Chinese Drywall in the Northwest???!!!!

[hausdok]

Had a client call me tonight wanting to know if I'd seen a report on one of the local radio stations last week about Chinese drywall issues in Washington State. I had not.

He later went on to tell me that he found a list of the states where the stuff has been sold on the CPSC website and Washington State is listed as one of those. He's interested in having me look at the siding and drywall in a new house that was under construction but got foreclosed on. I can do the siding easy but I've never dealt with this sulphur containing Chinese drywall issue so I don't know much about identifying it or test protocols - or if there even are any.

Any brethren from Florida on here that can shed a little light on this for me?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Bill Kibbel]

I've been following this and there isn't any reliable testing (yet) that can be done in the field.

I think this page has some simple but sensible tips:

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/ ... tions.html

[Brandon Whitmore]

Doesn't the back side of the drywall have specific writing on it? I've seen pictures, but can't remember the details. I would think that if the ceiling is not chinese drywall, then the walls would not be?

[Richard Moore]

...He later went on to tell me that he found a list of the states where the stuff has been sold on the CPSC website and Washington State is listed as one of those.

I'm sure you have done this too, but all I can find on the CSPC site is this...

To date, the CPSC has received about 608 reports from residents in 21 States and the District of Columbia who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to the presence of drywall produced in China. (my bold)

Washington is listed as one of those 21 states where reports have come from but, for the life of me, I can't seem to find a confirmed case of local Chinese drywall issues or sales anywhere. You would think by now that there would be something in the local news. Considering that any hypochondriac with a computer could fill out the incident report, I'm not convinced we have a problem here.

[Jim Katen]

Doesn't the back side of the drywall have specific writing on it? I've seen pictures, but can't remember the details. I would think that if the ceiling is not chinese drywall, then the walls would not be?

I think that most of the bad product was marked with Knauf's name. But there have been confirmed contiminated samples of USG drywall that's clearly marked "made in the USA". It seems that USG has some 'splaining to do.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

[Scottpat]

It has also been found in Canada; it has been reported in British Columbia and in Ontario. This information came from a group of folks that have been working working with claimants who have it in their home. The kicker with the stuff found in Canada is that is domestic and not imported!

As Jim said, USG has some issues with it. Georgia Pacific has also been reported and was named in a lawsuit as producing drywall with tainted gypsum as well. The domestic drywall is made from synthetic gypsum, this is a by product from the pollution control systems at coal fired power plants and factories.

[Tom Raymond]

I forget where I saw it (something on TV), but I remember one of the domestic companies recycling used GWB and blending it into their slurry. Post consumer recycling is a dicey business, you never know the quality of the stuff your getting. I wonder if the contamination is in the recycled bits.

I've noticed that most of the USG sheet product available around here comes out of Canada. I guess that I'll have to add this to the list of stuff to watch for.

Tom

[Brandon Whitmore]

I think that most of the bad product was marked with Knauf's name. But there have been confirmed contiminated samples of USG drywall that's clearly marked "made in the USA". It seems that USG has some 'splaining to do.

Crap, that's good to know. I was hired by an older gal a while back to do a home inspection. Her one concern was Chinese drywall--- her son lived in Florida and freaked her out. None of the stuff on the ceiling was Chinese drywall. I checked the wires in a couple of boxes and saw no corrosion. I let her know that I did not believe the stuff was Chinese drywall, but would guarantee nothing.

I didn't promise her that the drywall was not contaminated, just that it didn't appear to be made in China.

[hausdok]

Hi All,

Thanks for your responses so far. I just got off the phone with Bob Drury, Director over at the Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau. He tells me that there hasn't been a single instance of Chinese drywall confirmed here. He said that there was a truck laden with Chinese drywall that was stopped at the border in Blaine and was turned back but that was it.

He says that we are fortunate there in that there are two drywall plants right here in Seattle and a huge USG operation down on the Columbia that ensures that Washington builders don't experience the same kinds of shortages in drywall that were experienced in other parts of the country, so he doubts anyone here would have had to resort to bringing it in from outside the state.

As for the suspected tainted USG products; he says that's inaccurate information. Apparently, USG owns Building Specialties which is a supplier of building supplies from all over. Consequently, USG has been named in the class action but none of their products were made in China. Knauf, a German-owned company with plants in Germany and China is the company that is supposed to have manufactured the stuff that's problematic.

To date, as far as I'm able to glean from the CPSC sites and others, though they can definitively prove a connection between the Chinese drywall and corroding metal products, and irritated eyes and throat in persons exposed to it, they haven't yet been able to prove any long-term negative health affects. Apparently, it's not the sulfur that's the issue - even all US gypsum used in drywall contains sulfur - it's other contaminants in the product combined with high heat and humidity that are causing the odorous off-gassing.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike