Pressed wood products (also known as particle board) have been used in home construction, some furniture and some insulation products since the 1970’s. Unfortunately, pressed wood makes use of wood chips that have to be glued together, in many cases using urea-formaldehyde as the resin.
The emissions of toxic air occurs for many years after the construction and occupancy, though over time there is a gradual reduction. Smaller spaces such as trailer homes and prefabs will have even higher emission levels than particle board houses. People living in these homes have reported irritations to the eyes, sinus cavities, throats, and difficulty breathing and even asthma. Formaldehyde fumes have since been proven to be cancer-causing in animal-testing.
It really is a shame to see homes being built locally on Coronado that are selling for $1.5+ million that are stapled particle board sheets. The people purchasing them likely have no idea what is inside their wallboard. The savings in cost by using particle board from Home Depot is really not that much compared to using plywood. Plywood does have its own health issues due to formaldehyde, but to a lesser degree. Both are toxic.
You might recall that victims of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) were living in FEMA-supplied trailers and mobile homes. There were 140,000 trailers purchased by FEMA costing $2.5 billion, most of which were constructed with this formaldehyde resin. When reports of people getting sick became significant, FEMA suggested to these people that they move out. However, most stayed because they had no alternative. Some of the excess trailers were sold off by FEMA until a Court injunction in 2007 prevented such sales. The trailers were then stored by the gov’t until 2010 at a cost of $130 million/year until the injunction expired. FEMA then began selling off the remaining trailers in 2010, placing a tag on each stating that they were not suitable for human habitation. Of course, these tags were easily removed. Since then there have been class action lawsuits against FEMA and the trailer manufacturers by the hurricane victims that were placed in these homes.
The use of this resin is more regulated these days, but it is still present in a lot of the particle board (and plywood) used in home construction. You may not even be aware of what is lurking inside your own walls. The good news is that over time, the resins dry and less is emitted.
Okay, this topic requires a fish picture. This one was taken off Belize of a small school of Ocean Surgeonfish. These guys are identified by their shape, color and the tiny horizontal fins which look like blue stripes near their tails.
I wasnt told by the builder that they used pressed wood to build their model home, of which I bought. Husband and I, an elderly couple, moved in four months after walking through the house , and we chose to buy the model home, at Ryan homes in west Virginia. We had our house on the market to sell in Virginia. We didn’t know when it would sell. Thats why it was easier to buy the model home. It gave us time to sell our house in Virginia and the seller, Ryan homes, was fine with us giving a later date of move in.
After we moved in, I immediately had an eye infection. I had a second eye infection only a couple weeks later. Once a year, since the past five years, I may have an eye infection, due to pink eye, if I am around a child or animal . our home in Virginia wasn’t built with pressed board. I’ve also had sinus infections. We bought the house As Is. This should have been a red flag to me. We put a very small payment to hold the house for us in west Virginia. Can I sue the seller for not letting us know that they used pressed wood to build the house ? We signed a contract to pay a lot of money in May of 2022 for this model home. In September, when we closed on the house , Ryan homes would not reduce the price of the house, though we had to reduce the sale price of our home in Virginia, because house prices were going down. I estimate now that we lost forty thousand dollars , buying this house in west Virginia, because when I search homes in same area , Ryan homes is selling this same house model for forty thousand dollars less than what we paid. We paid cash. Is there any way to get our money back. Other homes built new , that aren’t Ryan homes, are selling for about forty thousand less than what we paid, and they are same size and larger than this house we purchased. Help?
Hi Regina,
Sorry you are having particle board health-related problems with your developer home. I wrote that article about the dangers to your health from living in homes built with particle board in 2017. However, I am not a builder nor an attorney nor am I the person you should be speaking to for advice about what to do now.
It is always a good idea to have a home inspection by a licensed contractor prior to purchasing a home. That’s $500 well spent. Rather than pointing out the “should haves” and “could haves” of what is now a done deal, I would strongly suggest that you seek competent professional advice from a real estate attorney who can guide you through your options from this point forward.
Good luck with this one,
Richard
I paid too much money for a Ryan homes homes. The floors are particle board , as well as the doors , I believe. Bought as is, model home
Moved in four months later after selling home in Virginia. I was way too busy to look at the history of Ryan homes. Relied on elderly husband who was busy working. We are both over 60 yo. I have had eye infections and sinus infections since moving in the model home we purchased with cash. I didn’t know that Ryan homes are cheap homes. This home wasn’t cheap to buy. Yet cheaply made. How can I get all my money back. This house probably won’t sell for what we paid. Want to move to north Carolina In two years when husband retires
This is cruel of builders that we may not receive what we paid. The housing market went down between May and September, 2022. We moved in , in September after signing legal paperwork to buy, at same price , for May of 2022. Ryan homes didn’t reduce price, though we reduced price of our home in Virginia. Here we are in west Virginia. Not beautiful north western Loudoun county. Sold our beautiful home in Loudoun county. And bought this house, only to find out months later that this house is built with pressed wood. We had a walk through with a professional home inspector. I pointed out issues. He said that for these homes, that at HUD, it is to be expected. Yet other homes, that aren’t HUD homes, cost less, now, than we paid for this house in west Virginia. Lawyer anyone.??