I have seen numerous homes affected by Chinese Drywall here in Brevard County, Florida. Also, Orange County, Volusia county and Indian River County are reporting it as well.
There are some simple tests that can performed if you suspect that your potential clients home or business has Chinese drywall, we are prepared to perform a few checks as recommended by the State of Florida to confirm the possibility of tainted drywall.
States with chinese drywall reported.
Palm Bay, Florida home built in 2005:
Affected by Chinese Drywall
After being contacted to do a Chinese drywall inspection by the new owners of this home, I set up the appointment for the next day. As soon as I walked in the door it smelt like rotten eggs and my eyes started to immediately burn.
By the end of the Chinese drywall inspection, it was determined that the entire interior of this home contained Chinese drywall throughout including the garage drywall and the drywall ceiling on the pool patio as well.
Chinese Drywall in Brevard County, FL
The AC’s copper line is corroded. The copper on the inside of this unit is even worse.
Ac Copper Corrosion
Copper corrosion
More corrosion in the shower.
Shower corrosion
Water supply lines were also corroded.
Corroded Water line and flange.
Chinese Drywall markings:
Chinese Drywall Markings
Identification Method
(1) an initial or threshold inspection to find visual signs of metal corrosion and evidence of drywall installation during the relevant time period, and
(2) the identification of corroborating evidence or characteristics.
The identification process is two steps:
Step 1: Threshold Inspection
(a) Blackening of copper electrical wiring and/or air conditioning evaporator coils; and
(b) The installation of new drywall (for new construction or renovations) between 2001 and 2008. A positive result for this step (including both criteria) is a prerequisite to any further consideration.
Visual inspection must show:
Step 2: Corroborating Evidence
Because it is possible that corrosion of metal in homes can occur for other reasons, it is important to obtain additional corroborating evidence of problem Chinese Drywall. Homes with the characteristic metal corrosion problems must also have at least 2 of these corroborating conditions if the new drywall was installed between 2005 and 2008.
For installations between 2001 and 2004, at least 4 of the following conditions must be met. Collecting evidence of these corroborating conditions will in some cases require professional assessors and/or testing by analytical laboratories.
a) Corrosive conditions in the home, demonstrated by the formation of copper sulfide on copper coupons (test strips of metal) placed in the home for a period of 2 weeks to 30 days or confirmation of the presence of sulfur in the blackening of the grounding wires and/or air conditioning coils;
(b) Confirmed markings of Chinese origin for drywall in the home;
(c) Strontium levels in samples of drywall core found in the home (i.e. excluding the exterior paper surfaces) exceeding 1200 parts per million (ppm);
(d) Elemental sulfur levels in samples of drywall core found in the home exceeding 10 ppm;
(e) Elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide and/or carbon disulfide emitted from samples of drywall from the home when placed in test chambers using ASTM Standard Test Method D5504-08 or similar chamber or headspace testing;
(f) Corrosion if copper metal to form copper sulfide when copper is placed in test chambers with drywall samples taken from the home.
Florida Department of Health
Always contact your local building department to see if a building permit is required for the work you need and if a state or locally licensed contractor is required to do the job.
Schedule your Chinese Drywall Inspection estimate here
Please E-mail us for more information about our Chinese drywall inspection services.
