U S Building Consultants, Inc. and DDIA Comes Out with Certified Protocols for Inspection/Remediation of Chinese Drywall
Gainesville, FL, September 10, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Spiderman S. Mulholland, a leading forensic expert on building envelope, water intrusion, toxic mold, and Chinese Drywall of U S Building Consultants, Inc., and part of the Defective Drywall In America (DDIA) workgroup that was formed about five months ago has been spending 90% of their time on the solution and 10% of their time on the problems. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in investigation, research, and analysis, they are coming forward with a common sense approach to fixing homes tainted with Chinese drywall which guarantees to get the home owners whole again. The design of their approach is simple, remove the defective product, remove the toxic chemicals out of the construction materials through a diffusion process, chemically treat the wood and construction materials left in the home, decontaminate the owners’ belongings, certify the process with inspections and peer review, and submit the paperwork for a proposed no deductable $100,000 to $500,000 home warranty (under negotiation) that could cost as little as $1,000.00 for a ten-year renewable warranty. Based on this group’s design, one of their main focuses was on removing the stigma from the homes. They are currently working on options for home owners to upgrade their homes to LEED certification and take advantage of several long-term cost advantages and resale considerations.
This entire program came out of the workgroup Defective Drywall in America (DDIA) which included U S Building Consultants Inc., top analytical scientists, chemists, toxicologists, a major University, consultants in the environmental field and 12 business sectors that were considered in the development of the protocols. One of those sectors included a representative from home owners which absolutely required full value of their homes back, which became a critical requirement of the group’s efforts. The group’s chairman, Spiderman S. Mulholland of U S Building Consultants and U S Building laboratories has pushed for a 110% value on the homes remediated. “When you’re designing a remediation plan, you have to consider the stigma of this Chinese drywall,” Mulholland said. Simply spraying encapsulation products on the drywall, paints, chemicals gases or filters to stabilize the toxic gases from Chinese drywall is nothing more than a Band-Aid approach when trying to make these homeowners whole. In the remediation industry, we commonly refer to this type of approach to “lipstick on the pig” mentality.
Mulholland contends that DDIA and their group of professionals have developed a cost effective and long-term solution to the problem. He has spent over one thousand hours himself and over 5,000 hours with his staff on just the development of the certified protocols which are going to be featured in Orlando, Florida on October 25-27, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport (for more details go to www.usbcinc.com or www.BESinstitute.com).
People have looked at leaving the drywall in the homes or tearing them down; both approaches have never been a good standard from a remediation standpoint. Mulholland contends that homes that were used as meth labs require full decontamination and removal of the drywall because of the chemical absorption of the drug gases that are cooked inside a home. This is not much different when you consider the chemical composition of the sulfur compounds and other particulate and microbial issues. People have to understand the dynamics of remediation if they are going to design remediation protocols that are cost effective and remove the stigma for homeowners. If others are paying the cost such as in a class action lawsuit, you’re not going to get away with just bulldozing down a home when it can be remediated at a fourth of the cost; it just won’t fly and shows the lack of education for the expertise in the remediation industries.
In the end, protecting life and safety issues for homeowners should be the primary focus, then the value of their number one asset. Any protocol that does not address these two primary factors in our opinion is not viable. All remediation scenarios should include:
1. A cost effective solution that addresses the source of the problems effectively including corrosion to the wiring, life safety issues and health concerns;
2. Something that is easy enough for the construction and remediation crews to perform;
3. Scientifically sound with back-up controls to insure the diffusion of gases in all the building materials and personal belongings are addressed;
4. Have a “belt and suspenders” approach so the redundancies ensure certification of the home without a lot of extra cost; and
5. A long-term solution backed by a warranty to help remove the stigma for ownership and resale.
If these five basic conditions cannot be met, the proposed remediation solution is not viable and should be taken off the table.
For more information regarding Chinese and other defective drywall concerns go to www.usbcinc.com.
To learn more about Spiderman Mulholland and USBCI, go online to www.usbcinc.com, or to arrange an interview, contact annie@usbcinc.com.
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This entire program came out of the workgroup Defective Drywall in America (DDIA) which included U S Building Consultants Inc., top analytical scientists, chemists, toxicologists, a major University, consultants in the environmental field and 12 business sectors that were considered in the development of the protocols. One of those sectors included a representative from home owners which absolutely required full value of their homes back, which became a critical requirement of the group’s efforts. The group’s chairman, Spiderman S. Mulholland of U S Building Consultants and U S Building laboratories has pushed for a 110% value on the homes remediated. “When you’re designing a remediation plan, you have to consider the stigma of this Chinese drywall,” Mulholland said. Simply spraying encapsulation products on the drywall, paints, chemicals gases or filters to stabilize the toxic gases from Chinese drywall is nothing more than a Band-Aid approach when trying to make these homeowners whole. In the remediation industry, we commonly refer to this type of approach to “lipstick on the pig” mentality.
Mulholland contends that DDIA and their group of professionals have developed a cost effective and long-term solution to the problem. He has spent over one thousand hours himself and over 5,000 hours with his staff on just the development of the certified protocols which are going to be featured in Orlando, Florida on October 25-27, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport (for more details go to www.usbcinc.com or www.BESinstitute.com).
People have looked at leaving the drywall in the homes or tearing them down; both approaches have never been a good standard from a remediation standpoint. Mulholland contends that homes that were used as meth labs require full decontamination and removal of the drywall because of the chemical absorption of the drug gases that are cooked inside a home. This is not much different when you consider the chemical composition of the sulfur compounds and other particulate and microbial issues. People have to understand the dynamics of remediation if they are going to design remediation protocols that are cost effective and remove the stigma for homeowners. If others are paying the cost such as in a class action lawsuit, you’re not going to get away with just bulldozing down a home when it can be remediated at a fourth of the cost; it just won’t fly and shows the lack of education for the expertise in the remediation industries.
In the end, protecting life and safety issues for homeowners should be the primary focus, then the value of their number one asset. Any protocol that does not address these two primary factors in our opinion is not viable. All remediation scenarios should include:
1. A cost effective solution that addresses the source of the problems effectively including corrosion to the wiring, life safety issues and health concerns;
2. Something that is easy enough for the construction and remediation crews to perform;
3. Scientifically sound with back-up controls to insure the diffusion of gases in all the building materials and personal belongings are addressed;
4. Have a “belt and suspenders” approach so the redundancies ensure certification of the home without a lot of extra cost; and
5. A long-term solution backed by a warranty to help remove the stigma for ownership and resale.
If these five basic conditions cannot be met, the proposed remediation solution is not viable and should be taken off the table.
For more information regarding Chinese and other defective drywall concerns go to www.usbcinc.com.
To learn more about Spiderman Mulholland and USBCI, go online to www.usbcinc.com, or to arrange an interview, contact annie@usbcinc.com.
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US Building Consultants, Inc.
Annie Johnson
888-44-USBCI
www.usbcinc.com
Annie Johnson
888-44-USBCI
www.usbcinc.com
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