NC and Chinese Drywall. Last April the first Chinese drywall lawsuit was filed by a family in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Holly Springs is about 30 minutes from Raleigh, North Carolina.
I had thought the Chinese drywall issue was mainly confined to Florida but apparently it is also showing up in many other regions as well.
The Holly Springs family had purchased their home in 2004 and at that time they noticed a sulphur smell but were told it would dissapate with time. Kinda like the formaldahyde smells that used to be so prevalent in carpets, etc. Since that time the family had issues with corroding furnace coils and other metals. Plus they have experienced numerous health issues. For a report on this family's experience and the lawsuit published in April 2009 visit here.
As if the housing bust in itself is not enough, issues of these sorts certainly can devastate a homes value even further and destroy families lives with health issues and unbearable expenses.
Now, almost a year later on April 2, 2010 HUD and CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) have issued guidance on dealing with Chinese drywall.
They recommend that the Chinese drywall should be totally gutted and that electrical wiring, outlets, circuit breakers, fire alarm systems, carbon monoxide alarms, fire sprinklers, gas pipes and drywall need to be removed! For anyone who suspected they had Chinese drywall and when tested it was positive the remedy is herculene! For many folks the price of this cure would probably cost as much as the house did when purchased and in many markets today that price is very skewed. Not to mention the inconvenience and health issues.
37 states have reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission suspected cases of problem drywall. Surely the Class Action Lawsuits will be many.
Indications of Chinese drywall:
* When a piece of drywall is cut out you will see the words MADE IN CHINA (they love us)
* The rotten egg smell of sulphur
* Failure of copper piping in air conditioning units
* Copper piping, coils or wires become blackened and corroded
* Metal fixtures attached to walls made of problem drywall can become pitted and corroded
Hopefully you and your home are not experiencing any of these syptoms, but if you are you may want to contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission or HUD. The sulphur smell seems to be very prevalent in detecting Chinese drywall.
On a lighter note -- if you are looking for listings and information on Hendersonville or Western NC visit Robin's Website.
It's such a shame that so many Chinese products are not manufactured with human concern.
It's like whatever it takes to make it the cheapest, and then we all end up paying the consequences.
I have read about the Chinese drywall. I do not know of any here is southern Calif.
Robin and Sue, we are faced with that problem here in Phoenix with the Chinese drywall. too bad for us.
Robin and Sue: I saw a news article today that just really made me angry. If you remember... during Katrina that Bush had FEMA send down portable house trailers for temporary housing for the flood and hurricane victims. Now it comes out that those trailers had this horrible Chinese drywall in them. Those poor folks had their homes destroyed by Katrina, and then ended up living inside these death-traps with their Chinese drywall. Really, really makes me angry.
Robin and Sue,
The effects of the drywall are really quite striking and need to be replaced.
Karen, I agree with you. It is a shame how our government overlook things at times. I had the chance to visit New Orleans a couple months ago and I was shocked at how the city is after four or so years of the hurricane.
Thanks for sharing this information. Home owners with this problem should take immediate action.
I am almost glad I don't have any new construction to sell...I'd imagine buyers would be difficult to satisify there was NO, Not any chinese dry wall!
We are highly invovled with the Chinese drywall issue. I can tell you that it is likely to be found in every single state in the Country by the time all is said and done. We operate throughout the country and it is popping up in areas other than Florida.
Chinese drywall is highly affected by heat and humidity. As such, the symptoms have manifested themselves more quickly in Florida and the Gulf Coast. That being said, we just tested a home in Florida that had NO symptoms -- no corrosion and no smell. Our Regional President happened to be the individual supervising the inspection and he saw no symptoms as well. With all of his experience, nothing was evident to him.
We ran the samples and the entire home is full of Chinese drywall, with the sole exception of the garage. New information is uncovered daily, but we feel that there are too many variables to be able to rely on the typical symptoms. Commercial buildings, for example, have very efficient HVAC systems that exchange air more frequently. This could slow the rate of symptom presentation (I sound like a doctor or something, but I am not). Gas heat reduces humidity levels. Oversized A/C units can actually increase the average level of humidity. All of these variables could contribute.
The exact opposite is true as well. We were called to a home that had all of the symptoms -- rotten egg type smell, corrosion, etc. It tested negative for Chinese drywall and it turned out that sewer gas was leaking back into the home and causing the problems. Our clients were ready to walk away from their dream home because they assumed it had Chinese drywall. My understanding is that it took just a few hundred dollars to fix the sewer gas issue.
Hi Ralph and thanks for commenting. Yes, they not only own so much of our massive debt but they send us products loaded with dangers, many severe!
Sure would be great to once again start producing our own "stuff".
Sue of Robin and Sue
Bryan -- I'm sorry that you are in one of the areas with this issue. I feel so sorry for the home owners.
Sue of Robin and Sue
Karen I agree that the folks envolved with Katrina suffered enough without being stuck with the possible health effects of Chinese drywall. It is truly frustrating.
Sue of Robin and Sue
Ellen -- From reading some of the articles on this it seems you might have this potentially devastating drywall and not even be aware of it. That it may take years to make it self known.
Roy -- Yes, I agree with Karen as well. Unfortunately many of the homeowners aren't in a position to take care of remediation without assistance from somewhere!
Frank -- I know that if I was aware of the Chinese drywall issue and was purchasing new construction I surely would want something in writing that it had not been used. In existing homes there are probably many owners who don't know if it was used or not.
Michael -- Hopefully you can remain Chines drywall free!
Sue of Robin and Sue
Hi Rob and Sue -- I've heard a little about this, so thanks for spreading the word. It sounds like one's nose is a good test, among other ways to tell.
Hi Joseph -- thanks for providing more professional insight into this troubling Chinese drywall issue. How neat that when testing for the Chinese drywall you can come up with another culprit. A culprit much easier and less costly to remedy. I bet the home owners would love to hug you!!
Chris -- thanks for stopping by and commenting. Keep your nose on alert for potential danger!
Sue of Robin and Sue
Chinese Drywall in the strictest sense refers to drywall imported from China when exposed to high levels of humidity and temperature off-gases a variety of toxic and corrosive sulfuric compounds, most notably hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, carbon disulfide and a host of other toxic volatile organic compounds.
If you have suffered problems related to Chinese Drywall so that Chinese Drywall Advisors provide service for Chinese Drywall Inspection and testing....
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