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termites
I put a bid on a house. The inspector found a lot of termite activity in the detached garage and some activity in the house. So far in my life I haven't had any houses with termites, but my real estate agent says they are common around here and that if there's no serious damage done, a treatment should take care of the problem.
Right now my plan is to have the seller have the property treated professionally to exterminate the critters, then have a structural inspection (probably rip out some sheetrock in 8-12 places in the house to check on the frame) to confirm that no serious damage has been done. Then get a termite insurance contract and do a preventive treatment of the property every 5 years or so.
My question is, is there such thing as an insignificant termite presence? Should I pull out of the deal just because there are termites found, or it can be dealt with fairly effectively.
Thanks a lot; I really need some advice from people who are not financially vested in this transaction.
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termites
Thanks guys,
Ken, same thing here - the worst of it is in the garage, and it's mostly superficial.
Murf, what would be the cause? I thought the only thing that would cause the termites to go into any house would be hunger. You're saying you can do things other than just killing the bugs? There are minor drainage issues with the place, I guess if I dealt with that I could make the ground less hospitable for the termites.
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termites
The place where the termites entered the house is where a concrete patio is coming up close to the sill-plate and the patio has sloped towards the house causing water to accumulate there during rain and get to the wood. So, first thing I need to do is get rid of that patio.
I like the sand suggestion except sand will hold more water than top soil, so during rain the water will accumulate next to the foundation, instead of running away from it. Probably not an issue if you only have two inches.
The garage is bone appetit indeed; The wood is too close to the ground. The only thing I can do is see if there's slope enough to direct the rain runoff from the garage (as well as the house) to the street.
The real estate values are something else. 10 years ago same money would have gotten me a brand new 4,000 sq ft. home.
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termites
Thanks Murf, a swale around the garage is a good idea, I can even direct it towards a vegetable garden perimeter watering swale.
The original patio was poured right at the level of the screen door and the siding so there's no place for it to go. When I do the new patio, I will have it installed ~ 6 inches below the screen door opening to keep the snow and rain water away from the wood.
Here is what I meant about the sand. Say I have top soil (or fill) next to the foundation all the way down to the footings. Now if I dig up some of the fill right next to the foundation all along the wall and fill the resulting ditch with sand, what's gonna happen with rain when it hits the ground. In the area where there's top soil, water penetration rate will be lower than in the area where there's sand. Water will run towards the area where it can penetrate the ground faster which is where my sand is. Here it will saturate the sand intil it hits the topsoil a few inches below the send-bed. Now, I have a lot of wet sand right next to my foundation wall. That's what I want to avoid.
But, like I said, two inches may be just enough to keep the bugs unhappy and not enough to be a problem as I described above.
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