Tradition resident takes Chinese drywall repairs into his own hands | Video
Dan Savini took proactive measures when he found out his $220,000 condominium at The Promenade in Tradition had Chinese drywall.
He contacted contractors claiming to specialize in Chinese drywall repairs to get estimates, registered his complaint with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the lead agency responsible for nationwide drywall complaints, and contacted several different legislators hoping to receive guidance on how to deal with the toxic imported drywall.
"I wrote to 14 different politicians, but I only received two responses, and that was back in July," Savini said. "My insurance did nothing, the builder did nothing. Nobody did anything."
Like hundreds of other homeowners on the Treasure Coast, Savini's life has been disrupted by the imported toxic wallboard. Chinese drywall has destroyed home values in some communities and others say it has caused serious health issues for those who unknowingly spent their life's savings on a house built with Chinese drywall.
According to a data provided to Scripps Howard News Service, about 166 Chinese drywall complaints to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have originated from the Treasure Coast, including 53 from Indian River County, 90 from St. Lucie County and 23 from Martin County.
Some of the more serious complaints include an elderly Vero Beach man who attributed his double pneumonia and lung problems to Chinese drywall in his home and the parents of a 2 1/2-year-old Vero Beach boy claim he developed asthma and had pneumonia twice because of the toxic wallboard. An Indian River County woman also claims to have been diagnosed with lung cancer after discovering Chinese drywall in her home.
Scripps Howard News Service found that five deaths are possibly being linked to tainted drywall homes in Louisiana and four in other regions of Florida. The deaths were primarily among elderly and young people with medical problems.
Dozens are taking their builders and drywall manufacturers to court, some are simply walking away from homes risking foreclosure hassles and huge dings on their credit, while other homeowners are considering paying for expensive repairs that promise to fix the drywall problems and salvage the home. Some more fortunate homeowners have received relocation and reconstruction assistance from their builders and some continue to live in the homes and pay the mortgage because they don't have the financial means to pay rent at an apartment and a mortgage.
Savini, who has replaced his air conditioning unit twice since purchasing the unit in 2006, asked his tenants to leave the condo and put them up in other housing for the remainder of their lease. And when his repair estimates to rid the unit of damage sustained from the Chinese drywall came back at between $60,000 and $70,000, he rolled up his sleeves and made a couple of trips to a home improvement store himself.
"I replaced everything for $17,000 and did all the work," said Savini, 75. "I worked 12 hours a day, seven days a week."
In addition to the problems, he said he can't sell the unit because of the subdivision's stigma of having the imported drywall. The value of his condo has also decreased substantially. Savini said similar condo units at The Promenade are selling for $49,000, almost $171,000 less than his purchase price.
"Nobody wanted to step up to the plate and take responsibility for this," said Savini, who is not involved in any Chinese drywall litigation against drywall manufacturers or his builder, Coral Springs-based Centerline Homes.
Centerline Homes did not return calls for comment.
Savini said he expected the CPSC to at least follow-up on his complaint. But the agency never contacted him to verify his information, never acknowledged his complaint or called him back to advise him on whether or not he should tell his tenants to vacate the condo because of metal corrosion and possible health risks associated with the toxic drywall.
The CPSC has not responded to questions concerning how the agency is handling complaints nationwide and on the Treasure Coast.
"I found out that 60 percent of the units here had this drywall, this nightmare," Savini said after attending a homeowners meeting last year. "So I took matters into my own hands."
That same sentiment has led Treasure Coast homeowners with Chinese drywall to deal with the problem in a variety of ways.
Bradley and Alyse Simons in Indian River County finally let their home go into foreclosure after they experienced nosebleeds, stinging in their eyes and sensed a foul odor in their single-family home. They soon started coughing up blood and noticed certain fixtures in the home were showing signs of corrosion.
When they found out Alyse was pregnant, they moved in with family. After more than six months of a hopeless search for answers, the couple decided to sacrifice their good credit and stop paying the mortgage.
Manuel Comras, an attorney with the West Palm Beach law firm of McIntosh, Sawran, Peltz & Cartaya, represents about a dozen homeowners at The Promenade in Tradition who are suing Centerline Homes. He said most of his clients saw litigation as a last resort to dealing with the Chinese drywall and they only turned to the law when they felt abandoned by builders and developers and couldn't get any answers from the state and federal government on how to handle Chinese drywall.
"These homes are worth next to nothing now and nobody has been given real guidance on remediation," Comras said.
He said the class-action lawsuits and his cases do not cover the possible health risks homeowners with Chinese drywall claim to be suffering from. Comras urged the CPSC and its partner agencies investigating the problem to inform the public about any long-term health problems that could arise from the drywall's sulphur emissions.
"I have clients that are just walking away from their homes and other clients who are riding out the storm in their homes because they don't know what to do," Comras said. "They have significant questions that need to be answered about the health effects of living in these homes. I wouldn't consider living in a home with Chinese drywall, but it's hard telling people that don't have the means to just go live somewhere else."
ABOUT THIS REPORT
Today's report tells the story how different homeowners in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties are dealing with Chinese drywall in their homes.
An analysis of data from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission by Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers found local health-related Chinese drywall complaints ranging from bouts of double pneumonia in toddlers and the elderly to reports of elevated liver enzymes and other serious lung conditions. One complainant even claims she was diagnosed with cancer after living with Chinese drywall. Meanwhile, Scripps Howard News Service found that five deaths are being linked to tainted drywall in Louisiana and four in other regions of Florida.
SEE STORIES FROM OTHER COUNTIES
See stories on what residents are doing about Chinese drywall problems in Indian River County and Martin County.
USE THE DATABASE
A comprehensive database of Treasure Coast complaints to the CPSC can be accessed at TCPalm.com/drywallhealth. There, readers can see the types of metal corrosions occurring in local homes attributed to the drywall and the serious health issues reported by hundreds of Treasure Coast homeowners.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Next, we tell readers which federal agencies are involved in the investigation, how they are handling complaints and get reaction from local politicians.
