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Repair Damage from Wood Destroying Insects
5 Basic Steps for Repair
- POST a QUESTION or COMMENT about steps to take to repair insect damage in buildings
Steps to repair building damage from wood destroying insects:
How do we find and repair the areas of insect damage in a building.
This article series addresses how building construction details increase the risk of insect damage, and how we evaluate the extent of structural impact of existing insect damage on a building.
InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.
- Daniel Friedman, Editor/Publisher - See WHO ARE WE?
5 Basic Steps in Repair of Damage by Wood Destroying Insects
The general approach to repairing damage from wood destroying insects involves these steps:
- Find and fix the cause
of insect infestation, typically an building leak of some kind - Identify the areas of insect infestation
and the extent of damage, using a combination of visual inspection, probing, and where appropriate, demolition.
See STRUCTURAL DAMAGE PROBING - Repair or replaced damaged structural and finish components as needed.
During repairs, where feasible, amend the structure or design to reduce the risk of insect attack by reducing the risk of leaks, moisture traps, or wood materials close to the ground surface.
See SIDING CLEARANCE TO GROUND
and WATER BARRIERS, EXTERIOR BUILDING
- If appropriate (see below), choose and implement an insect damage prevention strategy
such as termite shield, chemical barrier, use of insect resistant materials, etc.
See TERMITE SHIELDS vs TERMITICIDE
- Reinspect periodically
to assure that there is no renewed wood-destroying insect activity
The Point of View of the Termite Inspector May Affect the Strategy as Well as The Cost to Cure an Active Insect Problem
Watch out: Many of the large number of expert sources available on the detection and prevention of building damage from wood destroying insects
(see References, related articles) have been written from the viewpoint of academics or by pest control and related industry associations.
These experts offer valuable information about insect pests, often from the pest control operator's viewpoint.
Our own point of view is that of very experienced building inspectors, diagnosticians, and repair contractors.
Taking this more broad view of the topic adds two benefits: an improved ability to detect insect infestation by knowing where to look (as do experienced pest inspectors) and additional options that may reduce the ultimate cost of building insect damage repair or insect damage prevention.
Example of WDI Inspection Report Concluding Treatment of Active Infestation was Not Feasible
During a building inspection for a home buyer in Hyde Park, NY the pest control inspector (from a local pest control operator or PCO) observed termite infestation in the first floor structure of a home. He also observed that a private water well was located just a few feet from the foundation wall. This pest control operator issued a "WDI Termite Report" report that concluded:
Active termite infestation, house cannot be treated.
Needless to say, the home seller, buyer, realtor, were all quite upset with this result. What was less obvious was the thinking of the PCO which went as follows:
I see active termites and a well close to the foundation and also some dirt crawl spaces in the home. That means we cannot treat the home by conventional means (which for this PCO meant applying termiticide in the soils around the home).
I think they'd have to move the well - something that is very expensive, probably cost prohibitive.
And even then, I'd have to trench around the house and remove treat and return soil, as I can't just pump into the ground where there is a dirt crawl space.
The whole job, moving the well and soil trench treatment would be tens of thousands of dollars and I think it would just be too expensive for the value of the home.
In other words, as the adage [with some rewording] goes:
To a pest control company every termite problem needs to be solved by using pest control methods.
But wait! Let's go back to the original adage:
To a carpenter every problem looks like a nail.
I [DF] was asked for a "second opinion" about the un-solvable termite problem at this Hyde Park home. I am no smarter than the PCO inspector, and I saw the same things he did.
But I also noticed and confirmed by some probing and poking into the area of damage that the actual termite infestation had entered up one narrow area of the foundation wall and entered the wood floor structure beneath a leaky toilet in a first floor bathroom.
The entire area of infestation was less than ten square feet of material. That suggested an alternative five-step solution to the active termite problem, a "carpentry approach" and perhaps for that reason, one that the PCO had not considered.
