Symptoms mimic Chinese Drywall

Had realtor ask me to evaluate a beach condo in Alabama with worries of possible Chinese Drywall after a gypsum sample was ruled inconclusive. Copper wires in every electrical receptacle were black, copper pipes above water heater were black, copper coils in HVAC unit were black, a clear lamp chord had black wires within. Rotten Egg smell was present. Since the unit was a condo, there was no where to evaluate the backside of any drywall.

My question is what would cause these symptoms other than Chinese Drywall?

Hydrogen sulfide and strontium sulfide have that effect on copper. Really no other product in a home will have it. Could be an adjacent unit, too. Who did the initial gypsum sample? If it was the association, don’t trust it any further than you can throw it.

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Thank you! It was actually a lab sample that rendered the answer. I saw the lab report. The report said sulfur content was above the acceptable level but after that didn’t want to say yes or no as to problem drywall. Real vague…

The HOA is in denial.

I agree, Darren, but it wouldn’t blacken the wiring, eh? :smile:

Used to do a lot of 'em.
I am close to a few upscale developments where is was rampant.

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Symptoms to Chinese drywall? :thinking: You have to rehang it every hour?

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Yes, Florida definitely got nailed (or screwed) with chinese drywall! :stuck_out_tongue:

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Common symptoms produced

Put down the bottle & read properly

Here in Canada, between 2001 and 2007, the bulk of it ended up in the BC lower mainland (Abbotsford/Burnaby/Vancouver). Some did make its way through the prairie provinces (Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba) and into Ontario.

What was the end result with that whole ordeal with the drywall, did people just get screwed with it or did everyone have to strip their homes and paid by the lawsuit?

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The lawsuit ended on feb 12, 2020. It was a $248 million lawsuit issued to over 3000 drywall victims. https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/2020/02/11/chinese-drywall-settlement-unlikely-make-all-florida-victims-happy/4557473002/

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Not sure. The 10 yr old case was settled last year. I think many did not get involved down here.
Tons of homeowners simply defaulted on their loans, moved out, walked away. With the lack of homeowners assoc monthly payments, the fees increased 3-4 times the norm.
Companies like Lennar bought up homes from the banks - million dollar homes for around $300K.
They replaced everything - electrical-AC walls/ceilings, plumbing.
Then sold them for profit.
Here’s ad from the local magazine The Parklander.

Chinese Drywall Ad2.pdf (1.3 MB)

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And we are still buying products from China. What is wrong with people?
Look what they just gave us for free. Coronavirus, and I’m loosing thousands of $ because of it.

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Moral of the story: what you save on Chinese product today, may cost $$$ you tomorrow.

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stock market?

Looks like my mostly all gold & silver holdings paid off.
China supplies around 90% of our generic drugs, supplies, etc.
Try to stock up on stuff like blood pressure meds, etc.
The supply chain is gonna get much worse.

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Well luckily, I’m 50% bonds and those are stable.

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Don’t buy their dog food either. Most of it contains Melamine. Thousands of lbs. of pet food have been pulled off Store shelves. Also,Food produced for human consumption is under intense scrutiny. Now the coronavirus. What is next ???

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There is my NACHI number!!!

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