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As many who are involved in the Chinese drywall debacle already know, one of the major suppliers of Chinese-made drywall, Knauf Plasterboard Tainjin (KPT), has agreed to launch what they are calling a "pilot program" for fixing homes containing defective drywall. The program will remediate 300 homes in four states that meet the guidelines set out under the agreement.

The general consensus is that if the program is deemed to be a success by both sides it could be adopted on a much larger scale. Most seem to be very optimistic that the program will be a success and could ultimately spell relief for the thousands of American homeowners suffering from the effects of defective drywall, but the program does have its doubters. See the News-Press article here.

Some have expressed concern that the protocol for remediation under the agreement doesn’t go far enough to ensure the problem is fixed for good.

"They’re doing what we call 80 percent," said Michael Foreman, a forensic construction consultant and drywall expert based in Sarasota.

Foreman and others have a problem with language of the agreement that could leave some items that may have been damaged by Chinese drywall in the home, setting up for future problems that homeowners would be stuck with the bill for.

Language like repaired or replaced “as necessary” or “as needed” are particularly concerning as these may terms are often left up to interpretation.

In a e-mailed statement, Knauf attorney Gregory Wallace said, “the repairs made to the homes included in KPT’s demonstration settlement will fully comply with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) guidelines … In effect, the homes are being restored to the condition they would have been in had the KPT drywall board not been installed."

For now I am keeping my hopes that the pilot program does in fact satisfy both sides of the issue, and hopefully the innocent Americans who have had their dream home turn into a nightmare can finally get some much needed relief.

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