Did most of the Chinese drywall issues get resolved? I know there were a bunch in SW Fl that had it, some remodeled, some demolished.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_Drywall http://www.abc-7.com/category/164256/chinese-drywall http://www.news-press.com/article/20130519/DRYWALL/305190043/Lee-County-Chinese-drywall-homes-list-tops-1-900 Nasty drywall made in China that emits sulfurous gases. It ruins anything made of copper and causes respiratory issues for the occupants
My brother has a mold inspection company and they run into them all the time, and in some upscale homes yopu wouldn't think of.
There are, and will continue to be thousands of cases of this........ The issue is with the chemical reaction of the drywall with heat/humidity that causes a decay in materials and emits a sulfuric type gas that erodes copper (wires, a/c, etc) and causes respiratory issues. The housing boom, combined with the hurricane loss reconstruction boom, caused suppliers to buy vast amounts of drywall made in China. Any homes built or repaired during this time frame MAY have it.....that is a LOT of houses!! Although there were certain builders who have been identified as definitely using suppliers of this drywall, there are thousands of sub-contractors, builders, etc that MAY have used it - either entirely, or in part. Because the drywall is covered, there is very little way to tell IF the house has this drywall issue, other than once the drywall starts to decay and thereafter looking at A/C coils, chemical tests, etc......... Just because any Chinese drywall is stable now, doesn't mean that it can't become a problem later on. Remember, it is the chemical breakdown of the ingredients over time and based upon heat/humidity that causes the issue, so it is not always immediate. Many houses with this drywall have been tested and deemed 'safe', that may eventually begin to decay and have issues later on. So........no, it's not over.....
Doesn't hurt to ask.....but, these are on houses that were built years ago... Some of the national home builders may have records, or certain sub-divisions that they know of. However, many builders don't really know. They hired sub-contractors that did much of the work, and in many instances they don't know what they hung. Add to that, Many builders are out of business, and those that are still in business don't usually admit they have any 'knowledge' of installing Chinese drywall......
According to the Wikipedia article and other sources, the Chinese drywall issue started with shipments of material from China beginning in 2001. Houses built earlier than 2001 are not affected by this unless remodeling was done between 2001 and around 2007. If work was done during that period, it is possible that Chinese drywall was introduced into the home. My home in Jupiter was built in 1996. I may have other issues, but Chinese drywall ain't one of them, fortunately. Something to note -- 100% of all Chinese drywall that was tested was defective. So if you have Chinese drywall in your house from that period, even if you have not had problem so far, you should be taking precautions now as the stuff appears to be a ticking time bomb.
