SinoDevil(tm) brand drywall.

Well that sucks for them. Especially since all they saved was a thousand dollars, which is a decent amount of money but small peanuts in the grand scheme of home construction cost. I wouldn't want to skimp on major components of the house.

Still, the US needs to start inspecting the stuff China sends over here, since clearly the Chinese can't be bothered to do quality control. Or maybe Americans should decide not to buy Chinese stuff for things they want to last more than a month.

the US needs to start inspecting the stuff China sends over here

#2 | Posted by astrobuckeye at 2009-04-14 07:43 AM | Reply

The hard part is that China produces lots of intermediary materials -- ingredients in other products.

So a container of Chinese microfiber may end up at a cushion factory in Malaysia, with the fabric going to a Mexican furniture factory, producing stuff that is sold in the U.S. So the trail gets lost pretty quick.

at least they won't have any bugs or critters!

Yay for Free Trade!!!!

Buy goods from human rights abusers and we get what we deserve for doing it.

Buy goods from human rights abusers and we get what we deserve for doing it.

#5 | Posted by danni at 2009-04-14 11:53 AM | Reply |

Do people, gays especially, deserve aids for being promiscuous?

at least they won't have any bugs or critters!

#4 | Posted by nanc

or alien nanothermites from the moon.

The people living in those shacks get what they paid for. It's been what, three, four years? I think those things were intended to be temporary lodging and not meant as something to pass down to your children.

Time to stand on your own two feet, guys...

The Chinamen don't arbitrarily send over stuff.
"American" Companies have their wares cheaply made there and at the same time taking away work from "America".

The only thing the Chinese are good at making are more Chinese.

"The people living in those shacks get what they paid for."

If you read the article they were rebuilding their home, not living in government housing. They still cut corners but they cut those corners in their own house with their own money.

"The people living in those shacks get what they paid for. It's been what, three, four years? I think those things were intended to be temporary lodging and not meant as something to pass down to your children.

Time to stand on your own two feet, guys..."

#8 | Posted by Spielmannsfluch

What are you, yet another of the severely reading impaired?

"Thomas Stone and his wife rebuilt their home after it was flooded by 6 feet of water during Hurricane Katrina."

The Stones must have been sitting on their asses when somebody magically rebuilt their home.

"...two-story home... The bathroom upstairs..."

Yep, all shacks and temporary lodging have at least two stories and two bathrooms.

How cheap would the drywall have to be to make it worth shipping across the ocean? Like astro noted, drywall ain't that expensive as is, and its damn heavy.

at least they won't have any bugs or critters!

#4 | Posted by nanc

Roaches, rats and termites will live through almost anything. I doubt if a little sulfur's going to bother them much.

That wallboard probably has rice paper for backing. My old man used to help make trainloads of backing for wallboard. all from reclaimed paperstock. I have no sympathy for people who buy foreign made construction materials. If You can't support American Companies then fuck ya.

Larry

Hey 101 - Fu*% You.

Whew, I sure feel better.

Guess maybe Brownie was out shopping for matching socks the day the contract was awarded.

But it's Capitalism, right? Caveat Emptor!

How much could you possibly save even? I just re-rocked my entire first floor last year. I think the USG Sheetrock (made in USA) cost me like 7.50/sheet... so maybe 300 tops for the 1st level.

I wonder how much the Chinese stuff was by comparison?

When one of us saves $1,000. on something like the wall board of our house, does it really make any of us proud to brag that we saved $1,000 but cost America a job? Is it somehow sophisticated to brag about how little the people who made your things earn for their labor? Is America so shallow that it only cares about who will work the cheapest?
Probably this country is going to get what it deserves. All of us are guilty and all of us will pay. Ok, all together now, "Welcome to Walmart."

They give us shitty, substandard drywall...

We give them worthless Monopoly money...

From where I'm standing, we're getting a great deal.

As American as AIG & Goldman Sachs!!!

The Chinese businessmen are sooo American! They're really avid Wall Streeters at heart,in that they're very,deeply enthusiastic about "getting something for nothing"!!!

If you know it is from China it is probably not made of what you think.

The real issue here is why have the DEMOCRATIC PARTY in charge not stopped this or haven't made policies to prevent this.....because they are invested in it.

I checked my local Home Depot's web site and the price of 1/2-inch drywall (used for vertical walls) is only about 9-cents less for the Chinese stuff.

5/8-inch drywall for ceilings is about 14 cents cheaper.

Having done plenty of renovation work, my guess is that the two choices are sitting side-by-side in the store, and most people don't even pay attention to the brand name or the place of origin.

They figure they're going to pain over it anyway.

These people weren't being cheap. This stuff was used by many builders shortly after Katrina due to a shortage of US produced drywall. Demand far exceeded supply during the flurry of rebuilding, so a German company purchased drywall from China and sold it here. This article is short on details, but it's been all over the news the last few weeks.

Lennar, a major home builder, is doing the right thing and refitting all of their customers homes made with this shit. It actually EATS the wiring. Think about that!

Hell, lets just get rid of all our border cops and open the US to any and all.

Do people, gays especially, deserve aids for being promiscuous?

#6 | Posted by 101Chairborne

If you're feelin spunky, cover your monkey. Don't blame me for your indescretions.

You do reap what you plant.

The real issue here is why have the DEMOCRATIC PARTY in charge not stopped this or haven't made policies to prevent this....

They haven't invented a time machine yet to go back to 2005?

At #23 -

If that is the case that this material was used because of shortages. Then the article screwed up because it insinuated that they consciously made the decision to use cheaper drywall.

And I guess it is good Lennar is correcting the problem but I don't know if it was actually their fault. Was there anyway to tell this drywall was bad?

"It makes me wish there would be another flood to wash it out," said homeowner Lauren Stone.
* * * *

Well, considering you rebuilt your home at the convergence of the Gulf of Mexico and the world's third largest river, and below sea level besides--you'll have your wish eventually.

The entire state of Louisiana emits sulfur. Nobody minded before.

Bring on the Government debit cards! A new plasma TV & some bling for your cell phone will fix you right up!

The real issue here is why have the DEMOCRATIC PARTY in charge not stopped this or haven't made policies to prevent this.....because they are invested in it.

#21 | Posted by moneywar at 2009-04-14 09:15 PM | Reply | Flag:

Wexler introduced legislation two weeks ago regarding this.

If that is the case that this material was used because of shortages. Then the article screwed up because it insinuated that they consciously made the decision to use cheaper drywall.

And I guess it is good Lennar is correcting the problem but I don't know if it was actually their fault. Was there anyway to tell this drywall was bad?

#27 | Posted by astrobuckeye at 2009-04-15 11:26 AM | Reply | Flag:

You're right, the article was sorely lacking details as I said in my #23 post. There are numerous ones online though. Google 'Lennar Drywall'

I agree, it's not Lennars fault, but they are the ones who built the homes and chose this material. They're doing the right thing by fixing it for their customers and going after EVERYONE involved in the supply chain through the courts to recoup the costs.