5-Step Termite Damage Repairs Without Requirement for Chemical Treatment
The building owner hired a contractor who cured the termite infestation by the following steps:
- Fix the plumbing leak
that had invited termites into the floor structure - Demolish and remove all of the termite-infested wood,
e.g. flooring, consisting of a few feet of sill, subflooring, finish flooring, and one floor joist. - Re-build the damaged area
using pressure-treated lumber for sill and joist repairs and conventional materials for the remaining repair - Completely clean
all debris, sawdust, mud-tubes, etc. - Provide a document
of all repairs made
Following these repairs the building owner hired the same PCO to perform a follow-up inspection. All of the investigation, repair, and PCO report documentation was provided to the home buyer and buyer's lender. The result was a "clear" or no infestation found report, permitting the home sale to proceed.
Read more about termite prevention and treatment
at TERMITE SHIELDS vs TERMITICIDE
Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above
Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.
Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs
On 2020-11-19 by Katy Guzek
I'm concerned about carpenter ant damage done on our wood beam foundation in our 1840 built home. Not sure where to begin. Some times the beams sound hollow when I knock on them
On 2020-11-19 - by (mod) -
Katy
You can look yourself for signs of building movement - crushed supporting joists or beams, plaster cracks, sagging floors, etc. but a normal homeowner won't have the experienced eye of someone who is trained and experienced in this topic.
You may want an experienced home inspector, builder, or wood destroying insect inspector to make a thorough survey of the home, mapping the extent of insect damage (and rot) to the structure and giving you an outline of the stability and safety of the building and of the priority of repairs as well as, of course, telling you if there's evidence of active infestation that needs treatment.
On 2020-09-08 by Anita
I had a painter that used masking tape to "protect" the doors etc inside but damaged the wood. What kind of professional can estimate the cost of the damage done to repair?
On 2020-09-09 - by (mod) -
A handyman who is skilled at finish trim carpentry
...
Continue reading at CARPENTER ANTS or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.
Or see INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE - questions & replies posted originally on this page.
Or see these
Recommended Articles
- INSECT INFESTATION / DAMAGE - home
- BEDBUG PESTS
- CARPENTER ANTS
- CARPENTER BEES
- FLIES, MOSQUITOES REMOVE or REPEL
- INSECT DAMAGE PREVENTION
- INSECT DAMAGE - WOOD REPAIR STEPS
- INSECTS & FOAM INSULATION
- MERULIPORIA FUNGUS DAMAGE
- MOLD: A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MOLD
- MOTHS, MOTHBALL ODORS
- PESTICIDE EXPOSURE HAZARDS
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- TERMITE IDENTIFICATION & CONTROL
- TERMITE INSPECTION & DAMAGE ASSESSMENT
- TERMITE IDENTIFICATION & CONTROL
- TERMITES & NAPTHALENE HAZARDS
Suggested citation for this web page
INSECT DAMAGE - WOOD REPAIR STEPS at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.
