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Drugs in the walls

Kim | Posted in General Discussion on July 5, 2003 11:21am

We’re considering purchasing a home and rumor has it that the previous owners were cooking Crystal Meth.  We’ve been told that this particular drug can be absorbed into the walls.  Anybody ever hear of this possibility?  And if so, are there any remedies for ridding the house of it?   

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  1. Wet_Head | Jul 06, 2003 12:20am | #1

    No but I can tell you how to make money with this house.

    Grind the wall board up into powder, sell it, and skip town before anyone finds out what it is.  You should have enough cash to buy any house you want.

    WARNING: I am not responsible for any consequences you may suffer should you take my advice.

    Seriously... do a Google search on Meth.  May get your answer that way.

    1. Kim | Jul 06, 2003 01:26am | #5

      I have done a google search but came up empty.  All I found was self help sites designed to get you off the stuff. 

      1. Theodora | Jul 06, 2003 01:34am | #6

        Ka-ching. I hope it helps.

        http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Methamphetamine+wall+contamination

        or google with 'methamphetamine structural contamination' (without the quotation marks) you get mostly the same results, though. Good luck.

        "There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning."--???

        Edited 7/5/2003 6:38:05 PM ET by Theodora

        1. Kim | Jul 06, 2003 09:31pm | #16

          Theodora The article you found through google was very helpful.  We will start calling local law enforcement tomorrow to be sure there was in fact a meth lab on the premises.  Right now all we have is rumor from neighbors.  Thanks

          1. Kim | Jul 06, 2003 09:52pm | #17

            Appreciate all the advice.  The only reason my wife and I are looking at the house is that it's a great deal in a great neighborhood but obviously we don't want to buy a house with a toxic waste hazard.   The place has been vacant for some time.  Carpet has been replaced and all walls have been painted.  We'll be doing more research in the next few days.

          2. paulc127 | Jul 06, 2003 11:29pm | #18

            Have the soil in the yard tested as well. My wife and I looked at a similar property a few years ago. Unfortunately they had been dumping the by-products of the manufacturing process in the backyard, effectively turning it into an EPA Superfund site. CLean up could be prohibitively expensive.

  2. migraine | Jul 06, 2003 12:28am | #2

    We are in SoCal and there should be a discloser concerning the possible use of toxoic drugs in the home.  Whether or not your has the same forms is up to you to find out.  Find out if this is a true rumor to the best of your ability.  Part of the disclosure form states that the seller is or is not aware of the chemicals.  That is pretty vague.  Contact your agent to find out as much as possible and make sure that you keep records of all conversations concerning the matter.  Also go to your local health dept.  They might have records on the matter and I believe that some counties actually have it recordes on the assesors maps in their office, just as if it was peice of property that has illegal grading or uncompacted fill, etc.   Ascontact your local police dept/fire dept/hazardous waste devisions .  There might be some police officers that know a little more .  They might have been included in a raid on the property.  Be careful of an agent that is representing the buyer and the seller.  I have recently heard about a listing in our area that had some problems.  When the agent found out, the seller quickly changed realestate companies to avoid the previous agent from disclosing to future buyers. 

    Be very careful, chemicals used to manufacture chrystal meth. and our drugs are very toxic, especially to young children and older folks.

    1. Kim | Jul 06, 2003 01:24am | #4

      The property is a foreclosure.  Owner is gone.  The bank claims no awareness of any problems.  No disclosures only disclaimers.

    2. ilporcupine | Jul 06, 2003 03:23am | #9

      "Our"? 

      So you're the guy, huh?  <giggle>

      <Be very careful, chemicals used to manufacture chrystal meth. and our drugs are very toxic, especially to young children and older folks.>

      Edited 7/5/2003 8:30:32 PM ET by ilporcupine

  3. User avater
    IMERC | Jul 06, 2003 12:35am | #3

    There was an articale in the paper a few days ago about meth labs in Motels and what it takes to clean up afterwards. Strip it to the studs, rafters and joists and put it all back together. The trash goes to an EPA disposal site. Make to sure send the insulation along too.

  4. User avater
    rjw | Jul 06, 2003 01:35am | #7

    Do you really want to buy a home where late some night a  "businessperson" with a relationship with the prior owner might stop by in the middle of the night to express his displeasure about  what he perceived as the quantity or quality of the objects of a "busineess" transaction?

    _______________________

    10 .... I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

    11 For no one can lay any other foundation than the one we already have--Jesus Christ.

    1 Corinthians 3:10-11

    1. FastEddie1 | Jul 06, 2003 01:45am | #8

      To ansewr your original question, contact your local police dept and talk with the community relations officer.  We have one or two in each substation here, and their job is to do neighborhood safety training, etc, and they are a good source for general information.  He (or she) would probably not be able to tell you about any criminal activities in the house, but he could be a resource for answers to the toxicity questions.

