Thread: Chinese drywall testing eqip

This vender .... X-MET handheld XRF Analyzer for Chinese Drywall testing on home inspection:Â*Oxford Instruments
... was selling a camera that tests for chinese drywall at ASHIs Inspection World this week.
Per them Wells Fargo is now, and other major lenders,and insurance companys will be requiring all homes [ in known areas of chinese drywall] built in the chinese drywall time period will have to be tested for chinese drywall.

From what I gathered, with this camera the average sized home can be inspected in 4-5 hrs, the requirements are every 3 sq. ft' will need to be checked. This camera will identify infected drywall on the sopt.
Again per them an inspector can charge $5-700 for this inspection on an averge sized 2000' home

I asked Bob with Allen Ins. about liability, per him our standard E&O policy will cover us.

Has anyone heard of this process, or anyone using it now.
Your thoughts??

Oh yea.. The ouch part,
There are 2 different companys that were selling this type of camera, one was priced in the high 20s; the other was I think $30,000 something.

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Kind of odd that they have high priced tester out on the market before the EPA or anyone else that I know of has come out with any standards.

I know it is pretty obvious to the people in the field that there is a problem but how are you going to give a clearance if you don't know what or how much of a contaminant you are looking for?
I wonder if the mold is gold boys have their finger in this pie?

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

Kind of odd that they have high priced tester out on the market before the EPA or anyone else that I know of has come out with any standards.

I know it is pretty obvious to the people in the field that there is a problem but how are you going to give a clearance if you don't know what or how much of a contaminant you are looking for?
I wonder if the mold is gold boys have their finger in this pie?

I really didn't ask a lot of questions after I heard the $s.
Only afterwards did I think hey this might be something.
From the demo all the guy did is put the camera against two different pieces of drywall, one reg ular drywall , and one was chinese drywall. From what I saw, the more expensive camera can identify several materials, verifiy if gold is gold, and other metal materials including the one in the drywall.

Originally Posted by Dan Harris

Has anyone heard of this process, or anyone using it now.
Your thoughts??

Yes, I've heard of it and it is supposedly a viable test as it tests the elements which make up the gypsum inside the drywall.

It is the same type of XRF instrument used for lead, only calibrated for the elements it is checking for in the gypsum.

Expensive to buy, expensive to maintain, and one must be licensed to use them (at least used to have to be) as they contain radioactive material.

Jerry is correct

also XRF radiation source may not be stored in a home and has limited life and to what standard do you test ?? It is one of those things you must keep working not sitting same a the lead one..

CHEERS

Bill Levy

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