Company Offers Warranty-backed Option for Fix Chinese Drywall
National Construction Warranty Corporation on Oct. 29 released its warranty program for the selective removal of corrosive drywall (better known as Chinese drywall.).
Backed by the 10-Year National Warranty, homeowners now have a viable option to potentially reduce the cost of fixing their homes by 50 to 70 percent.
“National’s research shows that many homes with corrosive drywall have it in less than 20 percent of the home. When the bad boards are isolated or are in a limited number of rooms, a warranty-backed NSRP (National Selective Remediation Protocol) is more appropriate than a complete gut. With a protocol protected by the National warranty, a few sheets of drywall no longer doom an entire house. The NSRP will begin to restore the value of all CDW (Corrosive Drywall) homes immediately as well as help stabilize home values in general within the markets hardest hit by CDW ” said Chris Burton, CEO of National Construction Warranty Corporation.
The average repair cost for a home containing any amount of corrosive drywall was estimated at $100,000 by Towers and Perrin, an insurance risk assessment company. With a warranty-backed NSRP, repairs for qualifying homes could drop to an average of $20,000 to $35,000, which would include a 10-Year National Warranty with up to $500,000 of protection. The National Warranty greatly reduced or removes the risk and/or stigma associated with owning a former CDW.
The National Selective Remediation Protocol specifies the removal of corrosive drywall based on the amount and location of the corrosive drywall in the home. National requires a rigorous inspection to determine the location of the corrosive drywall within the home. The inspection and scope of work are reviewed by National and, if approved, qualify the home for repairs just to the affected areas of the home. Once these repairs are completed, National will issue a warranty with up to $500,000 of coverage against the presence of corrosive drywall.
According to Dawn Wilkinson, a National representative and Realtor, the NSRP changes the nature of the entire Chinese drywall problem. “When someone finds out that they have Chinese drywall, the home value plummets to nearly nothing. The NSRP changes everything. If the home qualifies for selective removal, the cost could end up being under $30,000. That number is manageable for many homeowners while they wait for reimbursement from legal action or a class-action settlement,” said Wilkinson while attending an expert symposium this week in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sponsored by the Building Envelope Science Institute.
According to Shawn Macomber, a leading national expert in corrosive drywall and a National Warranty advocate based in New Orleans, the number of homeowners that could be helped by the protocol could grow to more than 100,000. “The major hurricanes of 2005 damaged over 335,000, the majority of which needed new drywall. Corrosive drywall was used on many of these homes when repairs took place. The areas of damage in these homes are predictable and often limited, making them ideal candidates for selective removal. With National's warranty-backed NSRP, a total gut protocol is no longer necessary in most cases,” according to Macomber.