Paying To Replace Chinese Drywall

...copper in the plumbing lines, Wright says. Even though they are as affected by the problem drywall as the electrical wiring and fire suppression systems, the CPSC looked only at life-safety issues, he says.

The NAHB is working on more detailed remediation guidance for builders, which it hopes to release later this year, Hamilton says.

Meanwhile, some contractors have forged ahead with projects without a playbook.

“In the beginning, there was nothing for us to go by, so we did a lot of research on the Internet and referred to a protocol” put out in Florida by Gainesville-based Building Envelope Science Institute and U.S. Building Consultants, says Roy Olsen, general superintendent of New Orleans-based Landis Residential Builders, which began work on a New Orleans remediation project shortly after Thanksgiving.

The firm opted to completely gut all of the contaminated drywall, insulation, carpeting and flooring in the home as well as the building’s original plaster, located beneath the drywall. “We felt the safest route was to take everything down to the wood, then spray the walls with a fungicide and come back with spray-foam insulation,” Olsen says.

Julie Miller, president of Kogen Construction Co., Boca Raton, Fla., estimates that about one-third of her business—and most of her time—is dedicated to bidding and remediating homes afflicted with tainted drywall. The CPSC’s guidelines are a welcome starting point for contractors attempting to get the repair work right, Miller says.

The guidelines’ biggest impact may be to level the field for contractors by creating a baseline for remediation. Not all contractors have been performing to the same standards to date, Miller says.

Miller adds that the size of the market has not yet been fully defined, as home and condominium owners are just discovering that they have a problem. “The projects I’m seeing now are the homes and condominiums that were built in 2005. There’s going to be [a] lag time,” she says. Miller says three condominium buildings in her area have recently either gone out for bid or are being priced for remediation.

Questions Remain

Defining the scope—and ultimate price tag—of the market has been a challenge, industry sources say. Another question that remains is whether commercial buildings will be affected.

“Most of the problems are going to be occurring near the ports where they brought in [the defective drywall].”

— Ron E. Wright
building diagnostic expert

NAHB estimates that 500 million pounds of drywall, or 7 million sheets, were imported from China between 2000-2001 and in the critical 2004-2007 period, during the housing boom. Although various numbers have been suggested to quantify the cost per square foot to remediate buildings, Bruce Hallock, vice president of New York-based consulting firm Marsh Inc., cautions that the costs can vary and should be determined on a “case by case” basis, depending on such variables as size and the finish quality of the home or condo.

CPSC is continuing to conduct emissions testing and analysis. Patty Davis, an agency spokeswoman, says the interim guidance “is about as detailed as we’re going to get,” but notes, “If we learn more about the nature of what the remediation should entail, we will revise it.”