A promise strong and sturdy

Pushpa Girimaji

I renovated my ancestral home recently and used a lot of wood pillars and wood carvings to give it a different look. The interior decorator who executed the work swore that it was Burma teak and I would never have any complaints about its quality or finish. However, after some months, we noticed some fine white powder or dust near some of the pillars. When the interior decorator did not attend to my complaints promptly, I called a friend who has a furniture shop and he told me that, first of all, the wood has borer infestation and, second of all, it is not Burma teak at all. I am really shocked and do not know what to do. Changing the wood pillars at this stage is not easy and would involve a lot of work on the house, immense inconvenience for us, besides the cost. What should I do?

Please take pictures of the white powder near the wood pillars and carvings. Ask your friend to give a letter certifying that it is infested with borer and also that it is not Burma teak. You can also get a pesticide company to come and give you an estimate of the cost of treating the wood and the extent of damage suffered by the wood on account of the infestation. Also ask your friend or a subject specialist, whether the wood used, even if it is not Burma teak, is of some standard quality and strong.

Depending on the opinion of the experts, you will have to take a decision on whether you need to replace the wood pillars or whether it can be treated. If the wood is still strong and if the infestation is not too much, then you can get them treated. Else, you will have to replace the wood.

Fumigation is the most effective way of treating the wood for borer infestation, but that is not practical once the wood is used in a home. The only option is to kill the larvae of the wood boring beetles, which are well ensconced inside the wood (as the name suggests, they bore into the wood, feeding on it, thereby destroying it). Identify the infected spots from the falling frass or wood dust and inject insecticide into the wood at such spots using a syringe.

Whether you will replace the wood or treat the existing wood, your interior decorator has to bear the entire cost, including the connected repair and painting and flooring work that might have to be undertaken as a consequence. He has to compensate you for all the agony, harassment and inconvenience suffered by you. If he is not willing to do all this, you will have to file a complaint before the consumer court.

Can you quote an order of the consumer court in a similar case?

In Dr Jaswant Singh D. Patel Vs managing director, Kitply Industries, Calcutta ( complaint no 160 of 1992), plywood used in the doctor’s newly set up diagnostic centre was found to be infested with borers. The Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the manufacturer to refund the cost of the plywood and also labour charges of Rs 40,000 incurred by the consumer for the installation work.

In Nuchem Ltd Vs Aarti Drugs Ltd, the Medium Density Fibre board (MDF) used for making partitions, tables, cabins and cupboards in the office of the complainant emitted such a strong foul smell that it caused watering of the eyes and irritation in the respiratory tract, forcing the consumer to drag the manufacturer to the consumer court for justice.

Here, the State Commission depended on two expert opinions — the first one which said that the gas being emitted was formaldehyde, which was hazardous to human health. The second, taken after a few years, following lengthy correspondence between the two parties. It said that the emission of gas had stopped. The State Commission, therefore, did not direct replacement of the wood, but awarded a compensation of Rs 2 lakhs, one lakh towards rectification of the problem and Rs 1 lakh towards compensation for the physical discomfort suffered. The apex consumer court dismissed the appeal filed by the manufacturer and upheld the order of the State Commission. (First appeal no 185 of 1999, date of order date: May 2, 2006)