Monday, January 12, 2009

Chinese drywall is as good as Chinese toothpaste

We outsource IT jobs to India, and we find these companies are giant frauds, and everyday we find more defects in goods from China. Now it's their drywall! Even Ponzi-schemed accused Lennar is ripping out the drywall in some of the homes. Now if much maligned Lennar is recognizing that the drywall from China is a problem, then you know it really is a problem!

Some home builders already struggling in Florida's dismal housing market are facing another headache: The Chinese-made drywall they used is causing unpleasant odors and possibly leading to electric problems in dozens of homes constructed during the housing boom.

A handful of builders and environmental consultants are investigating whether the drywall, a wide flat board used to create interior walls, is emitting sulfur-based gases that may be corroding air-conditioner coils, computer wiring and metal picture frames...

Lennar, the nation's second-largest builder by volume, has tested air quality in at least 50 houses and has relocated several homeowners in order to rip out and replace the drywall, a costly process. It is trying to find less-intrusive ways to fix the problem. Lennar is continuing tests in a dozen of its Florida developments and has shared results with the state health department.

Typically, builders use domestically produced drywall, which is made mainly from the mineral gypsum. But in 2006 -- amid the housing boom and the scramble for construction material along the Gulf Coast for reconstruction after Hurricane Katrina -- suppliers began importing drywall from China.

Much of the problematic drywall, which is also known as wallboard or plasterboard, was manufactured in China. One manufacturer that is dealing with the fallout is Knauf Plasterboard, Tianjin Co., a subsidiary of the German construction-material company Knauf International GmbH.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123171862994672097.html

So if you want to buy drywall, you better get it where Warren Buffett invests-USG.

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