Chinese Drywall (Lakeside: foreclose, new home, buying)

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by hdzup3

oh boy, this is awful!

Yeah, it is bad! Here's another article in todays news: AP IMPACT: Chinese drywall poses potential risks - Yahoo! News

[loves2read]

so if remodeling work on a home was done prior to 2004 the likelyhood of having Chinese drywall used is pretty slim--is that the conclusion to draw after reading most of these posts/links...

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by loves2read

so if remodeling work on a home was done prior to 2004 the likelyhood of having Chinese drywall used is pretty slim--is that the conclusion to draw after reading most of these posts/links...

Yup, that's the way I read it.

[hdzup3]

sfg........ now i guess we will keep our search at that for our new house.. 04 and earlier. like i said.. theres a reason for everything, good thing i didnt get there and get into that mess! thanx for the article!

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by hdzup3

sfg........ now i guess we will keep our search at that for our new house.. 04 and earlier. like i said.. theres a reason for everything, good thing i didnt get there and get into that mess! thanx for the article!

Yeah, I've been keeping a log each time a new builder comes up with Chinese drywall. I have (personally seen) two homes in NP-different builders, effected by Chinese drywall. Also, Lennar has homes effected by Chinese drywall and they built in NP, so they're on my list as well. Hopefully it doesn't get too long.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by hdzup3

sfg........ now i guess we will keep our search at that for our new house.. 04 and earlier. like i said.. theres a reason for everything, good thing i didnt get there and get into that mess! thanx for the article!

hdzup3,
How are things going up in the frozen tundra in the NE?
You might be safer looking at homes '04 and eariler, but your not out of the woods because of potential hurricane damage, or additions, or up-grades. Infact homes that have some, but not all chinese drywall may be harder to tell, and the exposure to it may be over a longer period of time before you begin to recognize problems.

On newer homes, where all the drywall was installed new, you should be able to tell pretty quickly, because it is more likely that all the drywall is chinese drywall, or none of it is. Because when they load the house up with the drywall material, it is usually all stocked at one time, by one supplier, and the odor and conditions are pretty distinctive. It is kinda hard to miss. So if it is new, you'll be able to tell pretty quickly. I wouldn't worry about the age, when you inspect you will know, in fact you may know better with a new house than a pre-existing one.

dm me when you have a chance and let me know how things are going.

[LaVidaEsCorta]

Has anyone heard of any problems with the homes in Lakeside Plantation concerning Chinese drywall? Seems like they were built in that time frame. Does anyone know who built those homes (if one builder did them all)? Thanks!

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by LaVidaEsCorta

Has anyone heard of any problems with the homes in Lakeside Plantation concerning Chinese drywall? Seems like they were built in that time frame. Does anyone know who built those homes (if one builder did them all)? Thanks!

I believe Standard Pacific built the whole community. Standard Pacific has been added to my list of red flag builders, as of a month ago.

Here's recent article that mentions Standard Pacific:
Drywall worries multiply | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader

Although I have not heard of any specific incidents in Lakeside Plantation, I would be cautious.

Taylor Morrison Homes is also mentioned in this article and they built many homes in the Greenbrook and Summerfield sections of Lakewood Ranch in Manatee county.

I can also tell you that it's not just the big guys(Lennar, Taylor Morrison, WCI, Meritage Homes, Ryland, Transeastern and Standard Pacific) that used the Chinese drywall. I have been in several homes of smaller local builders that have used it as well.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

I believe Standard Pacific built the whole community. Standard Pacific has been added to my list of red flag builders, as of a month ago.

Here's recent article that mentions Standard Pacific:
Drywall worries multiply | HeraldTribune.com | Sarasota Florida | Southwest Florida's Information Leader

Although I have not heard of any specific incidents in Lakeside Plantation, I would be cautious.

Taylor Morrison Homes is also mentioned in this article and they built many homes in the Greenbrook and Summerfield sections of Lakewood Ranch in Manatee county.

I can also tell you that it's not just the big guys(Lennar, Taylor Morrison, WCI, Meritage Homes, Ryland, Transeastern and Standard Pacific) that used the Chinese drywall. I have been in several homes of smaller local builders that have used it as well.

I am a builder, so I can tell you that it is not a builder isolated thing. Builders large and small hire subcontractors to furnish and install the drywall in the projects they build. Generally, but not 100% universally, this is true. Builders generally to not self perform the drywall work, they subcontract for it. And each project is different and the timing and phasing is different. For Sale homes are built in groups and sequenced and phased at a intervals that the developer/builder feels he can sell them. For cash flow reasons, you are not going to build out 500 homes if you are selling them at a rate of 20 per month. You would be carrying the debt service on a huge amount of money for a long time. So they are sequenced in phases that will sell efficiently. And so often Subcontractors are hired on a per phase basis, or sometimes for multiple phase, by different contractors that may be building in a subdivision. The Project Managers that build each of the phases may vary, as will the subcontractor and the subcontractor's supplier. Lannar may be the lead developer and hired multiple General Contractors to build houses in that development using thier protypical designs. So just because Lannar may have built a development, it doesnt mean that all the homes in that development have chinese drywall, only one house might, or several houses, or a phase or several phases. The same subcontractor that worked for Taylor Morrison could have worked for Lannar, or "Joe Smith Builders". In the same way, you can't pin it down to just one subcontractor either. Each job, building, and phase, gets priced out and bought based on when it needs to be stocked, and who is the cheapest supplier that can readily deliver the product when it is needed. When the Chinese drywall hit the marketplace it was substantially cheaper than US made products, and it was more available once it arrived here. There was a huge demand for drywall at the time, so there was pressure not just on price but on time, and a lot of builders (not all, but a lot) throughout Florida (where it was readily available) grabbed it. I don't think you can say this builder is a bad builder because one of his projects had some Chinese drywall on it. It really is a building by building basis, and you need to be careful to inspect for it. Especially on foreclosed homes, because you are buying it as-is.

We never used it, because when it was first presented to us we asked for the U.L. fire rated tests for it, and there were none. They tried to draw a conclusion that it was the same as the U.S products but they did not have the tests. And with out them you just aren't in compliance with code requirements.

As I noted earlier, if it is a new home, it is more likely to have all chinese drywall, or no chinese drywall, but it is difficult to tell, a good home inspector will recognize the symptoms, and some where to look for it without doing a lot of destructive testing. The longer a home has been closed up, without good air circulation and ventilation, the easier it is to identify this product. There were a lot of homes that were built during this period that did not have chinese drywall. I would not rule out houses in Florida built during those years just because of that. A good home inspector can usually find out pretty readily for you, but even that is not 100% fool proof, because there are some concealed areas where an inspector just cannot tell.

[smiledoc1]

Big House,
Great explanation. Thank you