Chinese Drywall - The Great Drywall of China problem

Chinese Drywall - it is all over the news. Like a plague with devastating effects, its mere mention can wipe out home values in affected communities. Homes are determined guilty by relationship forcing homeowners, already struggling with the down real estate market, to deal with sick homes affecting the well being of their families, financially troubled builders and their assurance clubs denying claims. Every person is looking for someone to blame and lawyers are screaming class action.

What exactly is the problem?

News From China

Unlike domestically manufactured drywall, Chinese drywall has been reported to comprise volatile sulfur compounds and fly ash, a coal byproduct. These elements when exposed to moisture, such as high relative humidity, furnish gases which have been reported to cause structural problems in homes as well as serious condition issues.

Along with a strong smell of rotten eggs, gases such as sulfur dioxide have been reported to destroy air conditioners and other appliances, cause the corroding of electrical wiring and copper, and succeed in serious condition problems among the home dwellers.

The condition problems related to Chinese drywall include:

Headaches Sinus Infections Coughing Respiratory Infections strangeness Breathing Nose Bleeds Eye Irritation
Why did this Happen?

The housing boom of 2001 through 2007 created an unprecedented quiz, on construction materials. This boom, along with the reconstruction efforts after the Hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, resulted in shortages of many items including drywall which is a tasteless recipe of constructing interior walls. To fill the demand, records indicate that over 500 million pounds of Chinese drywall and plasterboard were imported into the United States in the middle of 2004 and 2008. In 2006 an estimated 11 million pounds of Chinese drywall came in through Port Canaveral, Florida alone.

What areas have been affected?

So far, problems with Chinese Drywall have generally been reported in the southeast, where humid and moist conditions exist and where much of the new construction of the last few years has taken place. Problems have also been discovered so far in Florida, Louisiana, Virginia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina and California.

What is Next?

This is only the only beginning of the problems we are likely to encounter as a succeed of toxic Chinese Drywall. A federal class activity has already been certified in Louisiana and in Florida residents of many large developments have banded together to file class activity lawsuits against developers, contractors and manufacturers of defective drywall. Litigation over property damage and remediation claims may not be the only impact if scientific studies originate a link in the middle of these reported condition issues and the Chinese drywall gases. Toxic-tort litigation, similar to that of Asbestos and Mesothelioma, could tie our court system up for years.

Chinese Drywall - The Great Drywall of China problem

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