How to prepare to keep your Windstorm Mitigation Credits

Home insurers revoking discounts for hurricane-proofing

Many Florida homeowners shelled out thousands of dollars to fortify their homes against hurricanes in recent years to qualify for insurance discounts.

Some got them – for a while. This year, some homeowners are feeling the impact of changes to state laws that, in effect, reduce or erase many insurance discounts.

Howard Goldberg’s windstorm insurance premium dropped 33 percent in 2009 when St. Johns Insurance accepted an inspection report that showed his Delray Beach house has shutters and steel-reinforced garage and front doors.

His premium went up slightly when he renewed in December. The real shock came eight months later, when St. Johns re-calculated his rate, rejected some of the improvements, and raised his premium 69 percent, retroactively.

Insurers said homeowners were fraudulently claiming improvements for discounts. Changes that took effect this year make it a crime for inspectors to provide false information about upgrades and require inspectors to include photographs of each qualifying upgrade and a signature of a licensed engineer, architect or contractor to verify the accuracy.

Some insurers have started going back to verify the discounts are legitimate.

State-backed Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s largest home insurer, began reinspecting homes last year to verify the $700 million in discounts it provides annually. “Our goal for re-inspections is to have the features so well documented that the construction feature is apparent,” said Candace Bunker, spokeswoman for the state-backed insurer.

“If a homeowner complains and believes we are taking away a legitimate credit, we work to make sure that we have correct information, that our action is warranted, and to communicate to the policyholder about how any deficiencies can be remedied if they wish to continue to receive the credit.”

State leaders have stressed the importance of making homes stronger and invested more than $200 million of taxpayer money to do so through the My Safe Florida Home program from 2006 to 2009.

Bob Hunter, insurance director of the Consumer Federation of America, says regulators should intervene before people start doubting that insurers give discounts.

“There can’t be any question that they’re being applied fairly,” Hunter said. “I think the insurance commissioner should immediately look into these kind of allegations and…reverse any of these decisions” to lower discounts if they’re wrong.

By Julie Patel http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-florida-hurricane-discounts-20101001,0,7291914.story

What are they looking for if you get selected for a reinspection?

The inspector will look for several things in the reinspection process. Keeping your credits is all about verifying what credits you have and having the right paperwork available.

Is the structure reinforced? The inspector is supposed to check with a metal detector in at least one location per side of the house to see if there are reinforcing rebars present in the masonry walls.

Roof geometry. Is the roof a full HIP roof or does the roof have gable ends or is a part of the roof flat?

A full hip roof has been shown in wind tunnel tests to better withstand hurricane force winds than a gable or flat roof. One important point is that a flat roof that is not attached to the rest of the roof structure such a some carports or Florida rooms should not be counted. Confirm with the inspector what he is figuring as part of the roof area.

Roof covering.   The roof covering has to meet 2 requirements.

First, it has to be installed per the Florida Building code. Have a copy of the building permit avaialbel for the inspector.

Second, the roof material has to have a Miami Dade product approval or Notice of Acceptance (NOA). Only shingle roofs and metal roofs have met this second test. That means that all flat roofs and all TILE roofs do not meet with the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) requirements. If you don’t have an NOA for the roof your roofer or his supplier should be able to assist you in obtaining one.

Verify hurricane opening protection.

Are ALL  openings protected with devices that can be VERIFIED as being Miami Dade Product approved? Many hurricane windows, doors, shutters or storm panels have manufacturers data labels or stickers on them. Be aware of where these stickers are – show them to the inspector. Have a copy of the Notice of Acceptance (NOA) number on the stickers available for the inspector. There should be a separate NOA for each type of window and door opening. So a house with sliding glass doors, fixed windows, casement windows, a glazed panel in the front door and a French door would have 6 NOA’s for glazed opening protection. The original installer or supplier of the windows and doors should be able to assit with obtaining the NOA paperwork if the homeowner can’t find the stickers on every opening.

Even one uprotected door or window is enough to reduce the hurricane credit for that category. An unprotected garage door with windows or lites across the top, or an unprotected front door with a glass insert can remove all of the credits for both glazed and unglazed openings.

The attic is important in reinspections.

The inspector should check 4 trusses with a metal detector to check the nail spacing where the roof deck is attached to the trusses. Checking 4 trusses  assures that the nailing of both the edge of each sheet of plywood and the center of each sheet has been correctly nailed. There is not much a homeowner can do about this except make sure that 4 trusses in a row are surveyed and marked so they can be re checked later.

