Brand New Drywall Knife
Ok, this wasn’t an intentional experiment, but it did end up demonstrating the destructive powers of Chinese Drywall in a fairly simple, yet profound, way.
On Monday we performed a bid conference with our subcontractors for a Chinese Drywall remediation project in Tampa. For those of you unfamiliar with what Chinese drywall is, it’s a drywall that was imported from China a few years ago. This particular type of drywall emits a gas that corrodes metal components within the home. At this time, it is unknown whether or not the gas that is emitted is hazardous to the health of the people living in homes with the Chinese Drywall. Although there is still some debate on the matter, most experts now agree that the only true method to ensure your home is rid of the problem is to remove every single piece of drywall from the home and start over. As you might imagine, this is an extensive remodeling project and a nightmare scenario for the unfortunate homeowners who have discovered their homes contain Chinese Drywall.
Before I share the details of our pseudo-experiment, I want to outline the true scale of a project like this. In order to remove the drywall you must, of course, first remove all of the wood trim (base molding, door and window casing, crown molding, etc), window treatments, light fixtures, toilets, cabinets, tile which has chinese drywall behind it, closet shelving, carpeting, etc. Once this is done, you can then remove all of the drywall from the entire home. But you are not done yet. Once you have removed all of the drywall you then strip the home of all insulation, electrical wiring, A/V wiring, HVAC ducting and the HVAC air handler! Only then can you begin rebuilding the home. This is the true definition of a dream turning into a nightmare, but must be done because of the potential safety issues created from the corrosive power of the gas being emitted from the drywall, which brings me back to the purpose of this post.
Destructive Power of Chinese Drywall
On Monday, during the bid conference, I cut four small holes into the drywall to inspect the drywall around the installed wall tile. I used a brand new key-hole saw made for the purpose of cutting drywall. After the bid conference I placed the knife into the pocket on the passenger side of my truck and didn’t give it another thought. Then, on Thursday – just three days later – I had the passenger door open and happened to look down and see the knife. As you can see from the photo, the Chinese drywall dust that was left on the knife actually created significant corrosion on both sides of the blade of the knife. The speed and severity of the corrosion is quite surprising, but is a good (and frightening) example of why you would want this stuff removed from your home!
Charter Bay Home Builders is a full-service Tampa Remodeler and Custom Home Builder working throughout the greater Tampa Bay area including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Manatee, and Sarasota. Charter Bay can help with your Kitchen Remodeling, Bath Remodeling, Cabinets, Renovation, Remodeling, Home Design, Design Build, and New Home Building needs.
In addition, as one of the few Tampa remodelers, contractors, or home builders with multiple green building and green remodeling certifications (FGBC Certifying Agent and NAHB Certified Green Building Professional), Charter Bay can also assist those clients who want green features and sustainable building practices incorporated into their projects.
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