Chinese Drywall Lawsuit: Find out if you have defective drywall in your home

Harvey Kirk

By Harvey Kirk
Posted April 21, 2009

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Thousands of homes throughout the United States could have defective drywall from China that contains high levels of sulfur compounds that release dangerous and destructive gases under certain conditions. The Chinese drywall attorneys at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. are reviewing potential lawsuits and have spoken with many homeowners who are concerned that their homes may be impacted.

>>Find out if you have a Chinese Drywall Lawsuit

Unfortunately, there is no simple way to determine if you have defective Chinese drywall. If you are able to get to a location where the back of the sheetrock can be viewed, finding a marking that indicates it is “Made in China” is the most definitive method. The defective drywall may contain markings such as:

  • “CHINA”
  • “MADE IN CHINA”, or
  • “KNAUF- TIANJIN” which designates the specific manufacturer

Viewing the back of the drywall will often require the homeowner to enter the attic or crawl space and pull back the insulation. However, some of the drywall may have no discernible markings or it is possible that only a portion of the drywall used to construct the home was made in China.

Many homes constructed with Chinese drywall have developed unpleasant odors, ranging from sulfurous rotten egg smells to chemical or dirt-like odors. However, homeowners who live in the homes often become immune to the smell after a period of time, and it may not even be apparent to them anymore.

Other methods of detecting Chinese drywall involve looking for visible signs of premature copper corrosion caused by the sulfur gases emitted by the drywall under certain circumstances. This is usually indicated by a black or sooty coating on copper pipe leading to the air handling unit in a garage or other mechanical closet of the home. It could also appear on un-insulated copper wiring, such as electrical outlets, in-wall speaker wire or other wiring that appears blackened at the exposed ends.

Another Chinese drywall problem that has confirmed the presence of the defective drywall in many homes is documented failure of the air conditioner evaporator coil, which causes the premature failure of relatively new air conditioning units. The air conditioner coil will appear blackened inside the air handler unit, as opposed to normal corrosion on the coils which appears as a blue/green, dark orange or dark red rust color.

CHINESE DRYWALL ATTORNEYS

If you, a friend or family member own a home which has exhibited any of these signs, our attorneys can help determine whether financial compensation may be available through a Chinese drywall lawsuit.

Unfortunately, in most cases it is necessary for every piece of drywall in the home to be replaced and in some cases the sulfur compounds may have penetrated the wood structure of the home. The financial damages caused by the defective drywall from China can be devastating for a family, in addition to potential health problems that could be linked to the corrosive gases.

To have a case reviewed by our Chinese drywall attorneys, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.

5 Comments • Add Your Comments

  • kumar says:

    I have a builder built me a house in Arcadia florida in 2007 since we moved in in 2008 my family visited the emergency room several times also ther is a very bad odor in our home especially when using hot water.rust on the light fixture/shower doors /faucets/ and also ther is rust on aircondition copper tubbing.

    Posted on April 28, 2009 at 10:52 am

  • Michael says:

    We have all of the following copper corrosion , replace air handling unit in a garage three times in five years, rotten egg smells in bathrooms and master beedroom ,un-insulated copper pipes and wiring electrical outlets blacken.

    We had a company come out and do an inspection they said yes you do have it, so then we called our insurance company they sent our someone to inspect he said

    irst he said we could not have it because our house was built in 2004.
    1. it could be my water coming from the ground
    2. it could be chinsse dry wall
    3. could be gases coming up thru the concert slab

    he wants us to pay for our water system (the Pipes) to be cleaned
    out with high pressure, then have someone come out and take samples of the air, water and dry wall and do another test, etc.

    tried talking to my insurance company they said we might not be covered oth my daughter has breathing problmes one even uses a
    inhaler

    So if you can give info, show ow you can help lets talk
    I also reported it to FED. health department and consumer affairs in washington they said they have to do a study (a bunch of crap)

    Posted on May 16, 2009 at 9:46 am

  • Jerry says:

    hving breathing problems etc. Have chemical smell in new home, can’t figure where its comming from.

    Posted on July 6, 2011 at 10:19 pm

  • Maria says:

    Over 50 renters with children were given an eviction notice stating that the reason is because of the Chinese Drywall. Everyone in some form or another has had health problems. This is ridiculous!!

    Posted on May 16, 2012 at 8:03 pm

  • Bobbiejo says:

    I purchased a single wide mobile that was built in 2004. I bought it in 2009 …. I noticed the smell about 3-4 months then after that it started going down hill. From black inside walls, inside of every door handles (metal inside) crumbling inside looking like gunpowder, central a/c insides turning black and just being a mess inside & outside also. I tried to contact a attorney before but was told that nobody was doing anything about it… Myself I have NO Choice anymore as I did spend 14 weeks in hospital with Covid-19.

    Posted on March 7, 2024 at 6:03 am

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