A charity set up by Brad Pitt to build new houses for people made homeless when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans a decade ago is embroiled in legal action – after the new homes started to rot . Pitt , 51 , vowed to help ‘ make it right ’ for the city ’ s thousands of displaced citizens by building eco-friendly homes to replace the ones destroyed . The star personally backed the building of 104 homes in the Lower Ninth quarter of the city , decimated in the 2005 storm , which killed almost 2,000 . Scroll down for video . Brad Pitt pictured leaving one of the Make it Right Foundation 's houses in the Lower Ninth quarter of New Orleans in 2012 . Make it Right : Brad Pitt personally backed the building of 104 homes in the Lower Ninth quarter of the city . ‘ He took this personally and was even helping to bang in nails , ’ a source told The Mail on Sunday . But in a lawsuit filed in New Orleans ’ District Court last week , Pitt ’ s Make It Right Foundation is suing Timber Treatment Technologies for $ 500,000 – claiming the wood was defective . It says it was forced to replace decking and other wood on the new homes after using the company ’ s TimberSIL product . In one case , a house had rotted so badly it had mushrooms growing from it , it is alleged . A spokesman for Pitt could not be reached for comment last night . The source added : 'This has turned the project into a PR nightmare . The homes are literally rotting away because the wood that was used wasn ’ t as advertised. ’ The lawsuit says Pitt ’ s charity chose to use TimberSIL wood after being told it had undergone a special ‘ environmentally friendly glass-wood fusion process ’ designed to prevent rot and decay . The timber was advertised as ‘ award winning green certified ’ and was supposed to be guaranteed against mold , mildew and rotting for 40 years . Brad Pitt gives Ellen DeGeneres a walking tour of the Make it Right Foundation houses in New Orleans . Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt before the groundbreaking ceremony for the actor 's Make it Right Foundation house construction project . But , the suit adds , a whistleblower informed Make It Right that the company skipped a vital part of the manufacturing process rendering the wood useless and forcing the charity to replace the decks and other wood in all 104 homes - at a cost of more than half a million dollars . ‘ Before filing this lawsuit the charity tried to reach an agreement with the wood company but the talks went nowhere , ' the source added . Pitt ’ s charity is suing for the cost of replacing the damaged wood , legals fees and for unspecified costs in relation to the PR damage caused by the debacle . Resident Vanessa Rogers said her front stairs and decking had to be rebuilt : ‘ A lot of it got rotten really fast . 'It got so bad I fell down the stairs . The floorboards were rotting and the back porch and deck al has to be replaced . It ’ s really bad. ’ Pitt ’ s spokesperson did not return calls for comment . Timber Treatment Technologies declined to comment on the row . Pitt vowed to help ‘ make it right ’ for the city ’ s thousands of displaced citizens by building eco-friendly homes to replace the ones destroyed . Brad Pitt pictured here speaking to locals . Pitt ’ s Make It Right Foundation claimed it was lured into buying the special wood only to discover it rotted so badly one home had mushrooms growing out of it .
Brad Pitt set up charity to build new houses after Hurricane Katrina in 2012 . Make It Right Foundation embroiled in legal action after homes began to rot . Claims it was lured into buying the special wood only to discover it rotted . Charity is suing Timber Treatment Technologies for ‘ in excess ’ of $ 500k .