Chinese Drywall Issues

ITS AN UGLY FACT

Are you concerned about the possibility that your home was built with Chinese Drywall? The Chinese Drywall issue is big, not only for our state but our country.

Homes built as early as 2001 have been found to contain this toxic drywall. The majority of Florida cases, however, are occurring in houses built during 2004-2006 when millions of pounds of defective drywall were imported into the United States after a shortage of U.S.-made drywall was caused by a housing boom and construction surge, especially following the 2005 hurricanes.

An estimated 36,000 homes in Florida are believed to contain the defective drywall. Nationwide, it is believed that as many as 300,000 homes could have been built with the drywall from China.

One consumer group says its investigation finds Chinese drywall in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North and South Carolina, Virginia and Texas.

WHY IS THIS ONLY AN ISSUE WITH DRYWALL FROM CHINA

The Chinese Drywall problems have been linked to the presence of strontium sulfide and elemental sulfur, which could generate hydrogen sulfide, corbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide when exposed to high relative humidity or heat. None of these compounds are found in U.S-made drywall. These gases can produce a strong smell of rotten eggs or burnt matches, corrode electrical wiring and copper throughout the home, and destroy air conditioners, heating coils and other appliances. Serious health problems have also been linked to the toxic drywall, including:

• Respiratory Irritation
• Headaches
• Eye Irritation
• Nose Bleeds
• Coughing
• Difficulty Breathing  

WAYPOINT CAN HELP YOU

Our inspectors can perform two types of inspections to determine if your home was built with drywall from China.

Detection Method: A widely used detection method is material testing. The price for this type of testing starts at $895 (submitting one sample.) Elsewhere you can expect to pay at least $1200-$1800. A Waypoint inspector will inspect the house and remove a sample of drywall from closets or other 'hidden areas', document it with a chain of custody and forward it to a laboratory that we have a partnership with to analyze. It usually takes 7-10 days to complete the laboratory report. While issues are inherent, this type of inspection produces the most accurate results to date.

Documentation Method: The documentation method is widely used and the most commonly accepted method of determining the risk of having Chinese drywall present. This method consists having a Waypoint inspector visibly inspect (and photograph) the exposed metal components in a home to document the extent of their exposure to corrosive vapor. Discoloration and pitting corrosion are the markers identified. This is the most available method.  It takes between 1-2 hours to complete and costs range from $300-$400. This method is subjective as different levels of exposure will cause different levels of discoloration and corrosion. The subjective margin of error increases in homes with low vapor levels or just a few boards of Chinese drywall in the home. 

Combined together the documentation and detection methods will provide the highest degree of accuracy.

CALL US TODAY

If you suspect that you may have Chinese drywall in your home please call us today to schedule an inspection.