FLA. RESIDENTS TELL DRYWALL HORROR STORIES
Posted by: UPI.com
Posted on: 5/31/09

HOMESTEAD, Fla., May 31 (UPI) -- Homestead, Fla., residents say strong smells and corrosion caused by imported Chinese drywall are causing them to flee their homes.

Dajan Green, who along with her mother bought a four-bedroom townhome built by Lennar Homes three years ago in Homestead, told The Miami Herald they hoped to avoid problems common in older homes such as corroded galvanized pipe. But that hasn't been the case, she said.

"You know: Everything is new. You don't have any issues," said Green, who claims her 7-year-old son has grown lethargic and her air conditioner's coils have turned black with corrosion.

Jason and Melissa Harrell said they moved from their house and are now paying both mortgage and rent to escape the smell of rotten eggs they claim is coming from defective, Chinese-made drywall.

"What it boiled down to is, I had to choose between my financial health and my children's physical health," Melissa Harrell told the Herald.

Lennar told the newspaper it is fixing about 80 homes in South Florida, while some industry sources estimate up to 100,000 homes nationwide may contain defective imported drywall.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc.

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