Drywall from China blamed for problems in homes

[DainBramaged]

Source: USA Today

Real estate agent Felix Martinez thought he'd found his dream house when he bought the 3,500-square-foot beauty in Homestead, Fla., two years ago.
Then, he says, his large-screen TV mysteriously failed. Next, the air conditioner went. His bath towels smelled like rotten eggs. Visitors noted an odor in the house. Martinez says he's suffered new sinus problems and sleep apnea. His wife and son sneeze a lot.

The walls in the home, a recently filed class-action lawsuit alleges, were built with the same kind of Chinese-made drywall that tests have shown emit sulfur gases that corrode copper coils and electrical and plumbing components.

Similar problems have been linked to hundreds of Florida homes. Tens of thousands of homes there and in other states could be affected, say lawyers who have filed lawsuits on behalf of Florida homeowners. The discovery has created a firestorm that's engulfed an international building supplier, large and small home builders and dozens of subcontractors. The issue also has revived concerns about quality-control procedures of U.S. companies that use Chinese-made products, following episodes in recent years involving contaminated toothpaste and pet-food ingredients, lead-tainted toys and defective tires imported from China.

A leading U.S. home builder, Lennar, and a Chinese drywall manufacturer, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, say tests show the gases given off by the drywall pose no health hazards. Florida regulators and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission are investigating.

FIND MORE STORIES IN: Washington | California | Virginia | Alabama | China | Louisiana | Homestead | Consumer Product Safety Commission | Hurricanes Katrina | D.C.-based | Wilma | Snyder | Chinese-made | Lennar | Felix Martinez | National Gypsum
Lawyers say far more testing needs to be done.

"If it can put holes in metal coils, how do we know it doesn't cause problems in children or adults?" asks attorney Jeremy Alters of Florida-based law firm Alters Boldt Brown Rash Culmo. Alters says he has clients who developed respiratory ailments "out of the blue" after moving into allegedly affected homes


Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2009-03-16-chinese-drywall-sulfur_N.htm

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No additional comment necessary. It is a very large article, please read on.

[Sultana]

1. Fuck China & fuck the corporations that ship jobs overseas

[VermeerLives]

21. Agree!!

What a freakin' nightmare! After all the other scandals involving products from China.....now you can't even be safe in your own home. Geeez!

[bvar22]

45. And fuck the politicians (Democrats & Republicans)....

....who sold Free Trade and Deregulation to the gullible American People.

"Hey. I've got a good idea!
Lets REMOVE all regulations from Corporations!
What could possibly go wrong?"

[Sultana]

51. Yep, that too

[maxsolomon]

2. See? Green building has real world consequences.

what premium will you put on your health? will you pay an extra 10K, or accept a house that's 500 SF less?

you can't afford not to build green.

[Doctor Cynic]

3. Did China make the drywall by recycling the old White House drywall?

That would explain the nasty smell...

[DainBramaged]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

well done.

[Tempest]

6. It would mean Chavez was right

"The devil came here yesterday," Chavez said, referring to Bush, who addressed the world body during its annual meeting Tuesday. "And it smells of sulfur still today."

[jmowreader]

25. It would, but there's an easier explanation

Some drywall is made from the particulate emissions from coal-fired power plants. If you use just a little, it's not a problem. If the entire sheet is made from it, that's a different story.

[GinaMaria]

4. that is disturbing

:puke:
tests show the gases given off by the drywall pose no health hazards. Florida regulators and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission are investigating.

Don't know much about construction.... does drywall normally give off gases or is this unusual? It sounds horrible.

[DainBramaged]

5. Drywall is neutral, made from gypsum if MADE IN AMERICA

not from coal slurry like they do in China, from high-sulphur coal.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kolesar]

36. I wonder if there is mercury in that drywall

...since it is a by product of the "scrubbers" used to remove sulphur compounds from the stack gasses. Bush relaxed the mercury standards to about 70% removal because that was easily obtainable when scrubbers were already in use. Hence the generating companies would not have to spend the extra money for apparatus to remove mercury.

[CoffeeCat]

7. What's happening to our homes is criminal...

We purchased a home four years ago, and so far we have two major issues.

We discovered that the masonite siding--which was used in millions of homes nationwide--is crumbling and
destroying the house. Friends who live in town have been forced to repair up to $60k in damages. About
30k is the average amount of damage.

You can join a lawsuit, but the most you will get for your troubles is about 2k.

