Termites a Deal Killer?
We are close to signing a contract on a two-family on the Bed Stuy-Bushwick border. The inspector found evidence of termite damage. He easily poked through part of the main beam, which was rotted at the back of the house, and saw empty termite channels there with his infrared tool. He said he didn’t think…
We are close to signing a contract on a two-family on the Bed Stuy-Bushwick border. The inspector found evidence of termite damage. He easily poked through part of the main beam, which was rotted at the back of the house, and saw empty termite channels there with his infrared tool. He said he didn’t think the infestation was active. He recommended replacing one quarter of the beam and said it might turn out we have to sister a cross beam too. That was all.
The house is a wood frame with an unfinished stone cellar. It is covered in vinyl siding.
Question: Should we do our own termite inspection before we proceed further? Will they be able to discover how extensive the damage is?
I am assuming the damage could range anywhere from just the quarter of the beam to practically the whole house being eaten up. Am I right? (The house seems sound, nothing is crooked.)
I have googled this topic extensively and find advice runs the spectrum, from “don’t worry, inspectors always give you the worst-case scenerio” to “the whole house could be a pile of sawdust, and you can never get rid of termites.”
Anyone have advice or experience with this? Thank you.
Hello everyone,
I hope you’re doing well! I found a fascinating blog post that talks about termite control and offers a detailed overview of ways to protect our homes from these invisible pests. Here is an extract that might interest you:
(The science of termite defense relies on a deep understanding of the behavior and biology of these destructive insects, as well as the development of effective methods to prevent and eliminate them. By utilizing diverse approaches such as physical barriers, chemical treatments, and natural methods, termite control experts work to protect structures from the ravages caused by these pests. This discipline combines research in termite biology with technological innovation to provide sustainable and effective solutions, essential for maintaining the integrity of buildings and preserving real estate investments.
– What are natural methods to get rid of termites?
– How to choose wood least likely to be attacked by termites?
– What are the warning signs of a termite infestation?
– How can I prevent a termite infestation in my home?
– What are the regions most at risk of a termite infestation?
– How can I tell if my house is infested with termites? )
To learn more, please visit the blog: The science of termite defense .
Sincerely.
Christien
Hello everybody,
I hope you’re well! I found a fascinating blog post that talks about termite control and offers a detailed overview of ways to protect our homes from these invisible pests. Here is an extract that might interest you:
(In this essential guide for homeowners, we delve deep into crucial strategies and preventive measures to effectively protect your home against termites. With their formidable destructive capability, termites can cause considerable and costly damage to your property, but with the right knowledge and appropriate actions, you can minimize the risks of infestation and keep your home safe. From identifying early signs to adopting sustainable prevention methods and selecting the best professionals to combat termites, this guide provides a comprehensive overview to ensure robust protection against these insidious pests.
-What are the warning signs of termites in a house?
-How to prevent termite infestations on your property?
-What are the natural methods to repel termites from your home?
-What are the steps to inspect your home for termites?
-What are the potential health hazards associated with termites? )
To learn more, please visit the blog:[url=https://uk.notermite.net/blogs/news/termite-protection-a-homeowner-s-guide-to-termite-success]Termite Protection: A Homeowner’s Guide to Termite Success[/url]
Sincerely.
Christien
If you can see a lot of the original house, then you probably have at least fairly clear sense of what’s going on. Just be mentally prepared (know that there might be stuff going on that you can’t see) and you should be OK!
10k off the price you throw in a steel beam and get the termite chemicals pumped into the ground end of story.
Thanks so much, vanburenproud. I really appreciate this information. It is actually reassuring. I’ve been going back over photos looking for suspicious items. The only thing that leaps out is the top part of the kitchen chimney is sheetrocked. There is no plumbing in there. I can’t say for sure nothing else has been tampered with, but most of the rest of the house is original.
Hi Mopar, Hi Dave.
