Virginia Injury Lawyer Blog

Chinese Drywall Not to Blame for Deterioration of Florida Home

After extensive testing, an independent engineering company has determined that allegedly defective drywall in the Florida home of George and Brenda Brincku was not of Chinese manufacture. A sample of the Brincku's wallboard and a Chinese sample were both exposed to extreme levels of heat and humidity in the presence of copper. While chemicals from the Chinese wallboard corroded the copper in 16 hours, the Brincku board did nothing of the sort. After three weeks, the copper still showed no signs of corrosion. Yet the Brinckus' complaints match those of the myriad other homeowners affected by Chinese drywall. The family has claimed that their home exhibits four of the five criteria employed by the State of Florida to identify toxic drywall: "presence of sulfur-like or other unusual odors,” “observed copper corrosion,” “documented failure of air conditioner evaporator coil,” and “confirmation by an outside expert or professional [of] the presence of premature copper corrosion.” According to the Brinckus, conditions in the house became so intolerable that they were forced to leave. Because the recent testing seems to exonerate Chinese manufacturers as the source of the Brincku's troubles, it gives rise to the notion that defective drywall is coming into circulation from other sources.