Homeowners say Chinese drywall making them sick
Lakewood Ranch - For Kristin Culliton, the American dream has
turned into a nightmare for her and she's not alone. She's upset
about what's in her wall. She says drywall from China is making her sick.
Culliton moved into her Lakewood ranch home along Skip Jack Loop in
September of 2006. She wanted to have a baby and
wanted to be near parks and good schools. But, she says, about a year
after moving in, she started to notice something just wasn't
right. There was a strong smell of sulfur in her home that gave her a
headache and irritated her throat. "It makes me sick, you
know, literally," she says.
She says she checked everything. Sherwin Williams cut holes into her
wall to run tests on the paint. She had a plumber come out
and even her had air conditioner checked out, since the copper in and
outside the unit was corroded. Sulfur exposure can cause
copper to erode.
Taylor Morrison built the house and, since it was still under warranty,
she had their inspector come out to check, too. She says,
"She just
entered the garage and she said, 'I know exactly what it is. It's the
Chinese drywall. It's drywall from China.'"
Culliton says Taylor Morrison
offered to install an air purification system but, with a baby on the
way, her doctor told her she
needed to move out and she did in December of 2008.
Charles Henry works for the Sarasota Country Health Department
where they monitor indoor air quality. He says they've received
more than 30 calls from people with similar complaints.
"If they are in a new home that was built after 2004, the
potential exists that some of this drywall may have been put in, that we
believe emits some type of sulfur compound."
Henry says you could also be at risk if your home has been recently
renovated.
Tom Larkin works for the Manatee Country Health Department
and says they're trying to figure out how many people in the area
are experiencing this type of problem. He says they've had about 10
complaints so far. Larkin and Henry are working with the
State Health Department by
logging the complaints.
Henry says his department can send out an inspector to your home to
check out the air quality. Both say, if you think there's a
problem in your home, you should call the health department. If you're
suffering from any health problems, though, they say you
should see your doctor
immediately.
Meanwhile, Culliton and her son are now living with her mother and
she's filed a lawsuit against Taylor Morrison, a company she
believed in, and worked for, selling homes for six years. She quit
earlier this month but is still paying the mortgage on what was
supposed to be a green home. "Why did Taylor Morrison have drywall from
China that's not certified or doesn't meet any kind of
standards from what I've read?" she asked.
Steve Kempton is the Southwest Florida Division President for Taylor
Morrison. He says, "Taylor Morrison has built a reputation
for quality and service based on a firm commitment to customer care and
customer satisfaction. Our first concern is with each of
our homeowners. Taylor Morrison's policy is to professionally and
thoroughly address all customer care and warranty issues about
our homes. We use only the highest quality building materials and
continually upgrade products to make sure they meet and exceed
industry standards."
Kempton adds, "Although Taylor Morrison does not comment on the details
of pending litigation, we are confident that we
thoroughly addressed the particular issue at hand by implementing an
investigation into the matter and taking steps to achieve
customer satisfaction. This included air quality testing, the results of
which met health and safety standards. As with all customer
care issues, we are always willing to work with our homeowners to resolve
their concerns. We encourage homeowners with
questions or concerns to contact us by visiting
www.taylormorrison.com and
clicking on 'contact us' to reach their local division."
Courtesy of
http://www.tampabays10.com
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