Not trying to scare, just trying to give an accurate description of what happened to me. In my case, it looks like the initial problem was a leak on the parlor floor that went unfixed for many many years. This created a lot of wetness
(termites love wet wood)
and the way the owner at the time decided to fix the wet wall on the garden level was to keep putting up a new wall every time the old wall got soaked through
(I’m not kidding)
And otherwise build up on top of very little actual structure every time a structural problem presented itself.
So when I walked through the house, I saw a very small garden bathroom and a lot of dropped ceilings and a floor in the kitchen that was a different level than the rest of the garden level, etc. etc. and figured that it seemed sound but ugly. In fact the kitchen floor was raised because it was a janky 2×4″ frame covered in 1/2″ OSB that was screwed to a floor that was not structurally sound.
The inspector saw very little of this damage because it was covered in lots and lots of sheetrock, and much of the sheetrock was freshly put there in order to sell the house.
Mopar, to answer your specific questions, the back half of the parlor and garden floors have rotten joists, the entire wood beam needed to be replaced with an I beam, and there were also two rotten joists and some rottenness near the fireplace in the garden front. It was all fixable, and it’s weird. Even though we didn’t budget for it and were really freaked out for awhile, things have a way of working out. It’s all going to be OK.
I am not saying that this is going to happen to you,mopar. I am just saying that anything’s possible. What I hope you take from my cautionary tale is as follows:
1. Sheetrock lies.
2. There’s a reason if the space is built out in a freaky way–if the floor in the back higher than the floor everywhere else on the ground floor, or if all the ceilings are strangely low, or if one room against the plumbing wall seems strangely small, or if the bathtub seems imbedded in the walls. After demolishing all the soggy wet walls in the garden bathroom, the room itself was almost a foot wider!
3. Take a moment to think like a Duplicitous Person before you buy the house. I think that I tend to do well in life generally because I tend to trust people and assume everything’s going to be fine. I believe that this is a very good strategy for home ownership (helps my blood pressure anyway), but this is not a good strategy for actually buying the house in the first place.
I know this sounds naive, but I never considered the idea that someone would try to actively hide damage. It sounds like you have seen a little evidence of Trying To Hide Something, so why not just go and walk around again with an eye toward spotting sillybusiness? Think about the level each floor is at, the transitions between rooms, why one room is very narrow when the room next to it is much wider–things like that.
Finding things is not necessarily a dealbreaker–it’s more like a bargaining chip, you can use it to knock down the price. We found a huge leak in the roof of our house during the final walkthrough because it was raining, and we got a new roof out of it. That was good. We should have done more of that.
4. It’s not the end of the world if you do wind up with a bad situation, or a situation that’s worse than you expected. Honestly, while I appreciate the sympathy and certainly wouldn’t wish what happened to us on anyone else, we are doing okay with it. It’s all working out.
Sounds like the inspector was thorough and gave you a good picture. I’m concerned about the little bit o’ fraud you described (hiding the beam damage). Did it look like a lot of work was done recently around the house? Where there’s one fraud, there’s likely to be more.
I completely trust our inspector. He himself said you just never know until you open everything up, and anything is possible, but as far as he can see the damage appears to be limited to the rear lower level.
mopar….if you felt comfortable hiring him then there’s no reason to question his analysis. vanburen makes a worse case scenario scare story.
That said, a brownstone house’s exposure to termites would end with the floor joists and the first floor flooring. You said this was a wood frame house so there is the possibility of more damage. Remember though that termites have to start at the ground level and work their way UP. On a frame house you have to check to see than no part of the wood framing or the sill is in contact with the ground. Your inspector should have checked the sill all the way around from both the outside and the inside. As long as the sill plate and the wood siding is not in contact with the surrounding soil then you’re probably going to be OK. If there is a small attached shed or anything (usually at the back door), chances are it was built on the ground and that was the point of entry for the termites.
It sounds as though he did his job.