CHINESE DRYWALL: Is it all that bad?

Many of AJAX's clients are concerned that their home… or more importantly, a home they are considering purchasing might have Chinese Drywall.  This is a concern, of course because federal investigators have reported that imported Chinese drywall has higher levels of some harmful chemicals than domestic versions.  While the Consumer Product Safety Commission isn’t aware of any definitive tests to determine if a home has the drywall, there are still some steps to take and common telltale signs to watch out for before tearing apart your walls, according to the commission and other experts.

We at AJAX Home Inspections feel that this is especially important to know if you are listing your property for sale, or about to buy a new property.  Please consider:

1. Contacting your home’s builder.  They may be able to answer the question immediately
The SMELL is what clues most people into the fact that there might be a problem. When you are looking for signs of the problem drywall, including a sulfuric (think rotten egg) smell in the home and corrosion (a blackening) of metal items like bathroom fixtures, electric socket copper wires, air-conditioner copper coils and copper pipes.

2. Recognizing what you’re looking for

On its Web site, the Product Safety Commission has images of what such corrosion looks like as well as a Q&A on the subject within its broader drywall information center.

3. Family health

You would definitely want to check for Chinese Drywall if someone in your family has experienced health problems like itchiness, breathing difficulty and headaches.  The drywall chemicals have also been known to cause some systems to fail in the home like heating and cooling systems, refrigerators, dishwashers, televisions, microwaves and other appliances.

The general belief is that Chinese drywall releases chemicals that corrode wiring.  There also are other unscientific tests.  If your home has central air-conditioning, Danny Lipford, a television home improvement expert, recommends hanging a piece of silver jewelry or a silver utensil on a string in front of the return air filter and watching it over a few days to see if it corrodes.  It’s a trick he learned about at a recent industry event.

According to Mr. Lipford, most of the Chinese drywall tends to be in homes that were built or remodeled in recent years by larger contractors and builders.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it had received nearly 2,000 reports from residents in 30 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, most of whom said their homes were built in 2006 and 2007.

If you suspect your home has Chinese drywall, Mr. Lipford suggests going into your attic and raking back insulation to see if you can find a Made-in-China stamp or the name of a manufacturer (although not all Chinese drywall has such markings).  You may also want to hire a building contractor to confirm the presence of the drywall, consult with a lawyer about your options and contact your home builder.

The American government is working to develop more scientific tests developed for discovering Chinese drywall from its American counterparts.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission has additional information released in August of 2010.