Katrina homes built by Charity rotting from the inside out

Brad Pitt‘s Hurricane Katrina charity Make It Right New Orleans is under fire after more than two dozen homes that the organization built in the devastated Ninth Ward were discovered to be rotting from the inside out! “The wood turned gray and it was also black,” Make It Right home-owner Nola Verrett tells RadarOnline.com exclusively. “Also some parts it was buckling and it had mushrooms growing out of it. Different neighborhoods saw it too.”

Reps for Make It Right have laid the blame on the lumber, from wood company TimberSIL. A unique non-burning glass-and-wood blend, it had been guaranteed for 40 years, but now will be replaced at a cost of $150,000 to Make It Right.

“It was unable to withstand moisture, which is obviously a big problem in New Orleans,” Make It Right rep Taylor Royle told the New Orleans Advocate. Pitt’s charity is now reportedly considering legal action against the company. (TimberSIL and Make It Right did not respond to Radar’s requests for comment on the situation.)

Source


It's not Brad Pitt's Charity at fault but rather the lumber company they used, TimberSIL

It will cost $150k to replace the wood, though the company guaranteed the 'unique non-burning glass-and-wood blend' it sold for 40 years. The charity is considering legal action against the company.

Some of the houses have already been replaced with yellow pine, but a few aren't so lucky
So far, only about 30 houses have to be fixed.

The Make It Right pushes the green construction, talking about safer materials.
They model after Cradle to Cradle, who pushes the green agenda as well, promoting safer materials too
But what they need to research more is how well will it hold up in areas that have 100% humidity year round
Evidently the wood product that they originally used did not hold up well against the moisture in New Orleans


And then we have this from TimberSIL

While wildfires are a fact of life here in California, not everyone lives in a high fire zone. Instead it’s the wood rotting and insect damage that destroy the majority of wooden structures. To prevent rotting in lumber designed for outdoor use, pressure treated wood uses pesticides, heavy metals and other know carcinogenic substances to kill off insects and fungus. The chemicals used can leach out into the ground and off gas into our breathing air and in the end the wood still rots. TimberSIL® is NOT “treated wood”. TimberSIL is the first product ever to be deemed by the EPA a Non-Toxic Barrier Product, meaning TimberSIL stops insects and rot with only the use of a physical barrier.

Hmmm, looks like they need to re-evaluate their standards that they claim for their wood product, the part at the end where it says it will stop rot
Non-toxic is great but what about rotting wood and mildew? Not so good
Plus more money spent in the long run to fix repairs and a reputation at stake

Wow, not a fun situation for anyone to be in. I feel for them all, but especially for the homeowners who surely don't need this. It's nice to know they have begun replacing the wood. Mushrooms glowing indoors? Scary thought.

reply to post by snarky412


Hi There! Happy New Year!

I just wanted to ask why in the U.S so many houses are made mostly of wood?

There are so many weather and insect hazards in so many states in the U.S, yet so many live in wooden structures and trailers?

Here in the U.K wood is hardly every used as the main structural component in house building. Yet here we have less severe weather and a miniscule amount of wood pests in comparison.

Is there other building material available? Using breeze block, concrete, brick, stone (with very deep foundations) would make buildings so much more resilient to moisture, flood, wind and pest damage.

Are these wooden dwellings built of wood for financial motives (on the cheap)?

I did not know Brad Pitt had organized all this for the New Orleans residents. He is a very decent man indeed to give a helping hand like that!

Edit; Here where I live there are many old granite stone cottages. A lot of them are 250 years old and still going strong. They used to build deep foundations, too. The walls are like 2+ feet thick!

reply to post by snarky412


Here is an example of granite stone cottages Cornish style;



We are on the far south western tip of U.K right next to the Atlantic Ocean. We get pelted by gales all the time and these cottages have stood here for 250 years.

When we have had 100mph + winds they only get roof damage. The concept for these comes from the Celtic round houses of the original inhabitants.

I wonder what some of those tornados would do to such structures. However, may be having such a weight as a bus or tree being picked up and smashed into even a granite wall might bring it down? I know the power of the tornados are pretty phenomenal.

reply to post by aboutface


Not really Look at the bright side; Whomever lives there will always have an endless supply of 'shrooms, to either cook with, or, if they're the "other" kind, they will have it made in the shade. This could be a good thing.

But seriously, the charity needs to make the lumber company pay up. I built a deck a few years ago with lumber that is supposed to be treated from a 'big store chain' . It is the most worthless wood that I've ever worked with. I've taken back many of the boards. I just finally gave up. $2500 out the window.

snarky412
It will cost $150k to replace the wood, though the company guaranteed the 'unique non-burning glass-and-wood blend' it sold for 40 years.

That right there is a sure sign their product is garbage. Who builds a house that'll last 40 years? I've had roofs guaranteed for longer.

Amazing with all the modern hoops, codes, permits, inspections, and all homes are a shadow of the quality they once were.

It's almost as if modern building codes are set to ensure your house is temporary.

I would imagine having Pitts name attached drew in the lawyers at a rapid rate. They couldn't smell the rot but they could sure smell the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

reply to post by Revolution9

just wanted to ask why in the U.S so many houses are made mostly of wood?

There are so many weather and insect hazards in so many states in the U.S, yet so many live in wooden structures and trailers?

Here in the U.K wood is hardly every used as the main structural component in house building. Yet here we have less severe weather and a miniscule amount of wood pests in comparison.

Is there other building material available? Using breeze block, concrete, brick, stone (with very deep foundations) would make buildings so much more resilient to moisture, flood, wind and pest damage.

Are these wooden dwellings built of wood for financial motives (on the cheap)?

All good and fair questions
To be honest, not sure really other than the obvious..... cheaper materials = cheaper payments/rent

Although, some of the older homes that were built in the early 1900's were built extremely well
Good materials, better craftsmanship than today IMO

Now a days, it's more of turning out a product as fast as possible [supply & demand]
And homes that are affordable, which mean cheaper material that would not be of quality


BTW, I love the granite stones

The wood out there is not the same as it used to be. Pressure Treated with Arsenic has been gone. There is some out there but they have mostly gone to the nano cooper and other chemicals to soak into the wood. But they seem to have some problems with the process. You can get 4x4 with white centers where it was never forced completely into the wood. None of them guarantee against rot or mildew only say they help to prevent. Mildew is almost expected over time along with the rest of the chemicals which will slowly bleed out from the pressure treatment. The same way they say what goes up must come down. Well what you force into the wood will come back out. Although they could do a better job force the chemicals all the way through the wood. A few minutes more in the pressure chamber or a little higher pressure would help with larger pieces of timber.

Wow. I thought i was the only one to have seen mushrooms growing indoors.

I worked as a seasonal park ranger for several summers in Yellowstone and when i moved into my Mission 66 trailer one spring, i discovered that in addition to hosting a family of pine martens over the winter, the water heater had sprung a leak and mushrooms were now growing in the shag carpeting. I kid you not. One of the craziest things i'd ever seen.

True story.

reply to post by Revolution9


Some friends and I discussed this very question some months back. We decided:

Initially when the US was founded, houses were built out wood because it was abundant, easy and fast to work.

Later after most of the forests were stripped, they continued using wood, because their builders never learned the skills to work with masonry, they had been working wood so long.

Noways, its because wood is cheap in comparison to masonry, therefore a greater profit return on construction of a property.