Defective sheetrock
Monday, May 18th, 2009 | Uncategorized
THE HIGH COST OF LOW PRICES
I’m old enough to remember the “good old days” when almost everything we bought was made in the U.S. In fact, anything made in Japan was considered junk– something with a very limited life expectancy and destined for the trash heap in short order. We would laugh at the cheap trinkets shipped to us from Japan and wonder why anyone would be so foolish as to even consider purchasing such useless and fragile things. What a waste of good money.
Even as recently as the 1970’s, Wal-Mart was running a “Made in America” ad campaign. Today, I feel like I need a passport to walk their isles with all the foreign merchandise. According to a survey by the National Labor Committee, of 90,000 pieces of clothing and shoes, 85% were not made in America. The travesty of the whole thing is that when comparing American-made items with those made elsewhere, the selling price was less for the American products in many cases. As an example, the Master Lock combination lock made in Milwaukee sold for $2.96 while the knock off made in Taiwan sold for $3.67. In the case of many clothing items, the American-made article sold for the exact same price as the imported product.
You may not be as old as I, but I remember very well when Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon visited China in 1971-1972 for the express purpose of establishing relations with the Chinese so we could become trading partners. During the Carter administration, in 1976, Deng Xiaoping became China’s leader. In January, 1979, Deng made an historic trip to the US during which he talked about how China could leapfrog the lost years with America’s support. And leapfrog they did.
For years I refused to buy products made in China, but now, it is nearly impossible to find anything that is made in America. This trend is a fact of life in the homebuilding business as well. Lights, plumbing fixtures, cabinets, flooring, etc. in many cases are made outside our borders.
Recently, an issue involving Chinese-made drywall has come to the surface. Usually drywall is made in the US, but during the shortages of 2004 through 2006, Chinese-made drywall was shipped into the Florida area. This material emits a rotten egg smell similar to sulfur. Whatever is causing the smell, results in breathing difficulties. It seems as though it also causes copper wiring, copper pipe, and air-conditioning evaporator coils to fail. Fortunately, this material did not make its way into East Tennessee to the best of my knowledge.
By now you are probably asking why I have brought up the world trade situation. The answer is this. It’s good to know the quality and safety of things before they are put into use. Precision Builders has been involved in discovering technology that can make your home a safer place in which to live. We can help you discover ways to build your new home in an environmentally safe way. If you are afflicted with allergies, we can show you how to make your home more comfortable and less prone to cause your allergies to rage. We do understand the high cost of low prices and strive to build quality into every home we craft.
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