Chinese drywall remediation cost when buying a house

How much does Chinese drywall remediation cost?

Plan on Chinese drywall remediation costing $30,000 to $100,000 or more for replacing the affected drywall and damaged systems, including corroded wiring, appliances and air conditioning parts, because the fix is not a patch. The federal scope is narrower: replace all the drywall in a house found to have it, plus the alarms, outlets, switches and breakers. Before you ask the seller for that money, get the finding confirmed by a professional assessor and a lab.

Key takeaways

• The federal test starts with blackened copper wiring or air conditioning coils in a house with drywall installed between 2001 and 2009.
• One lab test leaves copper strips in the house for two weeks to 30 days, so ask the assessor on day one which tests fit your deadline.
• The federal scope does not require new wiring, water pipes or air conditioning coils. Every bid you compare should list what it adds beyond that.

What is Chinese drywall?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) calls it problem drywall. CPSC and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) found "a strong association between the presence of problem drywall and corrosion of metal in homes." The boards give off corrosive sulfur gases. The problem boards CPSC found were imported from China, but the federal guidance says that "does not imply that all Chinese drywall or that only Chinese drywall is associated with these problems."

CPSC says most reports came from homes built in 2006 to 2007, during a construction boom driven partly by the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes. Reports came from 44 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa and Puerto Rico. In CPSC's words, "the majority of the reports to the CPSC have come from consumers residing in the State of Florida."

What are the symptoms of Chinese drywall?

Owners told CPSC about a "rotten egg" smell, blackened and corroded metal, and air conditioning parts that kept needing replacement. They also reported "irritated and itchy eyes and skin, difficulty in breathing, persistent cough, bloody noses, runny noses, recurrent headaches, sinus infection, and asthma attacks."

A rotten egg smell can also mean a gas leak, since gas companies add that smell to natural gas. If the smell is strong or you're unsure, Connecticut's utility regulator says to "leave the building and then call" the gas company or 911.

On health, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) found that people exposed to sulfur gases from some Chinese-made drywall "may have experienced adverse health effects or a reduced quality of life." ATSDR tested a small number of samples, so it says its findings should not be applied to all drywall from that period. If anyone in your household has symptoms, ATSDR suggests sharing its report with their health care provider.

How do you know if you have Chinese drywall in your house?

CPSC and HUD's identification guidance has two steps. First, a visual check must show "blackening of copper electrical wiring and/or air conditioning evaporator coils" and drywall installed between 2001 and 2009. Your inspector's note may already cover the first half.

Second, you need corroborating evidence, because metal corrodes for other reasons too. Drywall installed from 2005 to 2009 needs at least two of these five. Drywall from 2001 to 2004 needs four.

• Elemental sulfur above 10 parts per million in drywall core samples
• Copper sulfide on copper test strips left in the house for two weeks to 30 days, or sulfur confirmed in blackened ground wires or coils
• Confirmed Chinese markings on the drywall
• Sulfur gases from drywall samples in a lab test chamber
• Copper corroding to copper sulfide in a chamber with drywall samples

The guidance says some of this "will require professional assessors and/or testing by analytical laboratories." Call an environmental testing company the day you read the report. How to get repair estimates during the inspection period covers booking fast.

What does Chinese drywall remediation include?

CPSC and HUD's remediation guidance calls for this in a house found to have problem drywall.

The guidance leaves that last row out "because of the absence of a direct connection to safety." Some remediation jobs replace those items anyway.

CPSC staff's review of corroded electrical parts, gas piping, sprinkler heads and smoke alarms "has not revealed any safety-related failures," and the guidance replaces outlets, switches and breakers "out of an abundance of caution." That is not a clean bill for your house. If your report notes blackened wiring or breakers, have a licensed electrician look before your deadline. Ask each licensed remediation contractor for a written bid that lists every row above and anything it adds.

What should I ask the seller for?

Ask for the full federal scope, done by a licensed contractor, or a credit for the bid.

Say testing confirms problem drywall installed in 2006. Until bids arrive, use Today's Homeowner's range from the top of this page. It prices a wider job than the federal list, including corroded wiring, appliances and air conditioning parts, so the line says so:

Remediation of problem drywall to CPSC and HUD guidance: replace all drywall, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, outlets, switches, breakers and fusible sprinkler heads; pressure-test gas piping. Licensed remediation contractor. Placeholder $30,000 to $100,000 or more (Today's Homeowner, full remediation including damaged systems). Written bid to follow.

Swap in the written bid as soon as you have it. Kept prices every line of an inspection report for $79, usually under 4 hours, and marks the ones that need a professional quote (how Kept prices a line). What to ask for after a home inspection covers how this line fits your list, and the buyer repair request letter template gives you the wording.

What if the seller says no?

• Ask for a credit at your written bid instead of the work.
• Walk away if the bids run past what the house is worth to you. If your inspection contingency allows, cancel inside the window. See when to walk away after a home inspection.
• Ask for an extension if testing can't finish in time. Without one, decide before the deadline passes.

Your contract sets the exact dates and terms, so confirm them with your agent or attorney.

Does homeowners insurance cover Chinese drywall?

Don't count on it. At a 2009 hearing of state insurance regulators, testimony said carriers were arguing homeowners policies gave no coverage, citing "defective product; latent defect; and pollutant." Testimony at the same hearing also quoted a policyholder advocate calling it "not an open-and-shut case," so the carriers' position was disputed. Ask your insurance agent before your deadline whether the policy you're buying excludes it, and get the answer in writing.

Is Chinese drywall still a problem?

CPSC says it "has completed its investigation into problem drywall." A closed investigation doesn't clear any one house. Problem drywall went into homes as late as 2009, from boards imported in 2006 and 2007. A house in that installation window still gets the two-step check.

How do I know what the rest of my list is worth?

Price it line by line, not as a round number. Each finding gets a scope, a trade and a figure, and the sum is your ask. The drywall line waits on a lab and a contractor. The rest doesn't have to.

If problem drywall is one line of a long report, upload your inspection report to Kept and put numbers on the rest of your list while the tests run.

Sources

• Today's Homeowner, Toxic Chinese Drywall: Is It in Your Home?
• CPSC, Where Has Problem Drywall Been Reported?
• CPSC, Drywall Information Center
• CPSC and HUD, Identification Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem Drywall
• CPSC and HUD, Remediation Guidance for Homes with Corrosion from Problem Drywall
• ATSDR, Possible Health Implications from Exposure to Sulfur Gases Emitted from Chinese-Manufactured Drywall
• Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, What to Do If You Smell Natural Gas
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Chinese Drywall Hearing transcript