Drywall problems leave many in lurch

• By TED GRIGGS
• Advocate business writer
• Published: Jun 29, 2009 - Page: 1A

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The problems with Darryl Ledet’s new house in Prairieville started just a few months after he moved in. The bathroom mirrors grew foggy, and it became hard to make out a reflection. Not long afterward, he says, the central air unit’s evaporator coils failed.

Then, according to Ledet, his wife and 4-year-old daughter began having upper respiratory problems and unexplained nosebleeds.

His builder, Sunrise Homes, replaced the mirrors and repaired the air conditioner, but the problems soon reappeared.

Eventually the builder figured out that the house was built with “Chinese drywall,” Ledet said.

Sunrise Homes notified Ledet of the findings in April. In June, the company sent a letter saying it was not responsible for further repairs because, under Louisiana law, product defects are covered under a one-year warranty. Ledet’s warranty had expired.

Meanwhile, a contractor told Ledet it would cost about $150,000 to fix all of the problems, including pulling out the drywall and replacing the corroded electrical wiring.

The new home was supposed to solve Ledet’s housing problems — he and his family fled Terrytown in Jefferson Parish after Hurricane Katrina badly damaged their home in 2005. Now he’s displaced again.

“I’m living with my in-laws because I can’t afford to pay the mortgage and pay rent to live somewhere else,” Ledet said.
It’s unclear how many Louisiana homeowners have been affected by the drywall problems.

The state Department of Health and Hospital’s Indoor Air Quality Hotline has fielded  675 inquiries since Feb. 20, spokeswoman Jolie Adams said. Roughly 400 of the callers have agreed to participate in an informal health survey.

Between Feb. 20 and May 20, DHH surveyed 305 households, agency records show. Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany and St. Bernard parishes accounted for 85 percent of the complaints in the survey. Five of the participants live in East Baton Rouge Parish.

Meanwhile, hundreds of residents in Florida and other states, whose homes were built or repaired with the controversial drywall, have sued builders, suppliers and manufacturers. The class-action lawsuits will be heard by a federal judge in New Orleans.

Sunrise Homes operations director Natalie Culpeper said the builder has sued Interior/Exterior Supply Co., the firm that supplied the drywall used in Ledet’s house. Culpeper said she could not comment further because of the lawsuit.

Sunrise’s letter to Ledet says the issue remains complex and may be resolved through the courts.