Next, we have our rotting Pella windows. Pella has admitted that their windows were defective, resulting in
wood rot. All of the windows in our home are leaking and rotting. These windows are only ten years old.
I can see black rotting on half of the windows. Pella came out to assess the damage. They've replaced thousands
of windows in many homes.

I was told that we missed the deadline to get new windows by 2 months. Never mind that they have admitted that their
product is defective. Never mind that our windows have been rotting since we moved in four years ago. I didn't
know that they would replace them for free.

So...we've got rotting Masonite siding and rotting windows--and the companies say tough luck.

The companies have taken over and they could care less about consumers. After they're done making money by
selling their defective products--they will destroy your life and never look back.

[amitten]

9. Do you mind if I ask

what state you live in?

[CoffeeCat]

16. I live in Iowa....

...the home of Senator Chuck Grassley-R--who today said that AIG bosses
should either commit suicide or step down. :)

[WriteDown]

18. I've often wondered why any home uses masonite siding...

although its a green product its susceptible to rot, mold, insects, etc due to its lack of chemicals. If your homes frame is still solid, then repairs may not be too bad though.

[jmowreader]

29. Because it's cheap as fuck, that's why

A 16-foot stick of 8" hardboard siding costs the same, or slightly less, than a 12-foot stick of Hardiplank. If you need two or three thousand square feet of it...well, it adds up quick.

There's a real fucknuts of a contractor in Fayettenam that builds $300,000 McMansions with hardboard siding. If that ain't some shit...

[WriteDown]

35. Touche....

I was thinking of the problems and not thinking of the costs. Does not seem like a good place to cut corners though :).

[jmowreader]

37. To you and I it doesn't...

but consider: builders warrant a new home for one year. Hardboard siding will last at least that long.

[rrneck]

8. More than jobs

have gotten outsourced. Culpability has been outsourced as well. China is where we were at the turn of the twentieth century. They will start a Progressive movement with muckrakers and all before it's over.

[Hekate]

17. China has a really different cultural base than we did/do.We are the ones who have regressed 100 yrs

.... not China, so it is truly up to us to reclaim our own Progressive movement and laws as regards worker safety, human rights, and consumer safety. China will work on "saving face" and hinder our efforts at exposure, but the US has to be willing to deploy an army of inspectors at the sources as long as we intend to import goods from nations that don't honor either safety or human rights. Other Western nations are doing better, and kosher food manufacturers are also doing well by strict on-site inspections to ensure quality. Testing after arrival is too little too late.

Hekate

[Deja Q]

32. In ways, both you and rrneck are correct.

[rrneck]

41. You mean

the United States show leadership and compassion? Assume responsibility?

Heh. Point well taken.

[CLANG]

10. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

Can they make anything that doesn't put your life at risk?

[Deja Q]

23. And they might be thinking

"What the fuck is wrong with these people? We made it, they want it, they bought it, they want more, does quality matter? We're making money either way, so let's make more of it and who cares how."

But I digress.

There are free trade apologists (like the numbnuts on zdnet.com) that say how everything we do is intertwined and we all rely on each other and all the other shoveled shit. Then why is China the world's #1 manufacturer of things and why does China not mind about the poor quality? That'll do more to their reputation long term. Maybe they can just retire with their "earnings" and let the rest of the world go back to the way it was...

[christx30]

48. it pisses me off

that china was given favorable trade status on the 10th anniversary of the day when the Red Army went into Tineman square and slaughtered all of those brave students.
So fuck china. Fuck their human rights violations. Fuck the trade deficit. Fuck their saving face or "Do not mettle in the internal affairs our fair country". And fuck anyone that enables them.
Stop trading with them. We as a nation need to stop buying from them. They want to be assholes that sell stuff that poisons us, we can be assholes too.
And we have a 200+ year history of doing just that.

[liberal N proud]

11. Imagine that cheap chinese shit with problems

What the hell can we expect

[Deja Q]

30. To help counter the just due negativitity, he's a positive or two:

The motherboard on my secondary computer, and my laptop, were made in China (though some components were made from Japanese solid state capacitors). Those are indeed well built.

While China does make the bulk of the world's products, not every product is an illicit venture to be sure. (unless there's keylogging microcode embedded in the northbridge somewhere, but I rather doubt it!!!!!) If I bothered to check and confirm, most food products would go back to factory X, and various other manufactured goods came from manufacturer Y and Z.

And I've had bookshelves and TV stands "made in the US" start to bow after 14 months, despite being well within the weight and size restrictions.

