ERNST PETERS | THE LEDGER
Buy photo
Arnold Loomis details last week some of the health problems he and his wife have suffered that he attirbutes to the defective Chinese drywall in his home in the Lake Ashton development in Winter HAven.
By Kyle Kennedy
THE LEDGER
Published: Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:16 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, February 8, 2010 at 9:16 p.
WINTER HAVEN | Sometimes Arnold Loomis wakes in the middle of the night and longs to be in his own home, which is literally a street away.
Loomis cut out a section of a wallboard in a bedroom closet to expose the defective drywall in his home.
Buy photo
ERNST PETERS | THE LEDEGR
But Loomis and his wife, Joan, are reluctant even to enter the new house they bought three years ago on Snead Drive in Lake Ashton because it is contaminated with defective Chinese drywall.
The couple have been living in a neighbor's unused house since December as they wait for help from Lake Ashton's management. But the Loomises and other homeowners in the gated retirement community say they have been virtually stonewalled.
"We're still not getting any communication from the developer. For them to just ignore a problem like this, it's unbelievable, that's all I can say," said Arnold Loomis, 77, a Michigan transplant. "We love Lake Ashton, but God, I don't know what kind of people these are."
At least two of his neighbors on Snead Drive have had their homes tested and confirmed for defective Chinese drywall, a material that can ruin electronics, corrode metals and engulf homes with a sickening sulfur odor. The imported drywall is also a possible culprit in respiratory issues and other health problems reported by some homeowners.
Lake Ashton was developed by MasterCraft Homes and is managed by Century Residential, both part of a Lakeland-based conglomerate headed by Larry Maxwell. Lake Ashton officials did not return phone calls seeking comment for this story.
The AmeriSpec home inspection company in Eagle Lake has found the tainted drywall in 13 houses at Lake Ashton, and state officials say as many as 35,000 homes in Florida (built mostly from 2004 through 2008) could have the same problem.
As federal agencies continue to investigate the drywall and consider what to do about it, afflicted homeowners have been left to confront their builders or to pursue legal action.
The former approach has not been successful at Lake Ashton.
"Absolutely zero, zero cooperation from the developer. I would just like to know their stand," said Ron Maness, whose $250,000 investment home in Lake Ashton sits empty because of tainted Chinese drywall.
After getting no response from Lake Ashton management and having his claim turned down by his insurer, American Integrity Insurance Co., Maness said he is now considering spending $65,000 to have the house gutted and its drywall replaced.
In the meantime, he has joined a class action lawsuit against Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., one of the manufacturers identified as a source of the defective drywall.
After The Ledger published a story Dec. 8 about Maness' drywall woes, Arnold Loomis said he and other concerned residents began to compare notes. They held a meeting in January that drew nearly 200 people and also consulted with a lawyer from Orlando.
Michael Woodard, an inspector with AmeriSpec, said he has evaluated approximately 100 homes in Lake Ashton and found 13 with Chinese drywall that match criteria from the Florida Department of Health, including metal corrosion and manufacturers' markings.
About six months after moving to Lake Ashton in November 2006, Arnold Loomis said he started having breathing problems and rashes. The home's air conditioning unit failed after just two years and copper wiring turned black in electrical outlets.
An independent inspector finally identified the problem last October, shortly after finding the imported drywall next door in a home owned by Jacqueline Sobania-Robison. Arnold Loomis said he received a cursory phone call from a Lake Ashton representative on Friday, but the company has not indicated what it plans to do about his home.
Farther down Snead Drive, retirees Verb and Lorene Freeman also have defective drywall in their 3-year-old home.
Despite the house's pristine apperance, Lorene Freeman, 88, said she is worried about breathing the air in a home where jewelry mysteriously tarnishes and the air conditioner has failed twice.
"Everything looks good, but it's hidden" she said.
[ Kyle Kennedy can be reached at kyle.kennedy@theledger.com or 863-802-7584. ]
No comments:
Post a Comment