The inspector should also find a nail which has missed the truss. these nails, called shiners, should be measured. 2″ of nail showing through the plywood deck is an 8d nail and 1.5″ is a 6d nail. Again there is not much a homeowner can do about this. One thing that is important is that the nail may have been driven at an angle. If it was driven at an angle less than 2″ showing may still be an 8d nail. Confirm this with the inspector.

If the roof has gables the inspector needs to verify how they were constructed. Are the gables masonry all the way up or are they frame construction? If they are frame construction, are they braced? If this becomes an issue the homeowner may need to contact an engineer to verify the construction details.

How is the roof anchored to the rest of the building?  Generally the roof is secured either with a “wrap” or “clip”. What the carrier wants from the inspector is a photo showing not just the attachment device, but the number of nails in the wrap or clip. The inspector needs to crawl all the way to the outside edge of the attic and take a photo of the attachment. The problems that arise are when the attic is small and dark and the inspector can’t get a good photo of nails securing the wrap or clip.

If the carrier removes any wind mitigation credits unreasonably it is possible to get them back. Generally all a homeowner has to do is provide the correct back up documentation. Copies of permits, NOA’s and either better photographs or professional letters from a contractor, window protection installer or licensed roofer can be used to correct any disputed credits that are removed. If a credit was removed that should not have been removed the carrier should give back the credits retroactively.

Hurricane Season & Chinese Drywall

In his decision on the Chinese Drywall Class action suit, Judge Fallon refers to the deteriorated electrical systems as “Corrosion on active residential wiring is a violation of National Safety code as well as the safety and building codes of the various states.” (page 37-38). So, here is the technical question of the day. Sure, insurers have ducked the issue of whether Chinese Drywall is a covered peril for purposes of insurance. In other words, just because you have Chinese Drywall in your house it is not defacto a reason that your insurance will pay a claim to remove it.

But, how about in the instance of another claim against your insurance? For example what is gong to happen when there is a flood? The contractor removes a piece of drywall and there on the back is “Made in China”. Now the problem gets more interesting. There may not even be anything in the building code that says that upon finding Chinese Drywall in a house that you must rip it out. But, if a contractor finds Chinese Drywall, and if he knows or should know that Chinese Drywall causes corrosion of electrical wiring and components and if leaving this corrosion is a code violation – then what?

There are a couple of examples in the insurance industry of similar situations. It is illegal to use asbestos in building products in your home. Yet, many homes were built before the hazards of asbestos were realized. It is not illegal to leave that asbestos alone and in place in your house. (It should be encapsulated if possible and should be left undisturbed so that it dose not turn into easily inhalable dust). And there is no claim against your insurance if you find that you have asbestos in your house. However, if there is an insurable loss, say a fire or flood, and the asbestos becomes friable (that is easy to inhale), or if the materials that contain asbestos, such as floor tile, siding or roof shingles, are damaged by the event and need to be replaced, then your insurance will pay to remove the asbestos under the most stringent of federal guidelines. Not to do so would be a violation of Federal and State safety and building codes and could be a huge liability if it is left in place.

The same thing is true for lead. It may be a little different situation for mold but that is another story.

So, if you have Chinese Drywall in your house and you suffer an insurable loss, and as a result of your insurable loss the Chinese Drywall is discovered and is damaged and therefore needs to be replaced, now the situation becomes similar in a lot of respects to Asbestos and Lead. The contractor should know that there are likely code violations to the electrical system which will need to be addressed. And looking at Judge Fallons opinion, his solution is to remove all of the drywall and all of the electrical system in the house. So, unless you have had your insurance canceled already, or unless your carrier has sent a policy revision that excludes Chinese Drywall and any results of the presence of Chinese Drywall, it looks like there might be a covered claim against your homeowners insurance.

But, not so fast, in the case of Asbestos or Lead, there are a couple of significant differences. Just the presence of Asbestos or Lead does not cause other building components to fail. And that is what is happening with Chinese Drywall. It is the effects of the chemicals in the drywall that are creating the corrosive atmosphere. That may be a little different. For example, if you knew that you had Chinese Drywall and knew that you were creating a corrosive atmosphere and yet did nothing to resolve the issue there could be areas where your insurace would not address the resulting damage.

