Well, both Terminix and Orkin came out yesterday and gave us the same news.
What we have are called Damp Wood Termites. Thankfully they are the least troublesome and neither company does anything to treat for them. Once the damp wood has been removed, the termites will disappear. This is good news for the most part. We have pulled off the boards that were damp, although now we are going to pull off more decking to check the rest of the perimeter of our deck to make sure those boards aren't damp as well. Unfortunately, when our house was built the slider to the backyard was not installed correctly, no caulking was used between the slider itself and the board below it. Water was able to seep between these and slowly moisten any boards there. In addition we have the LP siding which had it's own problems, but the house we are in was not included in that lawsuit so nothing was done to rectify that problem as well. THEN when our deck was added - I am guessing the people who owned the house before us put in the deck - they didn't use any dividers/backsplash type things (I don't know what they're called) between the deck and house. So....you take all of these individual mistakes and have a big problem.
There will be a contractor coming out today or tomorrow to take a look at the damage and to assess the problem. The board behind the damp one happens to be a structural beam running the length of the house, so if there is damage to that (which we can see a little, but don't know the full extent of it) we will have to have a portion of the beam replaced! Sooo, at this point we're at a standstill until we know more. It is highly probable we'll be having that beam replaced very shortly! CRAZY!
We are thanking our lucky stars that the damage really wasn't any worse and that they are one of the mildest and easiest kinds of termites to treat. Our Terminix and Orkin friends said there are the subterranean termites in our area which are the worst to get. The come up through the soil and start devouring your house. Very difficult to treat and they are very aggressive.
4 comments:
Well thank goodness they aren't the worst ones. But, in my opinion, any termite is bad enough.... especially when they cause damage to the structure of your house!! Here's to hoping that there is only minimal damage and that it won't be too much or a hassle (or expensive) to fix!
And it's reading things like this that make me glad we don't own our house. :) Good luck with the contractor!
Yikes. Cheap materials and shawdy craftsmanship, all to typical of houses around here. We've got the LP siding too... I paint the drip edge annually, and it's holding together well.
Water is a major problem when it comes to keeping crawlspaces and structure dry. Good thing the bugs aren't much of an issue, the thought of having all those toxic chemicals floating throughout your house sounds really appetizing.
BTW, if only a portion of the beam is damaged, you might be able to replace it with a steel section bolted in place.
-Gerry
Oh bug, I mean BIG, bummer. Hopefully it will be a small and not super-costly fix.
You can come stay with us if you need to vacate the premises while they work! :)
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