Commercial property managers sitting back right now and watching increasing reports and issues with Chinese drywall in the residential, apartment and condominium sectors of the real estate market and thinking they are “OK” because their industrial, office and retail properties have not been tainted are in danger of becoming complacent.
Typically commercial uses require 5/8” versus ½” sheetrock in construction. Chinese drywall to date has been found in ½”. However there are occasions when ½” sheetrock is specified or used in office and retail construction. Property managers should know how to identify when Chinese drywall is present so that if their tenant’s have issues within their space that could be related to Chinese drywall, it can be identified quicker.
Chinese drywall is gypsum board, also known as sheetrock or drywall, which was manufactured and brought into the United States between the years 2000 to 2006 when we were having huge shortfalls of availability of drywall due to the recent construction boom. Houses, apartments and condominiums suspected to have Chinese drywall have issues with air handler coils, corroded silver and chrome based metals and copper wiring and unexplained shortages or failures of electronic equipment. Some of these residences also have peculiar odors and there are reports of medical side effects including headaches, allergies, nose bleeds and upper respiratory issues.
Samples of sheetrock from houses suspected to have Chinese drywall have been found to have strontium sulfide and a higher percentage of organic compounds than what typically appears in regular sheetrock manufactured in the US or in other factories in China. When the sheetrock is subject to high humidity and heat, it starts producing an off gas with carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide which in turn reacts with silver and copper, causing pitting and corrosion. In some cases hydrogen sulfide has also been found present in the air which may account for why some houses also have strong odors of rotten eggs, matches or wet cardboard.
To date, Chinese drywall has been found in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia and the Carolinas. There has been speculation that this sheetrock will also be found in other high growth states as well as in overseas markets. It is showing up in the southeast first due to proximity to ports taking delivery of the sheetrock as well as the higher levels of dampness and humidity in the air.
Although the Chinese drywall currently seems limited to residential applications, there are occasions where ½” drywall can be used in commercial applications.
Architects might suggest ½” sheetrock if there are critical dimensions that have to be achieved in a room where literally every half inch is needed for the installation of equipment or racks. This recently happened with a commercial property developer who changed from 5/8” to ½” in a space sensitive electronics room. He is now noticing a peculiar odor typical to one of the side effects of Chinese drywall and suspects he has it.
Another situation that might occur is where retail or office tenants did their own build-outs and hired drywall contractors who substituted ½” board for 5/8” because of lack of availability of 5/8” board or because they just happened to have the ½” on hand.
Typically inspectors only check drywall installation on fire rated walls which require 5/8” thick sheetrock. If ½” was used or substituted on interior partition walls, they might not have noticed or thought anything of it. If they did and required a letter from the architect or a change in plans, then as long as the installation was good, most architects would not have been concerned. They certainly would not have known about Chinese drywall either.
The Palm Beach Post reported on April 24 that a Davie Legal Group reported during a town meeting on Chinese Drywall that he and his partners discovered that they have Chinese drywall in their offices after realizing that symptoms many homeowners were describing matched problems in their own building.
If a tenant starts to complain about odors or issues with electronics, then what should a property manager look for?
Howard Ehrsam, EI, CDP is the owner of Chinese Drywall Screening based in Port St Lucie, Florida. Howard has done over 200 visual inspections and recommends property managers look for the following indicators of potentially “tainted” Chinese drywall.
Look at coils on air handlers and check for the presence of “soot” on the coils. Also find out if the coils have had to be replaced already. In some residential cases there has been repeated failure of coils and the mechanical service contractor is the first to suspect there might be a problem.
Look at the electrical panel inside the store and see if there is evidence of “soot” or corrosion on the copper wires. Do not reach in and touch unless you are trained in handling electricity. Also check the copper tubing on the water heater if there is one in the space. If the space is “tainted” then the copper will probably be corroded or have soot on it also.
Ask if the tenant has had to replace their computer hard drives or if they are having problems with their fire alarms, thermostats, computer point of sales or any other small electronics.
Check to see if there are odors like sewer gas. This can get tricky for retail property managers because unoccupied spaces do tend to have sewer gas accumulation so if no one is regularly flushing the toilets or priming the traps then these smells can move into adjoining space.
If a landlord or property manager observes any of the first three during a preliminary inspection, then they should take the next step which is hire a trained Chinese drywall inspector to come in and look and verify or require the tenant to do so if they did the interior build-out and are still located in the space.
Landlord’s who have tenants sharing air handling or chilled water systems should take immediate action to isolate the space if Chinese drywall is found in order to protect other tenants and critical components of their own systems. If it is a stand alone unit with its own air handler, then whoever contracted with the builder who did the interior should contact them and put them on notice. They should also contact their attorney and ask for their assistance.
Builders and drywall contractors are as much of a victim of tainted drywall as the user is and though willing to help, will not know how to remediate the issue short of taking out all fixtures and cabinets and tearing out all sheetrock that can be identified as Chinese or tainted. If the Tenant has issues with odor then they will either have to get their furnishings and merchandise deodorized or they will have to toss them out. If the Landlord has available space, it might be advisable to temporarily move the tenant until the work is complete.
There are currently no formal protocols for remediation and any work someone does can be subject to additional remediation at a later date if required by the municipalities or governmental agencies that will be charged with overseeing any remediation in the future. If you decide to proceed on remediation with a contractor, do not sign off on accepting any responsibility for the space after they are done until you know local authorities will accept it as “clean”.