But, if you were unaware of the presence of CDW or if you removed the CDW and didn’t get it all and it was only when the contractor found the problem as a result of a separate insured loss, I see it as being pretty comparable. So, it would be worth while pursuing.

Don’t think that the carriers are going to roll over easily on this. A very minimal loss could turn into a huge deal. Judge Fallon is figuring $84.oo a sf to remediate CDW and his protocol is to remove all drywall in a suspect house or structure. Carriers will most likely fight that tooth and nail.

Also, contractors are going to have to be knowledgeable about what is going on and what the possible liabilities  are for themselves as well as the home owners. Which really brings us to today’s topic. Chinese Drywall and the upcoming Hurricane Season.

Sooner or later a large storm is going to hit Florida. There will be lots of wet walls that need to be torn out. Lots of Chinese Drywall will be uncovered. We need to be prepared.  Homeowners, condo owners, property managers etc need to be aware of the ideas outlined above.

Contractors need to be aware of the need to identify the presence of Chinese Drywall in structures where they work. If they don’t note the CDW and just cover up walls etc., leaving corroded wires in place the liability from a future electrical failure or  fire fire may well rest in part with them.  Inspection for CDW needs to be part of any evaluation of any insurance claim. The presence of CDW needs to be noted and reported at once to the homeowner and insurance adjuster. The possibilities of code violations and safety issues needs to be transmitted to everyone clearly and effectively. A clear remediation protocol based upon Judge Fallon or CPSP/EPA needs to be suggested. If not I fear that the contractor will be at fault.

After a major disaster such as a hurricane it is sometimes weeks or months before an owner even sees an adjuster. It is sometimes years before a claim is finally settled. The more complex the claim, the longer it generally takes. And claims such as these are going to be complicated. Get ready for the long haul.

Here is where the analogy with mold comes in to play. Even if mold is excluded from a policy, there may be instances where if the carrier is so slow in responding as to be considered negligent, and a s a result wet building materials become moldy, then there may be so me coverage afforded to the homeowner.

The similarity is that even if there is no sign of damages being caused by Chinese Drywall right after a loss, if it is a hurricane situation and the property is wet and without power in a hot climate the actions caused by the CDW can be accelerated. That could start the dace between the homeowner and insurance carrier all over again. The carrier blaming the owner for not acting quickly enough to resolve the problem and the home owner feeling like they were at the mercy of the insurance carrier because there is not a specific way to deal with these situations.

Overall, everyone better be ready when the wind blows and the rains come because this is going to turn into a real mess unless someone gets the process into high gear and comes up with some guidelines.

First Award Made in Chinese Drywall class action suit

Judge Fallon made his award public today in the first Class action lawsuit award for damages caused by Chinese drywall.  $2.7 Million dollars were awarded to 7 families whose homes were affected by CDW. So, finally someone has received money for all of the problems caused by this stuff.  See this link;  http://www.hausfeldllp.com/content_documents/9/DaubertOrder.pdf (there are tons of links to this document, this is just one of them).

There are still two questions:

1) Is there bacteria? Saber Technologies says “Yes” In response to questions from Drywall Report, Saber responded “Just to clairify, the sheetrock is passed through an oven that is at 500 degrees to dry out the board and remove excess water. The board itself never gets up to this temperature, due to the evaporation of the water. The actual maximum temperature of the board is closer to 212 F. The bacteria described are thermophilic, and thus can survive these temperatures.” So according to their studies it is possible that bacteria are still present in CDW homes.

Bacteria can grow and migrate to other mediums such as wood and Concrete block, so, even complete removal of CDW would not necessarily remove all threats. Sabre has recommended a process of tenting the house and filling it with Chlorine Dioxide gas which would neutralize and harmful CDW chemicals and also render harmless any bacteria in the structure.

Of course, the CPSP reported last week that they could not confirm the Sabre tests in their labs. So the question remains open.

2) Can the remaining material hold residual “trapped” gases which could reappear at a later time? This process called Desorption has been noted in houses that have been completely remediated previously. Building Envelope Science Institute has added a  step called Thermal Desorption to their protocol. this process of heating the house to in excess of 110 degrees is supposed to pull trapped sulfur gases out of wood and masonry and evacuate them from the house into the surrounding atmosphere where they are harmlessly dispersed.

Neither of these ideas is too far fetched. Nothing could be worse than to completely remediate your house for hundreds of thousands of dollars and find out later that there is still a problem.

