Posted on 10/16/2009 6:57:14 PM PDT by stevie_d_64
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – James and Maria Ivory's dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida's Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help — and not only was their claim denied, but they've been told their entire policy won't be renewed.
Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys', in which insurers drop policies or send notices of non-renewal based on the presence of the Chinese drywall, will become rampant as insurance companies process the hundreds of claims currently in the pipeline.
At least three insurers have already canceled or refused to renew policies after homeowners sought their help replacing the bad wallboard. Because mortgage companies require homeowners to insure their properties, they are then at risk of foreclosure, yet no law prevents the cancellations.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
They have the right to make dangerous crap wallboard for the Chinese people? Do the Chinese people and officials know about that right?
Why would they make that disgusting garbage for the locals while making much better stuff for export? You’d need seperate factories or at least seperate lines. The workers would sure know what was being done.
Why would anyone believe that, or trust any wallboard from China?
That the products are made for domestic markets means that they are targeted towards domestic consumers, much as Walmart sells $15 sneakers to working class consumers that Warren Buffett can buy if he chooses to. Chinese manufacturers will sell these products to whomever wants to buy them, but the reality is that most of their buyers are domestic builders. Even if they wanted to sell only to domestic buyers, any foreign importer can simply use Chinese middleman to circumvent this notional restriction. But the reality is that the average private Chinese business is competing against hordes of competitors with the same price and the same quality product. He can't afford to pad his costs by hiring people to investigate the end user.
And this stuff about butt covering is silly. These manufacturers don't have any US operations, and no Chinese court will enforce a US judgment against them. And in the remote eventuality that a Chinese court did, they would simply file for bankruptcy and go under. These are mom-and-pop operations, not multi-billion dollar companies listed on the Shanghai stock exchange.
Why are so many products from China *TOXIC*??? Seems everything electronic, rubber or plastic, especially, is so STINKY, it makes you sick to be in the same room with it. (HATE to walk thru Sears or Costco Automative Department; the STENCH from the TIRES & other plastics makes you want to give up the ghost! Feel sorry for the employees who have to work in these toxic dumps; don’t they get brain damage or something from breathing those fumes??)
We have a Surge Protector from China that smells very toxic. Also, we recently bought a flat-screen Vizio TV from Costco that STUNK TO HIGH HEAVEN for many weeks; finally took it back and instead bought a Sony from BestBuy. No odors! :-)
Here is something everyone should think about. Most drywall companies were working crews that were composed of illegals. Legal drywall hangers would have noted the difference and said something, but the illegals didn’t know the difference. It’s the dry wall contractors who should be chased down. However, most of them have gone back to Mexico.
“...asbestos containing drywall...”
Any idea where I can get some? Once you’re done cutting it, asbestos is a great insulator and fire retardant. I wouldn’t mind having it (sealed up) in my drywall.
Are you kidding? These are the same greedy builders, contractors and developers that hired hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens to build homes, most of which had the construction skills of 14 year olds.
Just ban all improts from China. That will solve everything and protect American lives. These made in China do kill people and in fact have killed hundreds. Do you want to be one of them?
Maybe if you set it on fire when you drop it in his lap he will pay attention. Just a thought. ;^)
The builder has no excuse.
Good idea! WEFG
Prolly talking about traces getting into the gypsum, not enough to do any real good.
I thought conservatives were for personal responsibility. If you build a home with defective materials you are responsible for your incompetence.
Simple, China is a communist country and communist governments don't give a damn about the population of their countries. Exported products, however, need to meet standards imposed by the importing country. It's also why the best BMWs are only available in Germany, US CAFE and EPA restrictions reduce the power in exchange for MPG.
It would seem that none of that matters if a proper disclosure wasn’t made to the buyer.
Just because I might accept a lower quality product, does not mean I must accept my walls spontaneously burning... UNLESS you warned me before I bought it.
Honestly, I have a hard time believing that Chinese consumers would stand for their walls burning and getting sick, either. So the lower quality for the domestic market doesn’t fly, either.
I understand quality vs cost. I buy lower quality products, all the time. But, the difference is,I buy them because they are cheap, safety is not involved, and I do not plan on keep or using them for a lifetime. That makes them a great value.
I would rather our Government would stop throwing obstacles in our way so we can manufacture efficiently and produce our own less expensive goods.
Maybe, if that were to happen, we could actually compete with the likes of China and India and Malaysia, and so on.
There's no evidence that this stuff is dangerous, only that it discolors copper plumbing and electrical circuits, and tort lawyers are gearing up to sue anyone connected with it - from domestic firms, from which they can collect, to foreign manufacturers, which are immune.
They make this stuff with the full knowledge of Chinese officials, just as the same Chinese officialdom knows that Chinese cars made for the local market will pass Chinese crash tests, but not American crash tests. This is why you don't see Chinese cars on American roads, because car imports are scrutinized, whereas wallboard imports have not been. But the Chinese have no problem buying an inferior $5,000 Chinese deathtrap with an 0.8L engine because it's safer than the alternative - a moped.
As to production lines, Chinese industry is not composed of a single company. There are large numbers of small, privately-owned companies in every industry. Some specialize in Chinese grade drywall. Others may make only export grade drywall. In a country with 100 car companies (think the US car industry before consolidation into GM, Chrysler, AMC and Ford), I expect there are thousands of drywall companies at minimum, given that it's not exactly high-tech.
And if you think it's impossible for a single company to make both high and low quality goods on a single production line, let me point out that drywall is of a uniform size and shape. It's the equivalent of saying that a sawmill cannot process both oak and pine timber. (I have it on good authority that Procter and Gamble feeds different grades of product through the same production line. They run on different shifts and just swap containers and ingredients).
It's a poor country. They have to make do with what they can afford. At the same time, it has to be reiterated that Chinese homes are either made of wood or bricks and mortar. The idea of making interior walls in homes with a material as flimsy as drywall still hasn't gained any level of acceptance in China. The crummiest hovel I have seen is either wood or bricks (sometimes of the misshapen homemade variety in rural areas) and mortar.
I wonder if the Chinese HumVees will corrode roads.
I suspect prior to the recent commotion stateside, Chinese wallboard buyers haven't had any complaints from their customers. This is one reason I'm skeptical about US claims. Wallboard exports to the US are a recent phenomenon. I can't imagine they have any clue what US expectations are. Some of these companies probably only make one grade of wallboard, and probably figure that if the buyer wants their product, they know what they're in for. Most of these companies are in intensely price-competitive industries and have no extra money to hire expensive export trade consultants to handle a sliver of export business. Besides, they're not exporting the product - foreign buyers are buying the product locally and arranging for shipment abroad.
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