Sensitivities vary, but every seriously sensitive person w/MCS that I know smell a very strong toxic odor on ALL standard new drywall; I am not referring to the Chinese toxic drywall. Over the past 22 years several of my friends and myself have obtained drywall from various sources & shared these samples with each other. We all found we were all unable to tolerate any of them. For me it takes several years before I can tolerate any drywall. Some of the problem comes from recycled products used such as newspaper and phone books, & some is to the smell of the gypsum itself.

Also, it's imperative for those w/MCS to use a non-toxic wall board mud.
Murco M100 Joint Compound is the one many environmental consultants recommend.
One online site that sells it list it as being: asbestos preservative free, and formaldehyde free, low odor and made specifically for chemical and allergy sensitive individuals.

Debra,

In your experience does it take a year for the mud or joint compound to off-gas? If not, how long did it take for yours and did it bother you? What did you use to minimize that?

I've been researching non-toxic products and came across a recommended product made by Murco. I think they guarantee asbestos free. They do have specific products for people with mcs and allergies.

It is good to know that standard drywall should be okay for people with mcs. I am still on the hunt for other non-toxic products as well for some construction being done in our home eventually, such as no-voc (not "low") paints, sealers, non-toxic formaldehyde-free insulation etc.

Thanks,

Sam

Hello,
Just wondering, was the brick wall treated for mold/mildew before the dry wall was put up? And have you painted the dry wall yet? I would think that a non-toxic latex paint would seal any odor's. We too did a room add. for son's room about 2 yrs ago. Putting dry wall on an outer wall. They first put OSB board on the stucco (outer) wall before putting up the dry wall.
Brick and Stucco will of course retain moisture****
Pam

My guess is some moisture from the brick walls is getting to the drywall. Wet drywall does smell and in most cases will smell even if it drys out. You could also be creating a dew point in the wall that is creating a moisture. I'd get a cheap moisture meter from Amazon and test several places. The inexpensive moisture meters we sometimes use have prongs that you have to stick into the drywall as far as you can to get to where it may be wet. If it is wet it has to be removed and the moisture issues dealt with.

Maybe when the drywall was installed an adhesive was used to put it over the bricks. Usually firring strips would be installed into the brick, and the drywall nailed to the firring, but I have seen drywall installed directly over masonry using PL400 or some other kind of strong adhesive. Check in with the installer about what method was used. Just a thought.