If you are considering remediating a Chinese Drywall house my advise is that it still ain’t over.

The first steps are there, 1) What is the problem with CDW. 2) How to identify the problem. 3) A protocol for removal.

What is missing are 3) A clearance test to be sure that the remediation was done successfully. and 4) A warranty program such as proposed by National Construction Warranty corporation’s preliminary proposal.

Stay tuned, we are getting closer to a solution.

Consumer Product Safety Commission report on Chinese Drywall

Over the past few days a lot has been made of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report on Chinese Drywall (CDW). What it boils down to is this. If you know that you have CDW, take it out. And while you’re at it, take out all electrical wires, fire and smoke detection equipment, fire sprinklers and any other life safety issues.

The report shows studies that indicate an overall average of 30 times more sulfur compounds being detected  in CDW samples than with domestic drywall.

The report leaves as inconclusive whether there is any basis for bacterial contamination. The CPSC report refers specifically to the Sabre labs report mentioned in a previous blog post. The Sabre report showed extremely high concentrations of bacteria. The CPSP report leaves the bacteria issue as inconclusive.

One of the things that the report is thin on is  what to do about any non Chinese Drywall that may be present.  The report essentially says that you can leave any non Chinese Drywall in place, but it is at your own risk. The CPSC report does not address how to deal with the electric, fire safety, smoke detectors etc. that are wired behind the saved drywall.

Another point the CPSC report does not address AC coils or plumbing pipes because these items are not considered life safety threats.

Overall, the CPSC report is a big step forward, but it is a preliminary report and it leaves a lot of questions unanswered for later.

For now, it looks like the best protocol is complete removal of all drywall and associated wiring, plumbing and HVAC.

I wouldn’t discount the Sabre  study findings on Bacteria at this point.  I would plan on using anti microbials of some sort on the remaining structure.

One thing that I agree with The CPSP report on is: Know your contractor and try to understand all of the implications of what you are going to do if you are planning to remediate a CDW house. Nothing could be worse than spending all of your resources on remediation and then finding out that something was missed. Chances are you won’t get a second chance.

Another new twist on CDW – Bacteria

Until recently there has been speculation on whether Chinese Drywall problems were caused by chemical compounds in the drywall itself, or if there was another culprit lurking out there. Samples of CDW have been analysed for mold spores and have come up positive. But not every time. New research shows that there may be an even larger problem involved – Bacteria. If there is harmful Bacteria in CDW then the lid is off as far as health concerns go. Species of Bacteria are the underlying cause for Salmonella outbreaks and Merca is a disease caused by Staff Bacteria. The wrong type of Bacteria can be deadly. Below, find a part of a press release on the presence of Bacteria in Chinese Drywall.

Previous speculation was that the bacterial contamination was only at trace, remnant or even nonviable levels, but the studies reveal that the bacteria is alive and present at 100 to 100,000 colony forming units per gram of Chinese drywall.  Of equal significance, when exposed to conditions similar to those found in the southern United States, these bacteria generate reduced sulfur gases.  This level of bacterial contamination is considered pervasive, and is comparable to levels found in landfills.  With this level of contamination, there would be between 3 million and 3 billion living bacterial colony forming units in a standard sheet of Chinese drywall.

Sulfur in the form of “S8” has also been shown to be a typical contaminant in Chinese drywall.  The bacterial species identified is well known in scientific literature not only to produce reduced sulfur gases but to store sulfur in the form of “S8”.

The high level of bacterial contamination found embedded in the core of the drywall strongly suggests that the problematic drywall was contaminated by the process water used in the manufacturing process.

How did it get there? Drywall is a water intensive product. Finished drywall or sheetrock has at least 2 quarts of water still present in crystalline form in every sheet. Water is not the same everywhere. And of course water treatment is not the same everywhere either.

This week TIME magazine ran a story on industrial pollution in China. It talked about the massive amounts of toxins that have been hap hazardly dumped into Chinese landfills, garbage dumps and rivers.  It is a fact that China is far behind the United States in environmental controls. Yet, even here in the US there are daily reports about what ends up in our rivers and streams. Today CNN is talking about massive sewage overflows in the Northeast as a result of major flooding.

