Hazardous Imported Chinese Drywall

Imported Chinese Drywall

Recent news about potentially hazardous imported Chinese drywall has many new home owners on edge in parts of the southern United States. Recent articles about the imported Chinese drywall are raising serious concerns about potential health issues.

Several years ago during the housing boom domestic supplies of drywall were putting a serious strain on the construction industry. That combined with increase re-construction after several severe hurricanes left many builders looking for alternative supplies of drywall. The result was more than 500 million pounds of Chinese building products imported into this Country. It’s estimated that more than 100,000 homes may contain the Chinese drywall.

Is Chinese Drywall Present In Your Home?

So how do you know if you have Chinese drywall in your home? The first sign is a rotten egg smell on warm humid days. If you suspect that your home may have the imported Chinese drywall then you might want to get into the attic and look at the back side of the ceiling drywall. You should be able to see the label and look for the manufacturers information. If your drywall says Made in China or Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin (KPT) then it may be the defective drywall. Another sign that your home may have Chinese drywall is if your air conditioning condenser is starting to turn black and corrode. You should also contact your builder and inquire with them if they have any information.

How To Fix The Problem

Right now there doesn’t seem to be any easy ways to fix the defective drywall. For now it seems that the only solution is to remove the bad Chinese drywall and install new drywall. Unfortunately this is a very expensive solution that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Several class action lawsuits are starting to appear and more will likely happen. It’s best to contact your builder and insurance agent if you think your home has the Chinese drywall. If that doesn’t work then consider contacting an environmental testing company that specializes in building material testing.

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