Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, March 27, 2009

BOYNTON BEACH — Jimmy Diamond says he was flying high back in 2005. He and his wife had good jobs. They had just purchased a two-story, $600,000 home in an upscale Boynton Beach neighborhood.

But now Diamond rubs his face and laughs tiredly when asked what his plans for the future are.

Plasterboard problems

Although not every home in a development has problematic Chinese drywall, these communities have confirmed some properties were built with the material.

Woodfield, Vero Beach

Promenade at Tradition, Port St. Lucie

Cobblestone Creek, Boynton Beach

Mariner Village Townhomes, Stuart

“We have no plan,” Diamond said. “All I know is I’m screwed because I can’t sell my house.”

The Diamonds, who had lined up a buyer for their home, discovered that the development they live in, Cobblestone Creek, has houses with tainted Chinese drywall.

“We had to tell the buyer,” Diamond said. “They backed out the next day.”

The Chinese drywall controversy is snowballing: Investigators from the Consumer Product Safety Commission were in West Florida on Thursday testing homes with the suspect plasterboard. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is testing to determine whether the material can safely be tossed into landfills. And the Florida attorney general’s office has launched an investigation into Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. – a subsidiary of German company Knauf Gips KG – and drywall distributor L&W Supply Corp. – a subsidiary of U.S.-based USG Corp. – to determine whether any deceptive practices may have occurred in sales or marketing of Chinese-made drywall.

Used extensively in rebuilding following the hurricanes of 2004 and during the housing boom, Chinese-made drywall was an alternative to the U.S. product, which was in short supply. However, Florida Department of Health guidelines suggest the problem could go back to 2000.

It’s now believed that the material is throwing off foul-smelling sulfuric gas when exposed to heat and humidity. Those gases are also suspected as the cause of corroding wires, pipes, home fixtures and even jewelry.

On Monday, the Florida Department of Health released preliminary results of tests of Chinese drywall that eventually should help determine whether the tainted drywall poses a health risk. The results showed higher levels of organic material and sulfuric compounds – particularly strontium sulfide – than U.S.-made plasterboard.

State toxicologist David Krause said several more tests need to be conducted.

In the meantime, homeowners are left to try to figure out for themselves what to do next.

Thursday night, a group of about 150 Boynton Beach homeowners gathered outside the Cobblestone Creek community’s clubhouse to hear a presentation from a group of lawyers.

Some knew they had drywall in their homes; some weren’t sure. Others were simply scared.

“We put our life savings in this house,” said Tonya Radi, a resident in Cobblestone Creek who moved in about eight months ago. “This is the house we thought we’d live in for the next 20 years. What if it’s not healthy? I’m pregnant right now. Or what if people move out, what will that do to my (homeowners association) fees?”

A number of homeowners in the section of Cobblestone Creek built by developer Northstar Homes have complained of air conditioning coils that failed, strange odors and tarnished jewelry. A few have torn out pieces of the drywall in their attic to find the name of a Chinese drywall manufacturer printed on the back, they said.

Northstar did not return calls for comment

State and federal authorities are helping to find answers for homeowners, but all say that answers may be a long time coming.

A team of investigators – including an electrical engineer and a toxicologist – from the Consumer Product Safety Commission was in Southwest Florida beginning Thursday, testing affected homes for electrical corrosion risks and health risks associated with the drywall, commission spokesman Joe Martyak confirmed.

He said he didn’t know whether the investigators would soon be looking at homes in Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast, where state officials have received reports.

“The government doesn’t know enough to give us an answer about whether this is safe or not, so I’m not going to put my children at risk,” said Alli Sirota, a Cobblestone Creek homeowner.

She has two small children and another one on the way, she said, and so she and her husband are hiring movers to move into a temporary place.

“I just need to get out,” she said. “I need to think about this one small step at a time or I will go nuts.”

