Over the past few months, owners of newer homes nationwide have been complaining of drywall that smells like rotten eggs. In several cases, they have had to leave their home because the smell was so bad. In addition to the putrid smell, many homeowners have reported problems with air conditioning and other systems that are likely related to the defective Chinese drywall. This is being called the next EIFS like disaster in the real estate market!
Many have spent hundreds and even thousands of dollars - to have air conditioning, pipes and wiring repaired. Usually, drywall is manufactured in the United States, but a shortage between 2001 and 2007 prompted many builders to buy drywall from China.
Most of the reported problems stem from drywall imported from China during the construction boom years of 2002-2006. Florida and the Gulf Coast states have been the first to report and have issue with this drywall showing up but it also showing up in non-coastal areas.
Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. of China, a subsidiary of German-based manufacturer Knauf, is the company at the focus of these drywall problems. If your newer home smells like sulfur or rotten eggs, you may have defective Chinese drywall. The problem is coming from coal ash that was mixed into the gypsum drywall compound. One source of tainted materials appears that China was attempting to get rid of their coal ash problems by mixing it with the drywall compound. When the drywall is exposed to moisture, such as high humidity a chemical reaction starts. The result of this reaction is the production of Hydrogen Sulfide and Sulfuric acid gas. This is the rotten egg smell that is present with the drywall.
The difficulty for inspectors is that walls may have been built with drywall from as many as four sources — so simply pulling one clean sample is no guarantee of safety. Many times the supplies can be tracked where they were used by licensed builders. At this time it is possible although not likely that the builders insurance may pay for the damages.
This drywall is responsible for the destruction of the copper coils in HVAC units in the homes that it has been installed in. The corrosive off gassing is also responsible for damaging many other components in the homes from the copper electrical to the nails and screws that are holding everything together in the home.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said it was investigating complaints about the Chinese-made drywall. All houses affected have shown a common symptom — blackened, scorched wiring behind switch plates, damaged A/C coils and damaged wall plugs — along with homeowner health symptoms, that's allowed research to proceed,
If you think that you might have Chinese Drywall, you should contact a reputable home inspector who is familiar with this problem. As this problem is just starting to rear its ugly head, many are not aware of this problem. If you want to learn more, just do a Google search on Chinese Drywall and you will find pages of information on it. Information can also be found on my website
Fox TV 17 News story on Chinese drywall
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Nice going Scott, ONE more thing for us to think about while we are inspecting houses. I have to admit, I had not heard of this before. Just when I thought I had some free time, now I've got to Google and read up on something new.
Joking aside, I for one appreciate getting a heads up on new stuff.
Thanks