Orlando Sentinel: Chinese Drywall A Big Problem For Central Florida Homeowners (06-10-09)
Chinese drywall used in Orlando area for new homes, hurricane repairs is
corroding copper pipes, triggering allergies — Lake County town hall meeting
June 10 will address drywall concerns
Christine Show | Sentinel Staff Writer
June 10, 2009
Mara D’Angelo couldn’t get rid of the rotten-egg smell throughout her newly purchased Winter Haven home.
When D’Angelo and her family moved into the house in June 2008, the sulfur smell became a part of their daily lives. Then, her three children, ages 11, 10 and 8, developed severe headaches, nausea and bloody noses. Her youngest son, Matthew, spent three weeks out of school because of a respiratory infection.
D’Angelo did some research and discovered a common link: her home’s Chinese drywall.
She turned to Coral Gables attorney David Durkee, who is filing lawsuits on behalf of
about 100 homeowners for damage and health problems caused by the drywall.
Tonight, Durkee will host a town-hall meeting in Lake County for area residents who suspect they have been affected by the drywall. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites, 3601 W. Burleigh Blvd. (U.S. Highway 441) in Tavares.
“We feel it’s an obligation as this problem may be in the area,” Durkee said.
D’Angelo’s home tested positive for the possible toxic drywall, which has become an increasing problem for hundreds of Florida homeowners in recent years, including numerous cases in Central Florida.
Connecting the dots
“It was beautiful to have all these pieces of the puzzle start interconnecting,” said D’Angelo, 46.
The China drywall made its way to the Southeastern U.S. between 2004 and 2006 when a number of hurricanes created a drywall shortage as homes were rebuilt, Durkee said. But the drywall, which was purportedly pressed in China with mostly filler materials now producing harmful toxins in Florida homes, has been found in homes built or remodeled as early as 2001 and as late as 2008.
The problem drywall, which recently sprouted concern with several cases in Umatilla in northern Lake County, has a number of indicators that can quickly surface as an issue.
An initial trouble sign is the failure of appliances from microwaves to refrigerators to televisions. The gases may corrode appliances that contain copper, causing them to stop working. A copper wire that exists inside the electrical outlet will be black if the problem exists, Durkee said.
Air-conditioning units are also a telltale indicator of a possible drywall issue because the copper coils within the unit will turn a solid black color and burn out, Durkee said.
“This stuff does not hide,” Durkee said.
At the same, homeowners can experience health-related issues similar to D’Angelo’s family’s. The most common issues include severe allergic reactions, nosebleeds and upper-respiratory problems that don’t appear as a problem outside the home.
And the rotten-egg smell is another giveaway – a signal that the drywall may be releasing sulfur-based gases.
“It’s a tragedy for homeowners,” Durkee said. “This problem has to be fixed. A lot of people don’t have financial resources to move out of their home.”
‘Excruciating’
Since insurance claims and other avenues won’t typically cover the cost to repair the problems, homeowners sometimes seek a lawyer. Durkee said individual lawsuits, rather than a class-action suit, will offer homeowners more protection because they target the owner’s particular problems.
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and other lawmakers have joined federal regulators to help resolve problems associated with the drywall. U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, and Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, recently requested $2 million in emergency funding to investigate the matter.
As for D’Angelo, she said her family hopes to move to a new home. “It’s been excruciating. You don’t feel like living in your home,” she said. “But there is help out there.”
Christine Show can be reached at cshow@orlandosentinel.com, at 352-742-5917 or on Twitter @showc.
Trouble signs
If your home had drywall installed between 2001 and 2008, here are some of the symptoms of problems that may be connected:
- Failure of appliances
- Copper wiring turns black
- Smell of rotten eggs
- Nosebleeds in the home only
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