Issue Date: CAMI Online Exclusive, Posted On: 2/9/2010
Federal Agencies Set Criteria for Drywall Diagnosis
Federal agencies recently released a new set of criteria to help members and inspectors determine whether recent renovations or construction definitively has defective drywall.
Calling it a "preliminary" protocol, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD) outlined standards for homes built from 2001-2008, for the first time acknowledging a wider range of possible homes may be affected than the earlier estimates of 2004-2007.
The guidance takes into account visual signs of metal corrosion, evidence of drywall installation in the relevant time period, and the identification of other corroborating evidence or characteristics. HUD and CPSC’s two-step guidance requires a visual inspection that must show blackening of copper electrical wiring and/or air conditioning evaporator coils; and the installation of new drywall for new construction or renovations between 2001 and 2008. To view the full text of this guidance, visit HUD’s website or CPSC’s website.
The guidance also describes obtaining additional corroborating evidence of problem drywall, since it is possible that corrosion of metal in homes can occur for other reasons. For example, homes with new drywall installed between 2005 and 2008 (and the significant increase in imported problem drywall due in part to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita) must meet at least two additional criteria related to: the chemical analysis of metal corrosion in the home; elemental markers in the drywall; markings on the drywall; or specific chemical emissions from the drywall.
Federal agencies recently released a new set of criteria to help members and inspectors determine whether recent renovations or construction definitively has defective drywall.
