The American Society of Testing and Materials has committed to developing a standard for inspeciton which was presented by Spiderman Scott Mulholland and Robert G. Thomas at a meeting with ASTM last October 2009. A follow up meeting on November 10, 2009 opened the door for the work item WK260072 “Standard Practice for Evaluation of Buildings to Identify Corrosive Gypsum Board”. Many complaints about corrosion in homes have been associated with Chinese or other defective drywall which has affected more than 30 states.

As the result of the Subcommittee C11.01 Task Group meeting in Atlanta on November 10, 2009 a preliminary rough draft was submitted by Mulholland as a starting point for the work group. Due to the significance of the issue, the work item was approved for “Rapid Issuance” and could possibly be passed in the early part of 2010.

The task group members are reviewing the draft document and providing comments and suggestions to the protocol that is reviewed by the technical contact. Several drafts of the protocol are expected to be submitted that may go on to produce a final document which could be voted on by early spring. Spiderman Mulholland is a leading forensic expert on building envelope, water intrusion, toxic mold, and Chinese Drywall of U S Building Consultants, Inc. (USBCI). He has invested a lot of resources and time to help be a part of developing inspection and remediation protocols over the last year for the Building Envelope Science Institute. This ASTM effort has a diversified group with a lot of experience and we look forward to seeing this effort produce a standard for the inspection as it relates to corrosive problems associated with some Gypsum said Mulholland. We have a lot of good and some bad inspection methodologies that are being practiced out in the field. I believe we all need a standard to work from which should protect the public and prevent misdiagnosing of gypsum in homes and buildings. “This is really an important effort for this committee and will eventually help a lot of people,” says Mulholland.

To learn more about Spiderman S. Mulholland and USBCI, go online to www.usbcinc.com, or to arrange an interview, contact rebekka@usbcinc.com. Copyright © 2009 by US Building Consultants, Inc.  All rights reserved.