Before the 1980s, more of the commercially available wood was dense and durable, harvested from old-growth forests. Nowadays, most of the wood comes from fast-growing young forests. The growth rings are far apart, so the wood is weaker and more susceptible to rot. Some factory-built trim boards, made of wood scraps that have been jointed together, don't stand up well to the elements because water can seep into the joints, inspectors contend. And they say many new windows let water in because joints aren't sealed properly.
Inspectors say some modern building materials are downright flimsy.
Makers of some new products have been hammered with class-action lawsuits by homeowners who've experienced major problems. The suits charged that the siding, made of wood fibers held together with resins, tended to soak up water and rot. The preliminary settlement, likely to be finalized soon, calls for Masonite to pay homeowners for the cost of replacing damaged or defective products. Shell Oil Co. has settled a suit alleging problems with its polybutylene water pipe. About 6 million homeowners across the country said they found leaks in the gray plastic pipe.