except this one. lost a little sleep last night. the house I bought was built in 2006. it was closed up for a long time ... no smell I called my dad first thing this morning and had him pull some outlets looking for black copper and checking mirrors for black marks.... no signs whew. I didn't have him check for any markings from china, but in the hopes of calming potential hysteria , is it possible that some of the drywall from china is ok or is it all bad?

The outlet test and looking at the evaporater coils on your AC is what a trained inspector would first do. If the copper on your outlets, in a 2006 home was shiny, providing you checked at least 3 in various places of the home, your house is clear.

An inspector is not going to start ripping down drywall in every room looking for names and numbers on the back, if the copper corrosion symptom is not found anywhere. It's the one consistant sympton in every home with the bad drywall. After a year of AC use, so is the replacement of a blackened, corroded evaporator coil.

So far 5 Chinese manufacturers and two U.S. that were stamping their name on blank stock, have been identified. Most of the names have been kept hush for law suits. It's correct that not all drywall manufactured in China is tainted.

As investigations further, two theories are in play for why only some is bad. It's thought that some skipped over the wash process that forces the off gassing of the toxic sulphur compounds in the flyash, before it gets added to the drywall (probably cutting an expensive corner to save costs)

The other is that, some of the coal plants where the flyash is taken from, use an inferior coal.

Your dad did the best test check for it-pulling multiple outlets.

Here is a video example I found on you-tube that shows how black, with a powdery residue the copper turns.


YouTube - Knauf Chinese Drywall Damages Home

Anyone can easily and quickly check for this.
Just remember to turn the breaker off first

If it is discovered, contact your builder first and see what they are willing to do to remedy the problem.

If they went out of business, or offer you nothing, or just an air purification system, join one of the class action suits to help recover losses and expenses, and find a way to move yourselves, appliances and electronics out of the place in the mean time. They will all be toast if you stay there to long. This problem is serious for those dealing with it. Families are being financially and physically devasted as a result. They did nothing wrong. Who knew to look for Chinese Drywall, before it hit the press in late 2008/ early 2009?

People in the industry knew about this junk going back as far as 3 years ago. Why did it take so long to go public?

I would also start contacting elected officials to get on this. I'm reading now that it could be effecting over 100,000 homes in over 25 states where it has been found.

The Law Firm will take care of the further confirmation testing for your home as they will need to have it for evidence and to qualify you as a legitimate plantiff.

Remember, an older home that has been remodeled with new drywall after 2002 is also suspect. It's been found in them too. Only buying homes built before 2002 does not put you in the clear, if it's been recently remodeled.


Some of that junk is still sitting in supliers warehouses waiting to be sold.

It's clear from reading the comments section of news articles in the Sarasota area that some people do not understand the silver being destroyed complaints. Silver tarnishes slowly over time. Silver in a Chinese Drywall home, left out in the open air, blackens rapidly, developing a powdery black residue and the silver becomes pitted. Tarnex does not work on these items, and the pitting damage is permanent.


Last night, I saw Obama speaking to the press about the economic stimulous bill. In it, legislatures called for the use of U.S. only made steal, and another construction material. Obama ixnayed that saying he wanted to honor trade agreements, and buy construction materials for infrustructure rebuilding, from other countries.