-------
Chinese drywall guidance offered by National Association of Home Builders By Rebecca Mowbray, The Times-Picayune March 18, 2010, 8:13PM
While the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission dallies on instructing people how to fix homes damaged by corrosive drywall, the National Association of Home Builders has become the first major player to advance its own set of "evolving solutions."
The guidance to builders nationwide comes as the national consolidated litigation over problem drywall in U.S. District Court in New Orleans proceeds swiftly toward figuring out how to repair homes. Federal efforts to find effective ways to fix homes, meanwhile, have been thorough but too slow for many impatient families living in homes where hydrogen sulfide gas is making them sick and corroding metal appliances, fixtures and wiring.
Remarkably, the repair procedures outlined by the home builders are similar to what the committee of plaintiffs attorneys has proposed in Judge Eldon Fallon's courtroom in New Orleans. Rather than some cheaper air-filtration and drywall treatments that others have suggested, the home builders association advocates ripping out drywall, plumbing and possibly wiring, paying for families to temporarily relocate, and allowing homes time to air out after being gutted.
"When I look at what the NAHB is recommending and what the plaintiffs steering committee is recommending in court, the differences are not substantial," said David Loeb, an attorney for the Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans.
Report may serve as blueprint
David Jaffe, vice president of legal affairs at the trade association of 175,000 builders, said his group is not attempting to upstage the Safety Commission's quest for official "remediation protocols," but wanted to advise its members on the latest available science on corrosive drywall and the experience of large builders who have attempted to tackle the problem.
But others note that the formal assessment by the home builders, written by the risk management firm Marsh USA Inc., could effectively serve as a blueprint for the Safety Commission and help a diverse set of foreign manufacturers, builders, distributors, homeowners and their attorneys coalesce around a limited set of ideas.
Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the safety commission, said his group has its own task force of experts and should release "remediation protocols" in 45 days. [snip]
--------
Full article at:
No comments:
Post a Comment