Premature Deterioration Poses a Risk of Injury
Includes decking and railing made at LP’s Meridian, Idaho plant and sold as WeatherBest®, Veranda® and ABTCo after Jan. 1, 2005
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 7, 2008) — Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP Building Products) (LP) (NYSE: LPX) today issued a product advisory for composite decking materials purchased after January 1, 2005, and made by LP at its Meridian, Idaho facility.
Some of the product can prematurely deteriorate and break, posing a risk of injury to consumers. LP decking products, including deck board and railings sold under the names of LP WeatherBest®, WeatherBest®, ABTCo and Veranda® are subject to this advisory.
The products are used for building outdoor decks. LP has received claims of premature deterioration of a small portion of its decking product due to variations in manufacturing processes in this time frame.
LP Executive Vice President of Specialty Products and Sales Rick Olszewski said, “We want consumers to be aware of the potential risk of injury, and to contact us. Though only a small portion of decking sold has been affected by these issues, we urge people who bought or installed these composite decking products after January 1, 2005 to contact us for an inspection through our decking notice Web site or customer service line.”
The decking advisory Web site is at www.deckingnotice.com.Products Affected
WeatherBest, ABTCo and Veranda are composite products that look similar to natural wood and are sold in several different colors, including Driftwood Grey, Pacific Cedar, Tuscan Walnut, Western Redwood, Chestnut and Greystone.
The affected products were sold after January 1, 2005 under the WeatherBest name at building products dealers nationwide, and under the Veranda and ABTCo brands at The Home Depot stores in the western part of the U.S.
Only those Veranda decking and railing products manufactured by LP are the subject of this advisory. WeatherBest products manufactured after LP’s sale of the Meridian plant in October 2007 are not affected.
What Consumers Should Do: Check Decks for Safety, Arrange for Inspection, Stay Off Decks with Deterioration
Consumers should check their Veranda, WeatherBest or ABTCo decking materials for visible cracks or deterioration on the surface, and/or chipping of the surface layers. If the deck or railing is deteriorating, do not use the deck. Contact LP Decking Customer Service to promptly arrange for an inspection of the deck.
Even if there is no visible sign of deterioration, if you purchased Veranda or WeatherBest decking or railing products after January 1, 2005, please visit the decking advisory Web site at www.deckingnotice.com or contact LP Decking Customer Service to register and determine if your deck is among the products affected. Veranda is produced by several manufacturers, but only product produced by LP is affected by this advisory. Visit www.deckingnotice.com or contact LP Decking Customer Service for help in determining which product you may have. To ensure deck owners’ safety, LP will arrange an inspection to determine if your deck is affected by the deterioration issue in this notice and will remedy the problem, up to replacement of the entire deck if needed.
Contacts
For more information, help identifying the products or to arrange an inspection, go to LP’s decking advisory Web site at www.deckingnotice.com or contact LP Decking Customer Service at 1.888.325.1184.Photo caption: Boards with premature deterioration may show flaking, cracking or other obvious signs of deterioration. If your deck is affected stop using the deck and contact LP at www.deckingnotice.com or through the toll-free customer service number, 1-888-325-1184.LP, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., is a premier supplier of building products, manufacturing innovative, high-quality commodity and specialty products for its retail, wholesale, homebuilding and industrial customers. LP no longer manufactures decking or railing products. Visit LP’s Web site at www.lpcorp.com for additional information on the company.