That is how Bacteria ends up in the water used to make drywall. But, the processing of the gypsum into sheetrock is designed to decontaminate the wet gypsum product.  This is done through heat. Temperatures of around 500 degrees are used to dry and as a by product detoxify drywall during it’s manufacture. If there is a short cut in the process and the drying  temperature is much lower or the drying process is shortened then there is a chance that the finished product may not be totally decontaminated.

So, bad water and a hasty or unregulated finishing process could leave Chinese Drywall with the potential to not only smell bad but also pose a health risk.

This news is good and bad.

First, there are a lot of processing plants in China so not every board of Chinese Drywall contains water from the same source. This may help explain why there are so many different reactions caused by CDW. In addition, it means that not every piece of Chinese Drywall has Bacterial Contamination. Some may have been manufactured with cleaner water. Some may have been manufactured with better controls.

But, if there is Bacterial Contamination then there is a new twist on the insurance front. Bacteria, such as bacteria from a sewage back up in your house are often covered perils in an insurance policy.

Manufacturers may have a greater liability and responsibility to clean up their mess if it is proved that they used deficient manufacturing processes.

The Federal Government may feel greater pressure to step in and help affected homeowners if CDW is a direct health threat.

Finally, there are good established guidelines for dealing with mold and bacteria in buildings. For the most part the removal process would stay the same. Worker protection would be amped up a lot.  Workers would probably fall under the same OSHA category for Personal Protective Equipment as if they were doing a raw sewage clean up. there would be masks and gloves and Tvyek suits and possibly decontamination chambers.

As far as the actual removal goes, this is just a guess, but I would think that anything that could be contaminated by Bacterial spores would have to be removed per EPA guidelines, anti microbial agents would need to be applied to any remaining structure and salvage of building components such as cabinets, porous tile etc would bear a lot more scrutiny before they are re installed.

If there is a positive outcome to this, it would have to be that there are clearance protocols already in place to give a final OK to the removal of Bacterial Contamination. These tests are performed best by a Certified Industrial Hygienist.

I have always said that the thing most disturbing about the Chinese Drywall mess is that there is not a final clearance methodology. Maybe this will be a step in the right direction.

Tax Breaks

Rob Wittman, a Virginia Congressman, is doing what he can to help consumers who have been affected byChinese drywall. He recently filed a bill that would help these homeowners get some tax relief. If the bill is passed, it will allow homeowners to deduct the costs of not only getting rid of the problem, but also the expenses associated with finding another place to live.

If this were to pass it would be great news. the cost of remediation borne by the homeowner would go down dramatically. I doubt that it would go away completely since most people don’t pay enough in taxes to offset the cost of total remediation. But boy what a great start.

Talk about economic stimulus! A ll the taxes rebated would go directly into the hardest hit sector of the economy – construction. And of course, the contractors who receive the money would be responsible for paying taxes and so would their suppliers and their workers.  It could also shorten or eliminate a lot of the ongoing litigation and serve to keep insurance rates down.

This is the type of bootstrap program that makes sense for average Americans saddled with a problem that no one anticipated.

Here’s hoping that this is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Chinese Drywall – hidden winners

Help for homeowners with Chinese Drywall (CDW) does not seem to be coming fast enough. And where there has been help such as local property tax breaks, the amounts are minimal compared to the cost of removal.  And yet there are some people out there who are betting that they can benefit from the Chinese Drywall situation.

Investors are no longer waiting on the sidelines. They are lining up when subdivisions with Chinese Drywall are identified. At this point it looks like the investors are primarily looking at vacant new construction properties owned by distressed builders or banks who have foreclosed on the properties. Bought cheaply enough these houses can be completely gutted to the bare walls and put back with new HVAC, plumbing, electrical and finishes. Then with the curse of Chinese Drywall hopefully removed the remediated houses can be resold for a substantial profit.

Are there downsides and risks associated with this process. Yes, there sure are. There is no agreed protocol for removing CDW. Done wrong the house can revert back to it’s distressed stage and begin to smell like rotten eggs again. In some cases the whole process of discoloration, pitting and deterioration of finishes, wires and HVAC can come back. No matter how profitable the project looks, there is no way to remediate it twice and still make money. Not only that, but if the problem returns after the property is sold to a new owner and the new owner has received full disclosure about the remediation, there are a whole new bundle of legal problems for the would be investor. A careful investor will therefore go overboard and leave no stone unturned in completing the remediation of each house.

