Chinese Drywall now reported in 38 states

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by smilek

I have seen Chinese Drywall in a home with an ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) stamp. Has anyone else seen this? There were no signs of damage or out-gassing. This was my first time seeing this ASTM stamp. The whole house had this rock. I used a borescope to look inside the walls and sure enough I saw the ASTM stamping. I suggested to my client that even though there are no typical signs of toxic drywall that they should send out a sample for testing just to be sure. They declined. On the other hand, rock that didn't have this stamping (ASTM) had all the signs of typical Chinese Drywall.

What method did you use to determine there was no damage?

In regards to ASTM the stamp, it was most likely bogus.

[Joe Funderburk, CMI]

Originally Posted by mbazzo

By the way, when did you change your name to Karen?

A Freudian slip, perhaps?

[Jeffery L. Haynes]

Originally Posted by mbazzo

Obama gives money away for every other cause under the sun, why not help all the poor people suffering the ill effects of chinese drywall as well

Universal health care is his plan.....

[Karen Scott]

A couple of things related to your comments above:

To Morgan's comment - you are correct if the buyer is looking at a house with Chinese drywall then they need to be advised that there is currently no accepted remediation protocol although there are private enterprises working on it. There are people actively looking for these properties now and plan to sit on them.

The advice I mentioned has been given by inspectors to people actually living in houses and that could be a liability issue down the road if a reasonable fix is found and the homeowner has already moved out.

Also, when someone has gone to the time and trouble to find a house and are now at the point of inspections, they are likely to be very upset if they hear it is problematic. The seller will be also. You really need to know what you are looking for, especially in the houses that only have a couple of sheets of drywall that are bad.

To Gary’s comment – we are starting to see remediation. However, since we still do not know what is causing the off gassing, smart companies are doing what we call the “belt and suspenders” method of trying to cover for not only continued off gassing by particulate dust but also the possibility of bacterial presence. As you can imagine, this can get quite costly. Hopefully once the scientists make a “break through” and we have a better idea of what is causing the off gassing, remediation costs will come down as you will be able to treat or remediate more specifically.

Also, just because a sheet of drywall has elevated levels of strontium and sulfur does not mean it is off gassing. So even if you detect it in a house through the use of an XRF gun, that simply means it has strontium and sulfur. The best means of detecting the presence of corrosive drywall remains visual based on the impact to the mechanical and electrical components in the house. Smell is not always present either.

Joseph’s comment about FEMA – yes, FEMA has stated back to the State of Florida that they do not see this as an emergency based on a natural occurrence (hurricane, etc.). However some homeowners disagree with this position and I am sure there will be additional discussion.

Steven – on the ASTM comment, there are over 35 different brands of drywall mentioned through the Multi District Litigation courts and some of the markings are extremely creative. A couple of them do say ASTM. I believe one even says ASTM approved on the edge tape. My business partner knows a lot about this due to his work and I will ask him about it.

Joe – I liked your comment about “Karen Scott” said. Never worked with my kids either. Since I am new to the forum I was hesitant to post my information because I was not sure what policy was. I have subsequently noticed that you all do.

So here is a little about me – I am a commercial construction and development consultant with over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate marketing, management, operations and construction.

Karen M. Scott, CDP, SCMD
www.AssetAdvisorsandManagers.com

[Michael Bazzo, CMI]

Originally Posted by jfunderburk

A Freudian slip, perhaps?

Joe claimed this was his thread when in fact Karen Scott started it. So the answer to you question would be no Freudian slip committed on my part.

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by jhaynes

Universal health care is his plan.....

No... Boiling RWNJ's in their own bull****, now that is something I can get my mind around.

[Ben J. Gromicko]

NACHI.TV is scheduled to release some online video training next week.

A very comprehensive training video - identification using the best-developed visual inspection techniques.
"Inspecting Chinese Drywall" coming soon...

http://www.bengromicko.com/chinese-d...-rose-phd.aspx

[Steven A. Milek]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

What method did you use to determine there was no damage?

In regards to ASTM the stamp, it was most likely bogus.

I pulled one outlet cover from each of the rooms to look at the wiring. Looked inside the AC Air Handler and went into the attic sweeping the insulation aside in various locations. All copper was clean. No distortion in the vanity mirrors or a bad odor. Thanks.

[Steven A. Milek]

Originally Posted by Karen Scott

A couple of things related to your comments above:

To Morgan's comment - you are correct if the buyer is looking at a house with Chinese drywall then they need to be advised that there is currently no accepted remediation protocol although there are private enterprises working on it. There are people actively looking for these properties now and plan to sit on them.

The advice I mentioned has been given by inspectors to people actually living in houses and that could be a liability issue down the road if a reasonable fix is found and the homeowner has already moved out.

Also, when someone has gone to the time and trouble to find a house and are now at the point of inspections, they are likely to be very upset if they hear it is problematic. The seller will be also. You really need to know what you are looking for, especially in the houses that only have a couple of sheets of drywall that are bad.

To Gary’s comment – we are starting to see remediation. However, since we still do not know what is causing the off gassing, smart companies are doing what we call the “belt and suspenders” method of trying to cover for not only continued off gassing by particulate dust but also the possibility of bacterial presence. As you can imagine, this can get quite costly. Hopefully once the scientists make a “break through” and we have a better idea of what is causing the off gassing, remediation costs will come down as you will be able to treat or remediate more specifically.

