Spanish tile can really make a kitchen pop, Italian marble on your floors will make you the envy of your neighbors, but Chinese Drywall just plain stinks!
When I say STINKS, I mean stinks like rotten eggs. The sulfur compounds in drywall imported from China between 2003 and 2006 is causing some real problems in the real estate industry. The sulfur compounds can be very destructive to your home, in addition to smelling bad. Their corrosive nature can tarnish fixtures, corrode A/C units, and increase resistance and corrosion in electrical connections. Some homes have been completely gutted in an effort to solve the problems caused by Chinese drywall.
Best guess is that as many as 36,000 homes in Florida may have Chinese drywall. Most of the Florida homes affected have been in the Sarasota area, with a second concentration around Palm Beach.
If homeowners want to see for themselves if they have Chinese drywall, they can simply climb into the attic area and check the drywall that forms the ceiling over the garage. Those areas won’t be painted over and are rarely covered in insulation, so the markings originally placed on the drywall when it was manufactured will be visible. If the markings on the back of the drywall say “Made in China”, then they’ve got Chinese drywall. Additional indicators of Chinese Drywall require the removal of the electric panel and air-handler covers and should NOT normally be done by homeowners.
So far, there have been no reports of Chinese drywall in Northeast Florida homes by any experienced Certified Master Inspectors, but that has not been much comfort to homebuyers who are inundated with the scary reports in the media.
Your best bet to comfort buyers is to have HomePro Inspections inspect for the likelihood of Chinese drywall in the home. Should a visual assessment lead us to believe that Chinese/Toxic drywall is present in the home, we can conduct further testing if you desire (but fair warning, Chinese drywall testing is VERY expensive and time consuming).
And if you really want to be on top of any problems before they kill your next deal, ensure that your home inspector provides a Chinese Drywall Assessment as a part of the listing inspection!
If you have further questions or comments, just ask; we’re only a phone call away! 904-268-8211
