Chinese drywall in your SW FL home............. (Tampa, Cape Coral: leasing, insurance)

[wellsme]

Hi,
I know your feeling. We closed on a home in CC last month built in 2007 and never lived in. I too had the inspector check for Chinese drywall. He took a small sample and unscientifically smelled it both dry and wet. He concluded through checking other things the the home "in his opinion" did not have the Chinese drywall.
The home had sat vacant since completed in late 2007. We spent two weeks there last month and did not see or smell any signs of the drywall.
We are on well water and the only time we smelled any type of sulfur was when the sprinkler system was on, but the smell was not inside.

Good Luck.
Brian

P.S. We used a buyers agent and felt they were more helpful in regards to this than a sellers agent would be.

[nhkev]

one thing to check with the well water is the softener system it regenerates itself every day which means it is technically off when it is doing it. yours should have a timer and most people have their systems regenerate overnight but if the electricity ever goes off the timer won't know the actual time because it is a manual timer so pull off the cover 2 screws on the thing that looks like a scuba tank and inside is a timer make sure the actual time matches the set time, and then set regenerate time for overnight. also if a system has been sitting or is out of salt you'll still get sulfur smell for a while

[HomeStager]

bboddie,

If it was a 2007, the fixtures may not be showing corrosion yet, however, the copper wiring and copper coils on the AC unit would be. Those are the first two inspections to make and the two critical ones. They are the two things all chinese drywall homes have in common.

Forget about looking in the atic for the back of the drywall. Many builders use a lighter weight for the ceiling and did not use the bad stuff there in many of the effected homes. If they did, it would most probably be found, above the garage if there is a second floor above it. Some homes were piece meal, with maybe just a few rooms or walls have the bad stuff. That is why taking just one sample from one wall, is not a sure test.

Cut the power, unscrew the outlet covers and get a look at those wires in several rooms around the whole place. Some are so black, it's difficult to even know if they are really copper or not. If you know you cut the power, you can run your finger or paper towel over them and see if a black residue comes off.

No one should be looking at 2003-2007 homes in florida, without a screw driver/flathead and flash light these days.

If any of you home shoppers or Realtors, find a home suspect, please let the owner, their Realtor, or bank if bank owned, know about what you discovered and that the home is suspect. Perhaps they did not know, and will do the right thing to look into it further and either pull the listing if it is confirmed until they figure out a remedy or at least, disclose it.

[bboddie]

I am suppose to sign an extension on the contract this week. However I think I will plan a quick trip to check out the wiring. Thanks to everyone who responded. The information has calmed somefears and heightened my awareness about others.

Regards, bboddie

[vman650]

Originally Posted by yoko

If the problem of Chinese dry walls is only associated with Cape Coral, the government wont have any sense of urgency to tackle this problem.

But I read somewhere these walls has been also used during reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurrican Katrina.

What about construction workers who were working with these stuff for so many years?

Yes, houses are cheap in Cape Coral at the cost of lives of innocent workers and health of our children, eldery, and our "nature".

What you state may or may not be true. I just do not think that anyone really knows, since all of the facts are not out yet. It appears that people have become extremely emotional about the issue (I can understand why). I know this sounds trite, but try to remain calm and open minded. There is the possibility that it may not be as bad as it seems. I have to believe that the Chinese also used a lot of this drywall in China particularly in the earthquake ravaged areas. I would think that if it was as bad as some here are saying, they would be dropping like flies in China. I hope and pray that it is not that bad and that a solution can be found. You guys really did not need this on top of all of the other problems that you have. I hope that the next time a politician tells you to cut back on federal inspectors to save money, you run like hell in the opposite direction. I will admit that if I had kids living in one of these houses I would be pretty scared.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by vman650

What you state may or may not be true. I just do not think that anyone really knows, since all of the facts are not out yet. It appears that people have become extremely emotional about the issue (I can understand why). I know this sounds trite, but try to remain calm and open minded. There is the possibility that it may not be as bad as it seems. I have to believe that the Chinese also used a lot of this drywall in China particularly in the earthquake ravaged areas. I would think that if it was as bad as some here are saying, they would be dropping like flies in China. I hope and pray that it is not that bad and that a solution can be found. You guys really did not need this on top of all of the other problems that you have. I hope that the next time a politician tells you to cut back on federal inspectors to save money, you run like hell in the opposite direction. I will admit that if I had kids living in one of these houses I would be pretty scared.

I don't want to come off as flip, so I'll be very careful...but what I want to say is "and why would we hear about those Chinese people dropping like flies?" The Chinese government is not going to let that information out.

[hiknapster]

Anyone that wants to know anything about the drywall situation will want to link to this. It's the local paper's drywall section where there is tons of info, including being able to connect with others that have the problem, how to file a complaint, etc.

news-press.com | Southwest Florida,Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Bonita Springs, Lehigh Acres, Fort Myers Beach, Estero, San Carlos, Naples, North Fort Myers, Sanibel Island, Pine Island, Ft. Myers, Fort Meyers, Ft. Meyers drywall | The News-Press

[HomeStager]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I don't want to come off as flip, so I'll be very careful...but what I want to say is "and why would we hear about those Chinese people dropping like flies?" The Chinese government is not going to let that information out.

You are right. I think somewhere in this thread, I posted a link to an article about how the Chinese government doesn't care about polluting their citizens and that over 600,000 people there die of pollution related causes a year.

The Chinese media is VERY censored. You would not be aware of problems people were having with the drywall there. Bare in mind, the Chinese Government owns one of the manufacturing plants putting out the bad stuff.

They are not going to incriminate themselves with their own toxic products through the media they control.

[bboddie]

We are becoming increasingly concerned over the Chinese drywall. Houses are beginning to show up on the mls with disclosures that the property contains the toxic drywall. Not sure if anyone truly knows the amount of houses in S Florida that may have this drywall. I have also noticed that the market is moving however investors are buying the majority of property being sold with the intension I suppose to flip it. Does have anyone have any insight into what the market in cc is doing?

[yoko]

Originally Posted by vman650

What you state may or may not be true. I just do not think that anyone really knows, since all of the facts are not out yet. It appears that people have become extremely emotional about the issue (I can understand why). I know this sounds trite, but try to remain calm and open minded. There is the possibility that it may not be as bad as it seems. I have to believe that the Chinese also used a lot of this drywall in China particularly in the earthquake ravaged areas. I would think that if it was as bad as some here are saying, they would be dropping like flies in China. I hope and pray that it is not that bad and that a solution can be found. You guys really did not need this on top of all of the other problems that you have. I hope that the next time a politician tells you to cut back on federal inspectors to save money, you run like hell in the opposite direction. I will admit that if I had kids living in one of these houses I would be pretty scared.

Chinese dry walls were used at the height of construction boom in Cape Coral where prices were "historically" high, even though this cheap and dangerous construction material was used.

How could one compare the natural disaster of Yunan Province of China with greedy money making situation of Cape Coral.