Chinese Drywall Leaves Florida Homeowners Looking for Someone to Blame

Comments (12)

• Cynthia 01/05/2010 10:34:27 PM

  The first Chinese drywall lawsuit begins this month and here is some good information on this ongoing issue: http://www.chinese-drywall-answers.com/. Among other problems, people living with Chinese drywall have suffered eye, respiratory, and sinus problems that may be linked to the gases emitted from defective Chinese drywall. Some 500 million pounds of Chinese drywall was imported into this country since the late 1990s, impacting about 100,000 homes.

• Chinese Drywall 01/02/2010 8:00:09 PM

  Chinese Drywall

• Cynthia 11/30/2009 9:53:07 PM

  An important Chinese drywall lawsuit deadline is approaching. By Wednesday, December 2, Chinese drywall claimants whose homes were built with wallboard made by Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. must sign on to an omnibus class action lawsuit if they want to take advantage of an agreement that will greatly streamline the litigation process. This is a good place to get information on filing a suit: http://www.yourlawyer.com/articles/read/17221 and includes a toll-free number

• Bk 10/15/2009 5:40:19 AM

  Someone to blame??? The builder who built the home. Let the builder sue their own suppliers and installers. Fort Myers Web Design

• cynthia 08/24/2009 5:22:45 PM

  The problem with the defective Chinese drywall has been making news for months and homeowners are suffering from sulfur fumes that smell like “rotten eggs” and cause air conditioning coils to corrode as well as sinus and respiratory ailments, eye and skin irritation, persistent runny or bloody noses, headaches, and asthma. Some situations have become so severe that residents have had to vacate their homes. In some cases, victims have been harassed by builders into signing unfair, one-side remediation agreements. I found a pretty good blog that has been providing emerging and valuable information on the problems: www.chinese-drywall-answers.com

• cynthia 08/20/2009 6:11:25 AM

  The defective Chinese drywall debacle has been making news for months now, with homeowners plagued by sulfur fumes that smell like “rotten eggs” and cause air conditioning coils to corrode. Residents complain of sinus and respiratory ailments, eye and skin irritation, persistent runny or bloody noses, headaches, and asthma. Some situations were so severe that residents had to vacate their homes. In some cases, victims have been harassed by builders into signing unfair, one-side remediation agreements. The issues surrounding defective Chinese drywall are confusing and worrisome. Here is a good blog that has been providing emerging and valuable information on the problems: www.chinese-drywall-answers.com

• Aaron 08/09/2009 3:15:26 PM

  Here's a great video about how to check your house for bad drywall: http://www.widwi.com/widwi.php?item=101&How+To+Look+For+American+&+Chinese+Drywall+Problems+-+Brincku+Home

• Cynthia 08/06/2009 4:08:45 AM

  The defective Chinese drywall debacle has been making news for months now, with homeowners plagued by sulfur fumes that smell like “rotten eggs” and cause air conditioning coils to corrode. Residents complain of sinus and respiratory ailments, eye and skin irritation, persistent runny or bloody noses, headaches, and asthma. Some situations were so severe that residents had to vacate their homes. In some cases, victims have been harassed by builders into signing unfair, one-side remediation agreements. The issues surrounding defective Chinese drywall are confusing and worrisome. Here is a good blog that has been providing emerging and valuable information on the problems: www.chinese-drywall-answers.com

• chris 05/11/2009 4:58:51 AM

  if everyone hates the chinese why do they always buy their stuff? it doesn't make sense to me... cheap i admit, but usually something not good about it. almost like they are exporting bad stuff on purpose...

• Burton Dale 05/09/2009 1:42:06 AM

  Sulphur dioxide fumes at one time were used in old time refrigerators. That is until people started having breathing problems when the gas leaked out. When you react impure sulfuric acid with lime to make the gypsum (Calcium sulphate) which is what dry wall is made of (the white stuff inside), trouble is not far down that road. If all the acid is not washed out of the gypsum, the hydroscopic white stuff will absorb our South Florida humidity made worse by all that air conditioning. It then will go on a road trip that will stick it to you in the lungs and wallet BIG TIME. Mr. Barton deserves kudos for turning a bright light on this ongoing problem before more people die from this stuff. The only good news I see coming out of the situation is all that mortgage paper is likely held by the Chinese and they are the ones at foreclosure that have a tiger by the tail. The smart people will have moved elsewhere before the medical bills exceed the cost of the house. Some of my friends recently returned from China, and they reported that the Industrial Makeover there has come at great cost to the quality of the environment. A wise bird never craps in it's nest, and the Chinese have centuries of right thinking and right action that will eventually bring things into balance. It is most unfortunate that in copying the methods of the West, they have been so good at it. In the mean time it is wise to hold your breathe when visiting wet wall mortuary and wait for the end of what is going to be a very bumpy ride. We in the West always seek to find someone to blame when something goes wrong and try to make the other party pay damages. All the money in the world will not buy back health when it is gone. Carl Hiaason always writes about the development of South Florida and the resultant horrors. Well folks, the developers are out to make money any way they can, and if you forget the old adage, Let the buyer beware, then you are IT. Remember Hurricaine Andrew and how the houses all blew away because someone looked away and forgot to check how they were built? Thanks to our trustworthy legislators the problem was fixed and wouldn't happen again. OOPS! Sorry, someone thought cheaper drywall was good dinkum. Now where should the blame be placed here? It does seem too many people are buying into the idea that if you have a few bucks and are professional, you turn in all reason and hire aother proessional to do your thinking for you. That is the Boca-belly investment thinking way a la Bernie M. And we all know what the oldest profession in the world is. Thank you Mr. Barton for turning on a bright light before more people step into the crap pile.

• don earle 05/07/2009 10:50:15 AM

  Be sure to file a claim with your homeowners insurance. The drywall may not be shown to be defective per se and the homeowners insurance will have to pay for the repair. Let them sue whomever then.

• Cindy 05/07/2009 1:28:40 AM

  The headline, looking for someone to blame, implies the home buyers should just suck it up, and write it off to "stuff happens." But this didn't just happen. Someone manufactured a damaging product, suppliers bought it by the boat load, and sold it to builders who then used it in their customers' houses. It will take years to sort out who was negligent, who knew it was damaging, etc. But one thing's certain--with rare exception the home owner did not choose, purchase, or use this drywall. It'd be more balanced to say the homeowners are trying to find out who's at fault or who's responsible for damages. Blame implies something totally different in this society, a society that has engaged in plenty of 'blame the victim' mentality. I think it's time we stopped asking rape victims what they were wearing.