NEW ORLEANS - TimberSIL, a glass-infused wood used in exterior steps and decking in New Orleans homes built by actor Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, is being replaced with yellow pine due to rotting. Make It Right rebuilds and replaces homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

According to published reports, TimberSIL had been used by the Foundation from 2008 to 2010, when it was discontinued due to performance. Although, according to its promotional material, the product is guaranteed for 40 years, signs of the wood decay were already beginning to occur, the Foundation spokesperson Taylor Royle told a local paper.

"It was unable to withstand moisture, which obviously is a big problem in New Orleans," Royle told the New Orleans Advocate.

It will cost the foundation approximately $150,000 to replace the TimberSIL product. Royle told the newspaper that the Foundation had been in touch with the manufacturer about the defects and that it intended "to seek to recoup our costs" and would consider "all legal remedies if necessary."

More about TimberSIL:

TimberSIL Glass-filled Lumber Joins Regenerative Network   TimberSIL Exhibits at GreenBuild Show

The company says TimberSIL carries a 40 year warranty. It is produced by surrounding fibers that comprise wood with layers of amorphous glass that are only a few molecules thick, using a sodium-silicate-based process with micro-manufacturing technology to create a barrier to rot, decay and common wood problems. The patented process uses heat to change a proprietary formula from a soluble solution that is infused into the wood and turn it into a microscopic layer of amorphous glass throughout the wood. Afterward, the wood is non-toxic, odorless and nonvolatile, is not corrosive to fasteners, does not cause excessive wear on tools, and has a natural clear color. 

Eco Building Products (OTCBB: ECOB) Eco Blue Shield treated wood products were also use in construction for the homes in Pitt's Make It Right Foundation.