Having said all that, whoever profited off of shoddy products has done themselves, the factory, and the country a disservice (isn't China still communist, where everything to an extent is owned by their government?)

[greenkal]

12. Is there any proof it's the drywall?

Or is it just some idiot that doesn't like Chinese people?

[kristopher]

15. They are scapegoating the Chinese.

None of this has been systematically and authoritatively investigated. It is a product (IMO) of a few people with real (as yet undiagnosed problems with defective AC systems) another bunch of people who have buyer's remorse, and some US developers trying to direct people's anger at anyone but the developers.

Lots of accusations and drama, zero solid data.

[cosmicone]

20. Now that the property values are down

and way below what they paid for the property out of greed, they are looking for a deep pocket with ZERO medical evidence. As usual, simpletons here are going for the jugular without thinking.

[tangent90]

19. I love Chinese people but I hate the crap they manufacture and have the nerve to call it "goods"

:shrug:

[pampango]

24. China produces cheap stuff and high quality stuff (like aerospace). We buy the cheap stuff.

Who exactly does that reflect on more? Some Chinese probably wonder why Americans just buy cheap stuff all the time and never touch to quality stuff.

[Deja Q]

27. Well, at least for bird cages,

the cheap ones (sub-$100) are often coated with lead paint and will kill the birds, should the birds peck at the paint - and some WILL because birds will peck and nibble at things. (there are many reports on the Internet; racist baiting flamers can look those up for themselves)

the expensive ones, assuming it was made without the logo imprint being backwards of the hinge that connects pole A to slot B isn't off by 2mm, are worth it...

which reminds me, I need to send in a sample of my $400 cage in and see if it is 100% cast iron, or if there's lead mixed in. Someone on birdboard.com raised a potential alarm...

[tangent90]

34. Yeah, it's way more complicated...I realize that. If I wanted to buy a coffee-making machine

made in the USA, I'd be shit out of luc....er, coffee. I hear ya.

[Deja Q]

26. A valid point.

While I've read stories and had my own bad experiences, you are 100% correct. Not the bullshit trollish line of "doesn't like Chinese people", but the rather worthwhile line "is there any proof it's the drywall".

BTW: Some stereotypes are made because of a continual string of apparent coincidences. As the list of coincidences grows longer, so do the fears and stereotypes. Do you have a solution for that aspect of human nature?

[jmowreader]

39. There is a MASSIVE amount of circumstantial evidence

The manufacturer, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, admits the product offgasses hydrogen sulfide.

If you take the cover plates off the receptacles in a house with this drywall, the wiring inside is corroded black. Same deal with air conditioning coils and refrigerator coils.

[kristopher]

49. That isn't true. There is a lot of rumor, guesswork and confusion

http://www.nbc-2.com/NewsLinks/090129_CTEHtesting.pdf

And here note the comment about Mexico at the end of the first article:

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:fsiFje2-Uv0J:www3.leegov.com/healthdept/EH/Conerns%2520over%2520Chinese%2520Drywall.doc+epa+Knauf+Plasterboard+Tianjin+sulfide&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

[AlphaCentauri]

43. don't know but get used to it

it's coming thats how we defeat the competition

[Bluenorthwest]

13. Last month I was in CA forclosure central

and I heard constand horror stories about brand new houses falling apart. Junk sold for mid six figures. Thieves.

[Deja Q]

22. Ah, the new empire - not a good way to make one. America made its empire with quality.

If the new order is just about quantity, nobody will survive - least of all those currently profiting from such cheating.

[Optical.Catalyst]

28. Ya' git what ya' pay for

We keep buying these cheap products from China, and we keep getting what we are paying for. To top it off, China is not our 'friend'. China is an adversary both economically and militarily. The Chinese would have no problem poisoning us and never give it a second thought.

[Deja Q]

31. Not always true. 3 reasons:

1. Find my birdcage response in this thread.
2. Microsoft. :evilgrin:
3. Apple. :evilfrown:

China has no problem poisoning the world either; it's not about just the US. Every other country, including Russia, has made at least one complaint and recall over Chinese-made goods.

And if the "American" corporations use products and help from China, that's their choice. The corporations are then part of the problem too.

Regulations aren't always bad things for a PRO-LIFE society or, indeed, a CULTURE OF LIFE.

[AndyTiedye]

44. Chinese Robber Barons are Equal-Opportunity Poisoners

That tainted baby formula was killing babies inside China.

And we have at least one peanut baron who is just as bad.