Also, just because a sheet of drywall has elevated levels of strontium and sulfur does not mean it is off gassing. So even if you detect it in a house through the use of an XRF gun, that simply means it has strontium and sulfur. The best means of detecting the presence of corrosive drywall remains visual based on the impact to the mechanical and electrical components in the house. Smell is not always present either.

Joseph’s comment about FEMA – yes, FEMA has stated back to the State of Florida that they do not see this as an emergency based on a natural occurrence (hurricane, etc.). However some homeowners disagree with this position and I am sure there will be additional discussion.

Steven – on the ASTM comment, there are over 35 different brands of drywall mentioned through the Multi District Litigation courts and some of the markings are extremely creative. A couple of them do say ASTM. I believe one even says ASTM approved on the edge tape. My business partner knows a lot about this due to his work and I will ask him about it.

Joe – I liked your comment about “Karen Scott” said. Never worked with my kids either. Since I am new to the forum I was hesitant to post my information because I was not sure what policy was. I have subsequently noticed that you all do.

So here is a little about me – I am a commercial construction and development consultant with over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate marketing, management, operations and construction.

Karen M. Scott, CDP, SCMD
www.AssetAdvisorsandManagers.com

Thanks Karen. Steve

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by smilek

I pulled one outlet cover from each of the rooms to look at the wiring. Looked inside the AC Air Handler and went into the attic sweeping the insulation aside in various locations. All copper was clean. No distortion in the vanity mirrors or a bad odor. Thanks.

Yeah, that is it, right now if in Florida it is best to use the state protocols.

[Karen Scott]

Steve - in regards to the ASTM labels, I checked with Howard Ehrsam with Chinese Drywall Screening, LLC and he said that the ASTM label is quite common amongst the various Chinese manufacturers’ labels. We discussed that they probably thought it added credibility to their product (so that begs the question on why they thought they needed credibility....)

Howard has been asked to join a committee that is actually looking into creating an ASTM standard for drywall composition now. Up to now building officials in Florida typically only looked at the “drywall screw” pattern or checked to make sure it was 5/8” if it was going into a rated wall assembly. Even if the drywall was doubtful looking in terms of color or friability, they would not have been able to reject it based on “Chinese” labeling.

Karen Scott

[Gary Madsen]

I have seen photos (from a boroscope) of drywall with both a made in china and an ASTM stamp. Just checked the photo it says ..."to ASTM Standard C36" and below that "Made in China".
My understanding is that Chinese Drywall broke no law, code or standard at the time it was imported, so it could have passed the ASTM.

[Gary Madsen]

Originally Posted by Karen Scott

A couple of things related to your comments above:

To Morgan's comment - you are correct if the buyer is looking at a house with Chinese drywall then they need to be advised that there is currently no accepted remediation protocol although there are private enterprises working on it. There are people actively looking for these properties now and plan to sit on them.

The advice I mentioned has been given by inspectors to people actually living in houses and that could be a liability issue down the road if a reasonable fix is found and the homeowner has already moved out.

Also, when someone has gone to the time and trouble to find a house and are now at the point of inspections, they are likely to be very upset if they hear it is problematic. The seller will be also. You really need to know what you are looking for, especially in the houses that only have a couple of sheets of drywall that are bad.

To Gary’s comment – we are starting to see remediation. However, since we still do not know what is causing the off gassing, smart companies are doing what we call the “belt and suspenders” method of trying to cover for not only continued off gassing by particulate dust but also the possibility of bacterial presence. As you can imagine, this can get quite costly. Hopefully once the scientists make a “break through” and we have a better idea of what is causing the off gassing, remediation costs will come down as you will be able to treat or remediate more specifically.

Also, just because a sheet of drywall has elevated levels of strontium and sulfur does not mean it is off gassing. So even if you detect it in a house through the use of an XRF gun, that simply means it has strontium and sulfur. The best means of detecting the presence of corrosive drywall remains visual based on the impact to the mechanical and electrical components in the house. Smell is not always present either.

Joseph’s comment about FEMA – yes, FEMA has stated back to the State of Florida that they do not see this as an emergency based on a natural occurrence (hurricane, etc.). However some homeowners disagree with this position and I am sure there will be additional discussion.

Steven – on the ASTM comment, there are over 35 different brands of drywall mentioned through the Multi District Litigation courts and some of the markings are extremely creative. A couple of them do say ASTM. I believe one even says ASTM approved on the edge tape. My business partner knows a lot about this due to his work and I will ask him about it.

Joe – I liked your comment about “Karen Scott” said. Never worked with my kids either. Since I am new to the forum I was hesitant to post my information because I was not sure what policy was. I have subsequently noticed that you all do.

So here is a little about me – I am a commercial construction and development consultant with over 30 years of experience in commercial real estate marketing, management, operations and construction.

Karen M. Scott, CDP, SCMD
www.AssetAdvisorsandManagers.com

A point on the off gassing. There is probably a lot more CDW out there than is being reported because the sulfur smell originates from the reaction of the strontium to heat and humidity. Just a guess but if a house has been air conditioned and dehumidified there may be no current reaction. But in the event of a catastrophe such as a hurricane, if power is out, the chemical reactions may start. Until there is a warranty and a clearance testing protocol, I remain a belt and suspenders guy on this one.

[Brian K. Smith]

Originally Posted by jburkeson1

Why do all the jerks show up on my threads?

but its true so get over it..lol

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Originally Posted by bsmith2

but its true so get over it..lol

That is why I don't post much in the public section, you guys enjoy yourselves.