Chinese Drywall: A Systemic Decision-making Approach

Abstract During the 2004–2009 building boom, building materials in the United States were in short supply, in particular drywall. This shortage arose from the vast demand for repairing and rebuilding houses caused by several large hurricanes, namely, Katrina and Rita. The situation is complex because there are many stakeholders involved: manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, insurance companies, and homeowners. The problem begins with the suppliers (apart from the natural disasters that exacerbated the issue). The first question that should be asked is Why import drywall from overseas to use in the United States? and What regulations were in place regarding the usage of drywall, and so on. The next item that needs to be looked at is the homeowners. This is a very bad situation for them as they must evacuate their homes. Some of them had to move out and rent an apartment. Some of them sold their houses for less than half of what they paid for them. The problem is What can they do about the defective drywall in their houses? Further, Will they get their money back? If they do, Who is going to pay for it? or Where are they going to stay?, and so on. Since there are an estimated 100,000 homes in more than 20 states that were effected in this situation, this chapter will focus on the homeowners who live in Virginia, as it is the residence of the chapter’s primary author. It is very important to understand the homeowners’ problems and also their options to overcome this problem. Various attempts have been made to solve the situation but the problem is still there. The problem not only involves homeowner compensation but also a need to prevent this situation from happening in the future.