There’s an interesting article out this morning talking about the use of Chinese drywall in homes across the United States. You can see the full article here at “Insurers Dropping Chinese Drywall Policies.”
According to the article, nearly 500 million pounds of drywall were imported from China between 2004 and 2008. Builders reportedly used the drywall during the market boom given the robust demand for new housing. This is another example of using foreign products for U.S. use without proper guarantees or analysis as to their safe application. In this case, the drywall is reported to contain a number of questionable substances including sulfur compounds, strontium sulfide, and other organic materials. The concern besides reported damage to plumbing and other materials in the home is the potential health effects for occupants.
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC),
“CPSC has received about 1,501 reports from residents in 27 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to the presence of drywall produced in China. State and local authorities have also received similar reports.”
Could There Be Chinese Drywall in My Phoenix-Area Home?
Reportedly, most of the Chinese drywall usage took place in Florida. However, as mentioned above, the CPSC has received complaints across 27 states. Why did Florida take on the lion’s share of Chinese drywall? The CPSC explains that most homebuyers indicate their homes were built in the 2006-7 timeframe when a “an unprecedented increase in new construction occurred in part due to the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.”
Further review of the complaints that the CPSC has received indicate that the number of incidents reported across Arizona are very limited. So, there is likely a very low probability of Chinese drywall being used in homes across the Phoenix area according to geographic analysis of complaints received by the CPSC. However, this may also be an issue that has yet to be fully understood and we could see more identifications of Chinese drywall in some homes across the Valley.
How Do You Determine If Drywall is in My Phoenix-Area Home?
Though some good home inspectors have likely already begun looking for Chinese drywall in homes they inspect, this should become a standard for home inspectors across the Phoenix area. A home buyer should know if the drywall poses a potential hazard or not. Given that drywall often has the manufacturer information on the back of the product, evaluation in the crawlspaces should reveal the nature of the drywall in a home. So, if you are a homebuyer and the home was built during this period (even expand that to 2003 to 2009), then it may be prudent to ask the home inspector to specifically look for information that may answer the question, “Does my Phoenix home have Chinese Drywall?”
If you currently own a home, then climb into the crawlspace of your home where you would be able to see some of the backside of the drywall or wallboard. It should indicate “Made in China.”
According to the CPSC, often times there is a rotten egg smell associated with the drywall. In addition, look for pitting and changes in light fixtures and plumbing material colors as the drywall is known to effect other materials in your home.
The CPSC has a great page that shows pictures of exactly what the drywall is known to do. You can see those pictures here - Chinese Drywall Effects.
As well, here are there tips on what to keep an eye out for:
- “Consumers have reported a “rotten egg” smell within their homes.
- Consumers have reported health concerns such as irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks.
- Consumers have reported blackened and corroded metal components in their homes and the frequent replacement of components in air conditioning units.”
Does a Potential Major Liability Loom for Home Builders?
According to the article, a few insurers have dropped coverage for homes where they know Chinese drywall was used. Some have reportedly denied claims. This leaves recourse against the home builders who purchased and installed the drywall. Though one argument might be that individual communities are separate LLCs or corporate structures than the larger builder companies, the question may be as to whether purchasing is centralized and that purchasing for large quantities of Chinese drywall were done at the behest of a corporate office. This would seemingly expose the entire corporate entity (parent, subsidiarys, and separate affiliated companies) to legal ramifications and lawsuits. One can also imagine that if a national builder used the materials, there will be people analyzing purchasing and shipping records to see where materials were sent and what communities are affected.
This will certainly be an interesting development to watch as this issue builds momentum.
Could Habitat for Humanity Help Here?
Though this gets out of Habitat for Humanity’s mission to build homes for needy people, perhaps Habitat for Humanity could offer a hand here to lend its manpower resources to helping some of these homeowners. Replacing drywall across a home is a huge undertaking, from pulling out the wallboard, to putting in new wallboard, to applying ‘mud,’ to texturing and painting. Cabinets and any fixtures must be taken down to allow for the replacement. Basically, a homeowner has to strip the home back down to studs on the interior and then close it back up again.
Perhaps Habitat for Humanity could take abandoned homes over and revitalize them for new homeowners.
Don’t Worry, Just Be Vigilant
For Phoenix area home buyers, it is important to be vigilant for the use of Chinese drywall but the fact is that the incidence of usage may be very small and relatively unlikely. It’s a great question to pose to a home inspector when they are performing an inspection on a home built in the applicable timeframes.
The good news is that this is something that can be identified rather easily by looking at the back of the wallboard for “Made in China” and any other foreign markings that would suggest it is Chinese drywall. As well, physical signs could exist on fixtures and visible plumbing across the property. So, don’t stress about this being c0mmon here in the area and whether the home you are buying or the home you own has Chinese drywall installed. Just be vigilant and take a few minutes to perform the simple examination if you have concerns.
For more information on voicing your concerns, check out the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Drywall Information Center.
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