Or see this
INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to INSECT DAMAGE
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Citations & References
In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
- Steve Bliss's Building Advisor at buildingadvisor.com helps homeowners & contractors plan & complete successful building & remodeling projects: buying land, site work, building design, cost estimating, materials & components, & project management through complete construction. Email: info@buildingadvisor.com
Steven Bliss served as editorial director and co-publisher of The Journal of Light Construction for 16 years and previously as building technology editor for Progressive Builder and Solar Age magazines. He worked in the building trades as a carpenter and design/build contractor for more than ten years and holds a masters degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Excerpts from his recent book, Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, Wiley (November 18, 2005) ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, appear throughout this website, with permission and courtesy of Wiley & Sons. Best Practices Guide is available from the publisher, J. Wiley & Sons, and also at Amazon.com - [3] Jeffrey Hahn, Colleen Cannon, and Mark Ascerno, "Carpenter Ants", University of Minnesota Extension, retrieved 9/19/2012, original source: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/housingandclothing/dk1015.html, copy on file as [Carpenter_Ants_UMinn.pdf]
- [4] Paul Probett, Clinton Craig, Blake Probett, "An Introduction to Micro-Drilling Technology for N. Z. Structural Timber Assessment", Incodo Ltd, 4/511 Cameron Rd, Tauranga NZ, article adapted by InspectAPedia with permission, August 2012. Contact the authors by Email: Paul Probett, mail2us@incodo.co.nz , Tel: 027 28 000 36 (Mobile) Website: https://www.incodo.co.nz/ [Copy of this article on file as Microdrilling_Assessment_Incodo.pdf]
Quoting from the Incodo website the company describes its services:
- Incodo Forensic Building Pathology:
The Forensic Building Pathology division provides evidence in report form to government agencies, consultancy firms, lawyers and others, when truly independent analysis based on comprehensive testing is required. Incodo arguably has the largest, most up-to-date and comprehensive range of building investigation equipment available and has developed unique methodologies particularly in the field of non-destructive testing for leaking structures. - Incodo In situ Timber Assessment:
The in-situ Timber Assessment division provides a service whereby technicians use state-of-the-art timber resistance drill technology to profile variations in timber density associated with timber decay.
The work is done on site and the results are instant.
This technology is objective and evidential in nature and provides assessment as to whether wood is significantly decayed, suspect or suitable for retention. The technology has particular application in locating and assessing hidden decay.
- Incodo Forensic Building Pathology:
- [5] Thomas Tannert, Andreas Muller, Mareike Vogel, "Applications and limitations of NDT: a timber bridge case study", NDTCE’09, Non-Destructive Testing in Civil Engineering
Nantes, France, June 30th – July 3rd, 2009, web search 8/3/2012, original source: http://www.ndt.net/article/ndtce2009/papers/144.pdf [copy on file as Tannert_Timber_Test_144.pdf]
Abstract
The applications and limitations of different non-destructive and semi-destructive techniques to evaluate the structural integrity of timber members in a pedestrian bridge are presented as a case study. Sophisticated assessment tools are required to detect hidden damages in timber structures: for example stress-wave techniques are used to evaluate the modulus of elasticity of bending members and resistance to drilling is used to gain knowledge of areas of changed density due to insect or moisture induced damages. Reliably relating the gathered data to the structural integrity of the structure is a complex issue.
Bending members and connection details of a decommissioned timber bridge were evaluated using non destructive assessment tools. Eventually these parts were tested destructively to assess their remaining modulus of elasticity and load bearing capacity. The need for improvements in the current practice is highlighted by comparing the results from the non-destructive, semidestructive and destructive tests. - [6] David Grudzinski, Advantage Home Inspections, ASHI cert # 249089, HUD cert# H-145, is a professional home inspector who contributes on various topics including structural matters. Mr. Grudzinski, Cranston RI serving both Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut can be reached at 401-935-6547 fax- 401-490-0607 or by email to Davidgrudzinski@aol.com. Mr. Grudzinski is a regular contributor to InspectAPedia.com - see DECK FLASHING LEAKS, ROT Case Study, and BASEMENT WATER MOLD IMPACT and VERMICULITE INSULATION for examples.
- [7] Mara and Andy Gieseke, Tucson AZ, are contributors to InspectAPedia.com including photographs used at SIDING EIFS & STUCCO, CONTROL JOINT CRACKS in CONCRETE and ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES, and are family members of website publisher Daniel Friedman.
