Cheap drywall...from China !!

[marine4003]

Read where another fine chinese product is wreaking havoc with US homeowners, when will we stop importing this crap ??

CHALMETTE, La. – Thomas Stone and his wife rebuilt after their home was flooded by six feet of water during Hurricane Katrina, never dreaming they would face the agony of tearing it apart all over again.

They tapped Lauren Stone's 401(k) retirement savings and saved $1,000 by installing Chinese-made drywall throughout their two-story home. Now the Stones are among hundreds of Katrina victims facing another, this time unnatural, disaster

Sulfur-emitting wallboard from China is wreaking havoc in homes, charring electrical wires, eating away at jewelry, silverware and other valuables, and possibly even sickening families.

"The bathroom upstairs has a corroded shower-head, the door hinges are rusting out," said 50-year-old Thomas Stone, the longtime fire chief of St. Bernard Parish, outside New Orleans. And then there's the stench, like rotten eggs, that seems to get worse with the heat and humidity.

"It makes me wish there would be another flood to wash it out," said his wife Lauren, 49.

Chinese manufacturers flooded the U.S. market with more than 500 million pounds of drywall around the same time Katrina was flooding New Orleans, an Associated Press review of shipping records has found.

The boom in imported China-made building materials peaked in 2006, driven by domestic shortages created by the nationwide construction boom, as well as a series of Gulf Coast hurricanes.

That year, enough wallboard was imported from China to build some 34,000 homes of roughly 2,000 square feet each, according to the AP's analysis and estimates supplied by the nationwide drywall supplier United States Gypsum. But experts and advocates say many homes may have been built with a mixture of Chinese and domestic drywall — which could push the number of affected homes to 100,000 or more, by some estimates.

[Robja]

China is using shoddy materials and sending the crap to the US to get us sick. almost makes you wonder if it is not intentional.

[canyongear]

It will stop when WalMart goes out of business..they created the golden gates to this country for China..

that is one place I will never step foot in, period unless im at Home Depot and the line is too long for the crapper.

Of course it aint' much better at the Depot either, or the local Ace hardware or anywhere...

I can tell you this, the products we buy and sell are made in america where at all possible and I will take that to my demise living or not.

[marine4003]

It will stop when WalMart goes out of business..they created the golden gates to this country for China..

that is one place I will never step foot in, period unless im at Home Depot and the line is too long for the crapper.

Of course it aint' much better at the Depot either, or the local Ace hardware or anywhere...

I can tell you this, the products we buy and sell are made in america where at all possible and I will take that to my demise living or not.

I went to a local Flag store, Stars & Stripes getting tattered due to spring winds..most of the AMERICAN flags were made in china..now thats sad. From power tools to building supplys china has dominated the market,used to be Milwaukee...porter cable..black&decker were the benchmark of excellent tools...now its all china crap.and we wonder why this great Country is floundering......

[Avenger]

...and saved $1,000 by installing Chinese-made drywall throughout their two-story home.

Sadly Americans only have themselves to blame and the above quote is the reason why. As long as we're going to continue to be cheap screws and buy this junk just to save a buck this is what we'll get. How much do you think this whole job cost these people? $20K?, $40K? and they skimped on a lousy $1000? They deserve what they got. Oh yeah, and good luck getting the bastages to make good on it like an American company would have to.

I just love how we want all these environmental and safety laws for our companies to follow and then we ousource manufacturing to countries that don't have these laws because the product is too expensive to make here. The chinese will make the rope we hang ourselves with. [/rant]

[marine4003]

Sadly Americans only have themselves to blame and the above quote is the reason why. As long as we're going to continue to be cheap screws and buy this junk just to save a buck this is what we'll get. How much do you think this whole job cost these people? $20K?, $40K? and they skimped on a lousy $1000? They deserve what they got. Oh yeah, and good luck getting the bastages to make good on it like an American company would have to.

I just love how we want all these environmental and safety laws for our companies to follow and then we ousource manufacturing to countries that don't have these laws because the product is too expensive to make here. The chinese will make the rope we hang ourselves with. [/rant]

I see it all the time, my bid is higher because i use stainless steel,screws instead of nails , full thru carriage bolts instead of lags, 8x8's posts instead of 6x6. yea i'm more expensive but my docks & bulkheads LAST,but the consumer....thinks there saving money by spending less on a product,and expects the same thing. Exactly what you said up top, were to blame.American manufacturers ought to open 3 American factory's for every 1 that's overseas, then Unions need to go, then instill heavy trade tariffs in goods entering the USA.Stop rebuilding country's that hate us,rebuild our infrastructure with AMERICAN labor.Then perhaps we'll see a turnaround ....oh,yea I almost forgot..2 year term limits for EVERYONE in DC. Rant done.

[floridadeckie]

They are having the same issues down here. A home builder, Lanar Homes, used the chinese drywall to save costs in homes, and now its doing exactly the same thing,corroding cooling tubes and fins as well as fixtures and electrical wiring. But at least Lanar homes is doing right, not only are they going to pay to replace all the drywall, but they are also going to provide motel rooms or rentals for the affected homeowners.

[Logan9581]

They are having the same issues down here. A home builder, Lanar Homes, used the chinese drywall to save costs in homes, and now its doing exactly the same thing,corroding cooling tubes and fins as well as fixtures and electrical wiring. But at least Lanar homes is doing right, not only are they going to pay to replace all the drywall, but they are also going to provide motel rooms or rentals for the affected homeowners.

This is going on in Lakewood Ranch too. Might be the same place you are talking about.

[donald/tri-again]

how did it pass as gypsum wall board when its made of fly ash. the residue from burning coal in boilers etc. another reason china can sell cheap they are allowed to reuse the hazardous waste in another product where an american co has to pay dearly to dispose of it. the power co gave millions of tons of it to a developer to use for golf course fill. now wells in area are poisened. wonder if any chinese built homes with it