After reading a post about Chinese Drywall; I learned that some of us had questions concerning what Chinese Drywall was and what is the big deal about it. I work as part of the Development Team of a Municipality and deal daily with developers, building permits, and inspections. Chinese Drywall is something we have discussed. But have not found in our municipality.
So I decided to read up on it to get all the info and to see if what I knew was really a fact or just chatter. As I promised some, I am reporting back to the members of this site and any homeowners wishing to read on this issue.
We all know what sheet rock is...it is Drywall. Drywall is made of a layer of gypsum-based plaster and is pressed between two thick sheets of paper and dried in an oven or kiln. It is what you apply paint to on the walls of your homes....I know, but I want to be very specific...
Remember when all those hurricanes that hit Florida back in the early 2000's? Well that caused a shortage of drywall for US builders....AND this happened during the construction boom that started in 2004.
I can remember construction project managers coming to the office with horror stories of having to wait up to 8 or more months for a delivery of enough sheet rock to "rock" a house. And sometimes not even being able to place an order anywhere.
Which is where the idea was started (I guess) to import what we needed. It is estimated that more than 550 million pounds of drywall was shipped and sold to US companies.
I heard in the national news that some homeowners started reporting many problems immediately of a stench of rotten eggs in their new homes
According to Wikipedia, "The Florida Department of Health advised homeowners worried about tainted drywall to check copper tubing coils located in air conditioning and refrigeration units for signs of corrosion caused by Hydrogen Sulfide, as these are usually the first signs of the issue."
Copper corrosion leaves a blue-green or dark red color and this is the normal stuff, but corrosion due to Hydrogen sulfide exposure leaves a black ash-like corrosion.
Further more, and according to Wikipedia, "Homeowners who have verified that their home contains contaminated Chinese drywall are advised to replace any suspect drywall, as well as any potentially damaged copper electrical wiring, fire alarm systems, copper piping, and gas piping."
Now at first I did not know that you had to replace all the stuff mentioned above until I talked to one of my inspector friends. But I did know from the National News that this drywall was causing health issues.
From the national news I knew that it caused problems like eye irritation, sore throat, and cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, and nausea. However, I didn't know that long term exposure, over a period of weeks, caused chronic fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, dizziness, irritability, headaches, and memory loss. (more Wikipedia Info)
There is a ton of more info on line and I suggest you get informed by visiting these sites by going Google and typing in "Chinese Drywall". The States most affected were Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.
So that is it folks! I hope we all learned something new today.
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