Typically commercial uses require 5/8” versus ½” sheetrock in construction. Chinese drywall to date has been found in ½”. However there are occasions when ½” sheetrock is specified or used in office and retail construction. Property managers should know how to identify when Chinese drywall is present so that if their tenant’s have issues within their space that could be related to Chinese drywall, it can be identified quicker.
Chinese drywall is gypsum board, also known as sheetrock or drywall, which was manufactured and brought into the United States between the years 2000 to 2006 when we were having huge shortfalls of availability of drywall due to the recent construction boom. Houses, apartments and condominiums suspected to have Chinese drywall have issues with air handler coils, corroded silver and chrome based metals and copper wiring and unexplained shortages or failures of electronic equipment. Some of these residences also have peculiar odors and there are reports of medical side effects including headaches, allergies, nose bleeds and upper respiratory issues.
Samples of sheetrock from houses suspected to have Chinese drywall have been found to have strontium sulfide and a higher percentage of organic compounds than what typically appears in regular sheetrock manufactured in the US or in other factories in China. When the sheetrock is subject to high humidity and heat, it starts producing an off gas with carbonyl sulfide and carbon disulfide which in turn reacts with silver and copper, causing pitting and corrosion. In some cases hydrogen sulfide has also been found present in the air which may account for why some houses also have strong odors of rotten eggs, matches or wet cardboard.
To date, Chinese drywall has been found in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia and the Carolinas. There has been speculation that this sheetrock will also be found in other high growth states as well as in overseas markets. It is showing up in the southeast first due to proximity to ports taking delivery of the sheetrock as well as the higher levels of dampness and humidity in the air.
Although the Chinese drywall currently seems limited to residential applications, there are occasions where ½” drywall can be used in commercial applications.
Architects might suggest ½” sheetrock if there are critical dimensions that have to be achieved in a room where literally every half inch is needed for the installation of equipment or racks. This recently happened with a commercial property developer who changed from 5/8” to ½” in a space sensitive electronics room. He is now noticing a peculiar odor typical to one of the side effects of Chinese drywall and suspects he has it.
Another situation that might occur is where retail or office tenants did their own build-outs and hired drywall contractors who substituted ½” board for 5/8” because of lack of availability of 5/8” board or because they just happened to have the ½” on hand.
Typically inspectors only check drywall installation on fire rated walls which require 5/8” thick sheetrock. If ½” was used or substituted on interior partition walls, they might not have noticed or thought anything of it. If they did and required a letter from the architect or a change in plans, then as long as the installation was good, most architects would not have been concerned. They certainly would not have known about Chinese drywall either.
The Palm Beach Post reported on April 24 that a Davie Legal Group reported during a town meeting on Chinese Drywall that he and his partners discovered that they have Chinese drywall in their offices after realizing that symptoms many homeowners were describing matched problems in their own building.
If a tenant starts to complain about odors or issues with electronics, then what should a property manager look for?
Howard Ehrsam, EI, CDP is the owner of Chinese Drywall Screening based in Port St Lucie, Florida. Howard has done over 200 visual inspections and recommends property managers look for the following indicators of potentially “tainted” Chinese drywall.
Look at coils on air handlers and check for the presence of “soot” on the coils. Also find out if the coils have had to be replaced already. In some residential cases there has been repeated failure of coils and the mechanical service contractor is the first to suspect there might be a problem.
Look at the electrical panel inside the store and see if there is evidence of “soot” or corrosion on the copper wires. Do not reach in and touch unless you are trained in handling electricity. Also check the copper tubing on the water heater if there is one in the space. If the space is “tainted” then the copper will probably be corroded or have soot on it also.
Ask if the tenant has had to replace their computer hard drives or if they are having problems with their fire alarms, thermostats, computer point of sales or any other small electronics.
Check to see if there are odors like sewer gas. This can get tricky for retail property managers because unoccupied spaces do tend to have sewer gas accumulation so if no one is regularly flushing the toilets or priming the traps then these smells can move into adjoining space.
If a landlord or property manager observes any of the first three during a preliminary inspection, then they should take the next step which is hire a trained Chinese drywall inspector to come in and look and verify or require the tenant to do so if they did the interior build-out and are still located in the space.
Landlord’s who have tenants sharing air handling or chilled water systems should take immediate action to isolate the space if Chinese drywall is found in order to protect other tenants and critical components of their own systems. If it is a stand alone unit with its own air handler, then whoever contracted with the builder who did the interior should contact them and put them on notice. They should also contact their attorney and ask for their assistance.
Builders and drywall contractors are as much of a victim of tainted drywall as the user is and though willing to help, will not know how to remediate the issue short of taking out all fixtures and cabinets and tearing out all sheetrock that can be identified as Chinese or tainted. If the Tenant has issues with odor then they will either have to get their furnishings and merchandise deodorized or they will have to toss them out. If the Landlord has available space, it might be advisable to temporarily move the tenant until the work is complete.
There are currently no formal protocols for remediation and any work someone does can be subject to additional remediation at a later date if required by the municipalities or governmental agencies that will be charged with overseeing any remediation in the future. If you decide to proceed on remediation with a contractor, do not sign off on accepting any responsibility for the space after they are done until you know local authorities will accept it as “clean”.
Below are two photos of the same air handler - the first shows a new coli installed in February of 2009 and the second shows the same coil on May 14, 2009.
Karen M. Scott, SCMD, CDP
Centerworks Retail
Kscott2784@msn.com