Jimmy Diamond, who said he now can’t sell his home because it’s worthless, added, “The builder probably didn’t even know he was putting in bad product. But it still (stinks) that we tried to sell this house and couldn’t because of this drywall.”

Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/03/27/a1a_drywall_0328.html

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, March 27, 2009

BOYNTON BEACH — Jimmy Diamond says he was flying high back in 2005. He and his wife had good jobs. They had just purchased a two-story, $600,000 home in an upscale Boynton Beach neighborhood.

But now Diamond rubs his face and laughs tiredly when asked what his plans for the future are.

We have no plan,” Diamond said. “All I know is I’m screwed because I can’t sell my house.”

The Diamonds, who had lined up a buyer for their home, discovered that the development they live in, Cobblestone Creek, has houses with tainted Chinese drywall.

“We had to tell the buyer,” Diamond said. “They backed out the next day.”

The Chinese drywall controversy is snowballing: Investigators from the Consumer Product Safety Commission were in West Florida on Thursday testing homes with the suspect plasterboard. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is testing to determine whether the material can safely be tossed into landfills. And the Florida attorney general’s office has launched an investigation into Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. – a subsidiary of German company Knauf Gips KG – and drywall distributor L&W Supply Corp. – a subsidiary of U.S.-based USG Corp. – to determine whether any deceptive practices may have occurred in sales or marketing of Chinese-made drywall.

Used extensively in rebuilding following the hurricanes of 2004 and during the housing boom, Chinese-made drywall was an alternative to the U.S. product, which was in short supply. However, Florida Department of Health guidelines suggest the problem could go back to 2000.

It’s now believed that the material is throwing off foul-smelling sulfuric gas when exposed to heat and humidity. Those gases are also suspected as the cause of corroding wires, pipes, home fixtures and even jewelry.

On Monday, the Florida Department of Health released preliminary results of tests of Chinese drywall that eventually should help determine whether the tainted drywall poses a health risk. The results showed higher levels of organic material and sulfuric compounds – particularly strontium sulfide – than U.S.-made plasterboard.

State toxicologist David Krause said several more tests need to be conducted.

In the meantime, homeowners are left to try to figure out for themselves what to do next.

Thursday night, a group of about 150 Boynton Beach homeowners gathered outside the Cobblestone Creek community’s clubhouse to hear a presentation from a group of lawyers.

Some knew they had drywall in their homes; some weren’t sure. Others were simply scared.

“We put our life savings in this house,” said Tonya Radi, a resident in Cobblestone Creek who moved in about eight months ago. “This is the house we thought we’d live in for the next 20 years. What if it’s not healthy? I’m pregnant right now. Or what if people move out, what will that do to my (homeowners association) fees?”

A number of homeowners in the section of Cobblestone Creek built by developer Northstar Homes have complained of air conditioning coils that failed, strange odors and tarnished jewelry. A few have torn out pieces of the drywall in their attic to find the name of a Chinese drywall manufacturer printed on the back, they said.

Northstar did not return calls for comment

State and federal authorities are helping to find answers for homeowners, but all say that answers may be a long time coming.

A team of investigators – including an electrical engineer and a toxicologist – from the Consumer Product Safety Commission was in Southwest Florida beginning Thursday, testing affected homes for electrical corrosion risks and health risks associated with the drywall, commission spokesman Joe Martyak confirmed.

He said he didn’t know whether the investigators would soon be looking at homes in Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast, where state officials have received reports.

“The government doesn’t know enough to give us an answer about whether this is safe or not, so I’m not going to put my children at risk,” said Alli Sirota, a Cobblestone Creek homeowner.

She has two small children and another one on the way, she said, and so she and her husband are hiring movers to move into a temporary place.

“I just need to get out,” she said. “I need to think about this one small step at a time or I will go nuts.”

Jimmy Diamond, who said he now can’t sell his home because it’s worthless, added, “The builder probably didn’t even know he was putting in bad product. But it still (stinks) that we tried to sell this house and couldn’t because of this drywall.”