      As others have pointed out, if the alleged drug activities are true, you better be getting one hell of a deal to make it worthwhile.

      Do it right, or do it twice.

    2. Kim | Jul 06, 2003 09:14pm | #14

      BobAppreciate the scripture and advice, but the previous owners have been out for a couple of years.  I'm not too conserned about a former buyer coming back.  The concern is primerily toxicity. 

      Edited 7/6/2003 2:15:28 PM ET by Chubby

  5. kai230 | Jul 06, 2003 04:01am | #10

    Not sure how the meth chemicals work, but a meth house went up in flames in barely seconds across the way from me. If the pertinent chemicals are still in the structure, you may have a big fire hazard. This house practically exploded, and the embers were like fireworks, spreading to my nearby canyon and all around the neighborhood. Good luck!

    1. GUNN308 | Jul 06, 2003 06:41am | #12

      Ether is used in meth mfg I think it's used as a dryer in the last step thats why the explosions

      1. kai230 | Jul 06, 2003 07:54am | #13

        Does ether stay in wallboard/plaster/paint and such and remain an explosive hazard? If so, the property buyer might be able to get the price reduced by the cost of hazmat cleanup. I think in the instance near me, there were still plenty of meth chemicals, which is why all the fireworks. Thank goodness a good neighbor rebuilt! 

        1. GUNN308 | Jul 06, 2003 09:26pm | #15

          at atmospheric pressure it turns into a gas and dissapates,as for the chemicals used I don't know. I would be more concerned about the floors and spills during manufacturing.

  6. User avater
    ProBozo | Jul 06, 2003 06:20am | #11

    Somewhere I read -- or saw it on tv -- that of a group of i think 11 police that were on some Calif drug bust team when Meth first became prevalent there, something like 8 of the 11 had major cancers within so many years.

    Sorry this is so vague, I just remember the very basics, it's been three or four years at least since I saw this.

  7. rez | Jul 07, 2003 02:14am | #19

    Couple years back I was doing a reno in the bad part of town. 10 am I'm on the front porch and hear a muffled explosion nearby followed by shouts and yells. I'm thinking these guys are partying either early on late then IU listen to the yells and they weren't ha ha but serious Oh-my-gawds. I going tearing across the neighbors corner yard and see in the next yard a guy running around in circles with 2 foot flames burning up his back.

    I managed to get him down on the ground and the flames out. Burnt bad bad bad. 10 minutes later it's a circus with everybody from the firemen to the tv crews. DEA, ATF, bomb squad, ambulances.

    They said often times there will be a secondary explosion after the first with meth labs which was the cause of this fire.

    Ugly. But if you can get the building cheap enough it's a good time to gut the wallboard and update the plumbing and wiring.

     

     

    1. Scooter1 | Jul 08, 2003 02:47am | #22

      I rehabed a Crack House 15 years ago. Glass pipe pieces everywhere (2 5 gal buckets worth); stopped up plumbing and 6" of human waste in the basement; 1 secret drug stash behind a false wall; and armored walls (steel screwed to the studs to prevent break ins and bullets). 4700 square feet of mansion with 45 crack heads living in it.

      Owner developer bought it from the city for $50K; we through $100K into it; He sold it for $300K a year later.

      Great house. My advise? No worries about the meth; the stuff is highly evaporative and little residuals. Buy it cheap, fix it up, sell it high.

      Regards,

      Boris

      "Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934

  8. User avater
    aimless | Jul 07, 2003 07:16pm | #20

    According to our local news:

    Yes, when meth is cooked in a house it is absorbed into the walls. This will make you very, very sick, and the only way to get rid of it is a total gut on the house. Around here there are companies that will sample and chemically test the property for meth and residue from its production. If I were you, I would do that. For me with a question like this, a rumor from a neighbor is better info because unless the police have enough for a warrant, they can't raid the house.

  9. rebuilder | Jul 08, 2003 01:58am | #21

    Just had this discussion with a friend this morning who has a neighbor trying to sell a place that was a former meth lab. There are currently no disclosure laws (at least in NC) for this type of problem. He was telling me about a recent case in Denver, where an upscale apt. had been used as a lab, and then sold to a family. The couple's young daughter began having severe asthma type symptoms within a short period of time. Residue from the chemicals used in the manuf. of meth. were offgassing from the walls and carpets. If I were you, treat everything as toxic, and gut the house. Have it tested after gutting, then rebuild.  Buy some ventilators and go to it! Good luck!



    Edited 7/7/2003 6:59:32 PM ET by ccr

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