Brad Pitt's charity houses begin to rot

Financial Express ^ | 1/2/14

[SoFloFreeper]

O ver two dozen houses which were built by Hollywood star Brad Pitt's charity for the victims of 2005 Hurricane Katrina have started to rot from the inside out.

While the blame-game is on between the Pitt's charity 'Make It Right New Orleans' and the house building company, the owners of the houses, which are situated at the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, are worried about the deteriorating condition of their homes, reported Radar Online.

"The wood turned gray and it was also black," a homeowner, who has been living in the house for four years, said.

"Also some parts it was buckling and it had mushrooms growing out of it. Different neighbourhoods saw it too."

A representative for the charity has responded to the complaint and held the company responsible, which provided a plumber for the house that sits on a moist land.

[1010RD]

He’s as fake as Brad Pitt’s characters.

[marron]

While the rotting wood in few houses has been replaced with yellow pine, others are still waiting for their turn.

Sounds like they are working on it.

[gr8eman]

Would it be worth my effort to weather-proof my deck even if the wood looks like it’s old and dry-rotted?

[VerySadAmerican]

I’m not saying this is the case, but home owner’s maintenance can keep a house looking new for years.

If there are mushrooms growing inside the house, obviously there’s a moisture problem. A little bleach will stop that.

[meatloaf]

I don’t have the answer to that. Maybe someone else will.

[Mastador1]

When they took the arsenic out of treated wood I noticed more warping on the green treated lumber. (Meaning we get to rebuild the deck again and use even more wood.) Gaia is going to be pissed.

You can always use recycled plastic composite lumber at twice the price and avoid the rot.

[woodbutcher1963]

Most of the deck treatments on the market like Thompsons Water Seal are paraffin wax in a mineral sprits solution. The mineral spirits evaporates leaving the wax impregnated into the exterior of the wood. They do very little other than seal the existing wood.

There is a difference between splitting and cracking due to changes in relative humidity in the summer/winter and actual dry rot. Rot is when the wood becomes punky or soft. If this is the problem, it may be best to replace the deck boards.

Is the deck on the south side of the house where it gets a lot of sun? If this is the case, I would replace it with composite decking with a PVC shell. These typically have a anchoring system unique to each manufacturer.

The other alternative would be to screw down IPE(ironwood) or Garapa wood decking. These are two South American hardwoods that are impervious to rot. They are also EXTREMELY dense and difficult to work with. They are the hardest/densest woods commercially manufactured in the world. You must predrill ALL holes and screw it down with stainless steel screws.

If your existing deck just has a lot of splits and cracks you could wash it with bleach and a pressure washer. Then give it a couple weeks to dry out. I would then apply a heavy pigmented deck stain(almost like a paint). The lighter the color the more sun it will reflect.

I hope this helps.

[woodbutcher1963]

They used a relatively unheard of wood treatment process called TimberSil out of California. This is a FIRE TREATMENT process that claims it also protects against rot.
It is promoted to be more environmentally friendly than other pressure treating processes such as ACQ or CCA. Obviously, it does not work. This is the problem, somebody wanted to “be Green” and got sold a product that does not work. Now they are paying for it. The lawyers will sort it out.

[Signalman]

Everything liberals do rots, eventually.

[pax_et_bonum]

So these houses are the Pitt’s?

***

My fire pit is named Brad.

My girlfriends enjoy coming over to heat up Brad.

;-)

[jttpwalsh]

My sister, and her husband, in Seattle, bragged about the deck they built, a couple years ago, because it was made of some “sustainable material” stuff, as opposed to ordinary wood. This past summer, they had to tear the deck down, turns out the “material” was highly valued by wasps, who nested there in great numbers, making the deck area dangerous for her young children to play on, or near. The replacement was made of . . . arsenic treated lumber. Hopefully, the kids won’t look at it ;)

[gr8eman]

Thanks for the info! I recently bounght a house in VA and ALL of the decks and exterior woods on all of the houses I looked at (including the one I bought) are bare wood and looked like they were never sealed. I looked at some high priced places and the big decks on the larger, more expensive houses look the same as the smaller cheaper ones. The seasons here are extreme and I can’t figure out why no one takes care of their decks!

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

There is a rumor floating around to the effect the the person with overall construction responsibility was Brad Pitt’s brother Arm.

[lonevoice]

But he “CARES”, that’s all that matters.

Yes, like all good little liberals, he is to be judged only on his intentions.

[Shimmer1]

What a complete babe he is!!!!! OMGosh!

[Rebelbase]

Chicom drywall was my first thought also.

[Let's Roll]

Yes, but they don't mean their house should return to the soil - they just mean your house should return to the soil.

[tioga]

Seriously? I find that hard to believe.

[tophat9000]

Look real world for that area. .it has no earth quakes and does have hurricanes and lots of water ...so brick or cinder block homes would be the bet..why do stick built?

[woodbutcher1963]

The whole ninth ward should have NEVER been rebuilt. It is well below sea level. It is the lowest elevation area in New Orleans. It would have been better to relocate everyone that lived there to higher ground and turn the whole area into a city park. That way when(not if)the next flood comes they have some place to let the water flow into.

Oh well, its Bush’s fault anyway(he hates black people).