remodeling for geeks

There is growing evidence that the Chinese Drywall Hazards are becoming more definitive. A Nov Press release[PDF] from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is showing that the ongoing investigation is tending toward proving the health hazards of this drywall.

While the Commission is not concluding this drywall as the culprit, the New Your Times reports:

The commission has sent a letter to the Internal Revenue Service asking that the service allow homeowners to deduct drywall-related costs as a casualty loss on their federal income tax returns.
Source NYT

For homeowners this may be bittersweet news, as insurance companies are already denying claims, and doing a ‘to the studs’ demo including the electric, plumbing and HVAC is gonna be expensive for those builders still in the market, impossible for those who have already gone bankrupt, and will have folks tied up in court for a long time.