Audet & Partners, LLP is investigating claims that TimberSIL wood, used extensively in New Orleans home reconstruction following Hurricane Katrina, is now beginning to show signs of extensive, premature rotting. A traditional wood alternative, TimberSIL is a wood composite fortified with glass. The material was marketed as being especially friendly to the environment as it omits chemicals that might otherwise slow the rate of decay.
Now, in addition to problems being reported in New Orleans, property owners in several states are complaining of significant property damage resulting from premature rotting apparent in TimberSIL. The complaints have followed a 2009 study undertaken by the Oregon State University’s Department of Wood Science Engineering that had determined TimberSIL wood to be “only sightly resistant to decay,” and thus unsuitable for exterior exposure.