While some remediators will save and clean at least some of the hard goods in the house, such as doors, cabinets and countertops. Others won’t even take that much risk. They remove everything and start from scratch with all new components except for the concrete, masonry and framing. Even these remaining members can be vacuumed with special HEPA filter vacuums and then sealed or encapsulated prior to re-installation of finishes. Some contractors will flush the house with forced fresh air or chlorine dioxide gas. And some contractors have started using ozone as a post removal treatment.

Of course the plan of attack is up to the owner and contractor. There are no official standards. At this time Judge Fallon in New Orleans has announced a recommended protocol for those house involved in litigation over CDW. His recommendations include power washing the inside of the structure. Most contractors that I have spoken to are leery about introducing water and therefore potentially mold into an already compromised indoor environment. But, these recommendations don’t apply to investors who are looking to turn a profit on the re sale of the property. Each investor is deciding what approach they are going to take one property at a time.

If you are planning to buy a house that has been remediated, I would go carefully over the protocol that was used and get as many assurances as possible that the problem has been solved. Also, if there are problems in the future what  is the remedy and who is going to be financially responsible.

Overall, I think the best strategy right now is for a potential buyer to work with an investor and remediator right from the beginning. Hire an independent 3rd party inspector to review the remediation plans. The inspector should visit the property while the remediation is underway and offer independent assessments that all of the work that is agreed upon is being done up to professional standards.

In a field where there are no agreed methods of disposal it may seem like an impossible criteria to meet. But there are similar situations in construction such as mold removal, asbestos abatement, radon and other chemical contamination situations. Inspectors who have extensive background in treating contaminated buildings will have a common sense approach to CDW removal as well. Everything should be clean. Workers should be protected. Permits should be obtained. Debris should be disposed of according to state and federal guidelines. Avoid cross contamination. Have a written work plan and daily reports showing how it was followed. Have photo documentation of the entire process.

Buyers should look for a clearance standard that they are comfortable with. In my last post I mentioned an air filtration test that can be sent to an independent laboratory for confirmation that there are no CDW compounds still in the air prior to re installation of new drywall. There is another company which is leaving drywall in place, chemically treating the structure and then testing the drywall for any residual traces of active CDW compounds. The more stringent the clearance protocol is the better for both the investor, the remediator and the eventual purchaser.

Of course, non of this helps the homeowner who bought a house and is now saddled with all of the CDW issues. Somewhat like the rest of the countries problems, it’s not Joe homeowner who is catching a break on this one.

Chinese Drywall Testing in Florida

I have just returned from Parkland FL where I spent three days with various remediation contractors, builders, scientists and engineers testing removal methods for Chinese drywall (CDW) from a 5000 sf house. When I arrived the house had been tested for the presence of CDW 3 ways. First the original contractor listed the house as containing CDW. There was a visual inspection for corrosion of wiring AC coils etc. The final verification was use of Xray florescence. Supposedly this technique can identify the presence of CDW and actually pin point it to specific boards if used properly. All Drywall and fixtures were removed from the house. Anything that is going to be put back in the house was stored in containers off site. The house was ventilated and all surfaces were double HEPA vacuumed.
Generally, this is as far as most remediators go. The source of the problem has been removed – start with the put back of new drywall.
However, there have been reports of such remediation failing and the rotten egg smell coming back. Therefore additional steps were taken to assure that they got it right the first time.
First the inside of the house was heated. I am not a scientist, but one of the scientists present explained that porous material such as masonry block, wood or light weight concrete can trap vapor which is escaping from CDW. I cannot speak for the science, but there did not appear to be any odor when we were in the house, but there was a rotten egg odor after the heating process was underway. After 12 hours there was no residual odor and the process was deemed to be complete.
The remediator then began to re vacuum the house after which he intends to spray first an anti microbial product and then a chemical fog that contains particles which would bind with sulfur gas and render it inert. Again, I am not a scientist, I’m just reporting what went on.
The next step scheduled for next week is to use an air scrubber with a special accordion pre filter. The pre filter is impregnated with the same chemical mentioned above. As indoor air is pulled through the scrubber it passes through the pre filter. Any residual sulfur gas should then be captured. The accordion filter will be sent to a laboratory for analysis. If there are sulfur compounds found on the filter, the remediation will be deemed a do over. If there are no compounds the contractor will start reinstalling new drywall.
I liked that there may be a definitive non invasive test for CDW (the Xray florescence). I also like that there was a testing methodology to see if remediation was successful. Now if we could find someone to pay for all this…