TERMITES!!!!!
We just has a 100 + year old Vic inspected and found the house has termite damage (probably on all floors but the Engineer could only see damage in the basement and 1st floor). We are planning on doing a gut renovation anyways, so I assume beams can be replaced and we can do a…
We just has a 100 + year old Vic inspected and found the house has termite damage (probably on all floors but the Engineer could only see damage in the basement and 1st floor). We are planning on doing a gut renovation anyways, so I assume beams can be replaced and we can do a termite treatment…so this should not be that big of a deal. Am I correct in thinking this? I do realize we may need to pay around $50,000 to replace all beams if needed. I just need to be sure that is is possible to save the house.
Call Empire pest control and ask for Ed. They’re in the book. I found them through recommendations after being totally snookered by Orkin. He’ll give you an honest opinion and tell you what you need to do to avoid further infestation. Good luck. Those bugs ruined my life for months…
Don’t overreact to this, the cost of the damage may not be on the order you are describing. Termites require darkness and moisture, so for one thing it is extremely unlikely that they have gone anywhere but the lower floor and cellar as you described (but you should be diligent in checking). Secondly, the replacement of floor joists or reinforcement of floor would be only where the damage occurred, not throughout, likely only around the sill plate or joists right at the perimeter of the house.
If you are gutting the place anyway, take the finishes down right away so your engineer can evaluate the condition of the joists. You should have lights on 24 hours a day near any evidence of termites, and remedy whatever is keeping the area damp or wet.
I’m going through this right now, and if you’re not choking on a $50K problem then you will probably be OK… but I have a brownstone, not a wood-frame victorian.
Above poster is correct that you would know it if your house sustained real structural damage that “can’t be fixed.” It’s also true that everything is fixable in some way.
The number one thing is to figure out how the termites got there and make sure they never come back. With a brownstone, this is easy: replace wood beam with steel and fix all water problems… basically make sure termites never have a chance to get inside (via wood) and never give them something to look for inside (water).
I would be really interested to know what you do with a wood frame house to protect it from termites… anyone?
11:13 if the house was totally beyond saving, they’d know it. It would be leaning to its side! Because anything can be fixed. If the OP is doing a gut renovation and prepared to replace all the beams, that should be fine and should be the most they’d have to do.
But figure out if there is water coming in somewhere. Very old wood is normally not that appealing to termites because it’s dry and hard. But water leaks bring termites into the water-softened wood. So your problem may be water damage and not just termites by themselves. Have the contractor look at the back of the house and make sure everything is properly graded and with drainage in the backyard. Roof gutters attached to the storm sewer, storm sewer working properly. All that.
You “just” need to be sure.
No way to be “sure”