Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 20, 1995 TAG: 9508220032
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORTLAND, ORE. LENGTH: Medium
Louisiana-Pacific Corp. defended its Inner-Seal wood siding and said that 99 percent of the houses with it do not have any problems.
One researcher told the newspaper that the wood chips and glue used to make the siding are like ice cream being served up to wood-eating fungi that are like ``a horde of 8-year-olds.''
``It goes faster than you can watch it,'' said Bill Dost, a former University of California researcher.
Louisiana-Pacific already has paid $46 million in homeowner claims since the siding was introduced in 1985; stock analysts predict the total eventually could exceed $300 million.
Investors are suing the company, contending they have been misled about the extent of the company's financial woes. Last month, the company forced out Chairman Harry A. Merlo, who helped create the siding as a cheap substitute for plywood used in home construction.
At the University of Portland, the siding used on the walls of the Harry A. Merlo Field soccer stadium sprouted a mushroomlike fungus last week, an embarrassing footnote to the tenure of the man who in 1973 built a spinoff of Georgia-Pacific into a Fortune 500 company.
Louisiana-Pacific has responded to recent media attention by pulling its siding from the market in Florida and Georgia, where humidity and lawsuits have taken their toll.
Production of the siding, made mostly from aspen and pine, has slowed as the company struggles to add more sealant to keep water out.
Homeowners can face a bill of $10,000 or more to replace the wood if the siding fails, leaving them with a warranty that typically covers far less, or a decision whether to take legal action.
Louisiana-Pacific maintains that claims so far amount to less than 2 percent of the 2.7 billion board feet of siding produced.
``For every one house you can show me where it is not performing, I will show you 99 houses where it is performing,'' company spokesman Barry Lacter told The Oregonian.
However, even the American Plywood Association, which certified the siding in 1986, now says it believes something is wrong. It appears there were flaws that the testing to certify the siding could not predict.
``I would not put that product on my house,'' said Fred Kamke, an associate professor at Virginia Tech and an expert in siding. ``I don't care what kind of coating you put on it, moisture is going to get through.''
by CNB