LP Building Products has issued a product advisory for composite decking materials sold under the names of LP WeatherBest, WeatherBest, ABTCo, and Veranda, manufactured at the company’s Meridian, Idaho facility and purchased after Jan. 1, 2005.
Due to variations in the manufacturing process, the company stated, a small portion of its composite decking and railing product has deteriorated prematurely, posing a risk of breakage and possible injury to deck owners. The composite products have a natural-wood appearance and are sold in several different colors. Affected products under the WeatherBest name were sold after Jan. 1, 2005 through building products dealers nationwide; those affected under the Veranda and ABTCo names were sold through The Home Depot stores in the Western part of the U.S.
The Meridian, Idaho facility where the products were manufactured was sold in October 2007, and LP no longer manufactures the composite decking brands, but the company is standing behind the product it did manufacture.
WeatherBest, ABTCo, and Veranda deck owners who purchased the materials after Jan. 1, 2005 are encouraged to visit www.deckingnotice.com for details about how to check their decks for deterioration and to register their decks and file claims, if applicable. LP will arrange for deck inspections to help determine whether a deck owner’s deck is affected and will remedy the problem.
Builders who sold and installed WeatherBest, ABTCo, and Veranda decks purchased after Jan. 1, 2005, can help get the word out by encouraging those clients who may have these decks to visit www.deckingnotice.com or to contact LP’s Decking Customer Service hotline at 888-325-1184 to schedule a deck inspection. Or builders can contact their LP composite decking sales representative or the LP Decking Customer Service hotline, provide a list of the potentially affected clients, and LP will do the rest.
Aug. 11 UPDATE: Fiber Composites—which acquired the WeatherBest composite decking brand from LP Building Products in November 2007, along with the Meridian, Idaho, manufacturing facility where it is produced—has issued a release to follow up on the LP product advisory of Aug. 7.
Fiber Composites emphasizes that the products affected by the LP advisory were manufactured before it purchased the WeatherBest brand and manufacturing facility. The company states that after the November 2007 acquisition of the decking brand and Meridian facility, it made “important product formulation changes that were performance proven and promoted under the fiberon brand for many years.”