[Gman]

33. No doubt they were all built since 2001

[wackywaggin]

38. It is all about the Attorneys making money

Don't fool yourselves folks, my eyeglasses are worth a million dollars because I can see right through these pile of dog dodo, lawsuits against builders and subcontractors brought by unscrupulous attorneys claiming to be "helping" these poor homeowners when they are really lining their own pockets with wealth off the poor and middle class folks, and "helping" only themselves. Why do you think they are going after subcontractors and the builders who many times have no idea where the materials are manufactured. It is all a game played by the attorneys to make laws that make money for themselves and make themselves look like the good guys.

:smoke:

[DainBramaged]

42. Really, so you think they should sanction the lawyers?

When the Sheetrock says MADE IN CHINA in big blue letters, and it emits sulphur, you think it's because the lawyers are pursuing this?

[Grinchie]

40. Just bought a box of Grip Rite Fas'ners 4d Nails

I'd have beeter luck driving self cut sections of wire. Instead, these defective "Fas'ners" are about as resilient as a length of Copper wire. One blow of the hammer and they fold in half.

I've never seen anything quite like it.

Of course, they are manufactured in Taiwan, and distributed exclusively by a texas corporation.

All these things are good for is filling up shelf space at Home Depot.

[NJCher]

46. what a nightmare, esp. for the people in Florida

I recently had my home office drywalled. It's only about 200 square feet and it cost me around $1400 in supplies and labor. It was a horrid mess and a ton of work, too, as my drywall guy worked on it for around 6 hours a day for about six or seven days.

So after all that, I shudder as I think of a homeowner whose house has gone down in value having to shoulder the burden of replacing all this drywall.

I'm familiar with lawsuits against the building industry and it seems as though homeowners get the short end of the stick--that is, of course, unless they can afford top lawyers and afford to litigate endlessly.

This is indeed a very tough break for the Floridians caught up in this mess. Our government has so let everyone down. It's massive failure, everywhere.

What America has become....sad, very sad.



Cher

[ConcernedCanuk]

47. I remember this sorta discussion 30 years ago, about "Jap Crap"

.
.
.

And the Japanese have taken over many World markets with their high quality merchandise, from Computers to Cars.

I expect the same will be happening with China

They will respond

they will learn

North America will just slide down another notch in the World production scheme of things . .

Watch and learn - Europe and Asia are doing it!

USA is too friggen busy with it's War-Machine to keep it's industrial machine running

That's OK - other nations are more than willing to pick up the slack

GO USA! - Just keep making your wars all over the globe,

while the rest of the World passes you by;

doing things that MATTER!

[Blue_Tires]

50. i never understand why consumers, companies

suppliers, contractors, outsourcers, government, etc. continue to have the short-sighted belief that buying critical items/parts/etc. bottom dollar WON'T come back and haunt you, ending up costing more....

[DainBramaged]

52. Because they have NO honor, scruples, or intelligence.

For all of the times they are caught, their shoddy practices are gotten away with.

[DainBramaged]

53. "(Gypsum) is supposed to be 100 percent calcium sulfate," he said. "Gypsum is supposed to be inert."

Gonzalez said it was costly to repair homes built with the tainted drywall, because the chemical quickly corrodes copper wire and seeps into other materials. Each home must be emptied of all flooring, curtains and fabric and gutted to the studs, he said. The repair requires new wiring, air conditioning and all electronic equipment and appliances, a process taking six to nine months and costing a third of the home's value, he said.


Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. said it was being singled out because it labeled its product, as required by law, while other Chinese producers left boards blank. In a written statement, the company acknowledged problems with some drywall produced in 2006, but said it posed no health risk.

"KPT remains the only plasterboard manufacturer to conduct testing and respond to builders' complaints," the statement said. "KPT is a socially responsible company and abides by the highest standards for manufacturing. The company is committed to assuring the health and safety of the ultimate consumers of its products in the construction industry as it has in the past."

Representatives from Tousa Homes Inc. and British-based Taylor Wimpey PLC, which has a Florida homebuilding subsidiary among the defendants, did not respond immediately to telephone and email messages. Telephone messages left at Florida-based Banner Supply Co. and South Kendall Construction Corp. were also not immediately returned.


http://www.examiner.com/a-1880513~Fla__suit_alleges__rotten_egg__drywall_from_China.html

[Seedersandleechers]

54. I'm guessing

the trash we ship to china gets broken down and made into supplies we buy back. Just a guess though.