Chinese Drywall Concerns

Published by julia | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Market Trends, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

At the top of the U.S. housing boom, building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and well… cheap.

Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and apartment residents who are concerned that the wallboard gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people.

Shipping records indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.

The drywall apparently causes a chemical reaction that gives off a rotten-egg smell, which grows worse with heat and humidity.

Researchers do not know yet what causes the reaction, but possible causes include fumigants sprayed on the drywall and material inside it. The Chinese drywall is also made with a coal byproduct called fly ash that is less refined than the form used by U.S. drywall makers.

Dozens of homeowners in the Southeast have sued builders, suppliers and manufacturers, claiming the very walls around them are emitting smelly sulfur compounds that are poisoning their families and rendering their homes uninhabitable.

Builders have filed their own lawsuits against suppliers and manufacturers, claiming they “unknowingly” used the bad building materials. Companies that produced some of the wallboard said they are looking into the complaints, but downplayed the possibility of health risks.

Most of it came into the country in 2006, following a series of Gulf Coast hurricanes and a domestic shortage brought on by the national housing boom.

Experts and advocates say many homes may have been built with a mixture of Chinese and domestic drywall, potentially raising the number of affected homes to a much higher number.

So far, the problem appears to be concentrated in the Southeast, which grew with new construction during the housing boom and where the damp climate appears to cause the gypsum in the building material to degrade more quickly. In Florida alone, more than 35,000 homes may contain the product.