Lauderhill Homes Get Chinese Drywall Fix

LAUDERHILL (CBS4)- As two Lauderhill townhome owners begin to have tainted Chinese drywall removed, neighbors are wondering how soon they will find relief.

On Monday a construction company began tearing off the drywall in two units within the Georgetown community just off of SR 441.

It's part of a pilot project to repair 300 homes nationwide.  Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, one of the largest drywall manufacturers is paying for the makeovers.

"It was supposed to be our dream home," says Yazmin St. Cyr who lives in Georgetown.

St. Cyr is counting the days until her unit is worked on.

The corrosive chemicals in the drywall left her home with a rotten egg smell and corroded her faucets and stained her doorframes with mold.

"We have to inhale the fumes.  My kids have headaches, I was hospitalized, it's terrible especially when you have kids," said St. Cyr. "I don't know what the future effect will be on our health."

Travis Ashley wonders if the Chinese drywall made his son ill.

"We were here a couple of months and the next thing you know he started getting sick.  We didn't know what it was.  It's been headaches ever since.  We're paying for a house we can't stay in," said Ashley.

While moving out his belongings to prepare for his makeover, Ashley showed us how the Chinese drywall destroyed his air conditioning unit.

"This is supposed to be copper and its pitch black," said Ashley.

To qualify for the repairs, a homeowner needs to join a nationwide lawsuit in Louisiana.  In addition, a majority of the tainted drywall in a home must be manufactured by Knauf.

In addition to paying for repairs, Knauf is giving homeowners cash settlements of $8.50 a square foot to use for moving expenses, temporary housing and other costs.