- [8] Desert Termites, Thomas W. Fuchs, Extension Entomologist, Darrell N. Ueckert, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, and Bastiaan M. Drees, Extension Entomologist, Texas Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M University System, web search 09/13/2010, original source: http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/bulletins/uc/uc-016.html
- [9] Termites - Greenhouse Gases, U.S. EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. Web search 09/11/2010, original source: http://www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/ap42/ch14/final/c14s02.pdf Quoting an interesting passage from this brief document:
Termites inhabit many different ecological regions, but they are concentrated primarily in tropical grasslands and forests. Symbiotic micro-organisms in the digestive tracts of termites (flagellate protozoa in lower termites and bacteria in higher termites) produce methane (CH4). Estimates of the contribution to the global budget of CH4 from termites vary widely, from negligible up to 15 percent. - [10] Truly Nolen Pest Control, Tel: 866-221-4765, is a national franchise of pest control operators in the U.S. Quoting from the company's website:
Truly Nolen [has] over 80 offices located in Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and Utah. The company services more than 150,000 customers and employs about 1,100 partners, with almost 50 percent service technicians. Domestic franchises are offered throughout the United States. International franchises are also established in over 30 countries. - [11] U.S. EPA. Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. 1997. Re registration eligibility decision: Diflubenzuron. Pp. 17, 46. www.epa.gov/ pesticides.
- [12] U.S. EPA. Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. 1994. Pesticide fact sheet: Hexaflumuron. Washington, D.C.
- [13] U.S. EPA. Office of Pesticide Programs. 2003.
Pesticide ecotoxicity database. Unpublished database.
U.S. EPA. Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. 1998. Re registration eligibility decision: Hydramethylnon. Pp. 16-18, 43. www.epa.gov/pesticides. - [14] U.S. EPA. Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances. Undated. New chemical New chemical fact sheet: Noviflumuron. Washington, D.C.
- [15] "Protecting Your Home from Subterranean Termite Damage", Journal of Pesticide Reform, Fall 2004, V 24 No. 3, - 6-7, Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides/NCAP, POB 1393, Eugene OR, 97440 541-344-5044 www.pesticide.org: Web search 09/11/2010: http://www.hipspro.com/pubs/subterraneantermites.pdf
This document discusses alternatives for termite protection including reducing the attractiveness of the structure to termites (get wood away from the building, fix leaks), use of 16-grit sand (diameter 0.06 - 0.1 in) as a termite barrier 18" wide x 3" deep in crawl areas, or stainless steel mesh for the same purpose under foundations and slabs, boric acid, Diflubenzuron (insect growth regulator, risk genetic damage, EPA classed as carcinogen), Hexaflumuron (insect growth regulator, EPA didn't ID health concerns, waived some testing, partly because of anticipated very low risk of human exposure), Hydramethylnon (stomach toxicant, EPA: Carcinogen, highly toxic to fish), Noviflumuron (chemically similar to hexaflumuron), can cause anemia, EPA didn't ID other health hazards, some testing requirements waived, moderately toxic to fish). - [16] "House Eating Fungus"Meruliporia incrassata (also called "Poria" the house eating fungus) in the U.S. or Serpula lacrymans in Europe) can cause severe structural damage. Evidence of hidden "poria" may be found by expert inspection methods which include tracing sources and paths of probable Building leaks and moisture traps. Further, careful indoor particle sampling methods can often permit the presence of this mold to be identified in the laboratory.
- [17] Pesticides Contaminate House [PDF] - news article about improperly applied pesticide chemicals and building contamination
- [18] Termite Damage Case Study#1 - exterior clues predicted insect damage; interior access was limited but certain clear clues led right to the damage as well as an attempted cover-up of termite damage below a "repaired" wooden floor. The real evidence was in the driveway. [in process]
- [19] Termite Damage Case Study#2 - very limited visual access inside a building made this inspection for structural damage tough. Outside conditions suggested a risk of water entry and insect attack. Inside the house had mysteriously sloping floors - sloping in every direction. There were few indications of ongoing building movement to explain the sloping. Perseverance led to finding severe termite damage at the building sills. [in process]
- [20] Wikipedia Web: https://www.wikipedia.org/ provided background information about some topics discussed at this website provided this citation is also found in the same article along with a " retrieved on" date. NOTE: because Wikipedia entries are fluid and can be amended in real time, we cite the retrieval date of Wikipedia citations and we do not assert that the information found there is necessarily authoritative.
Termites, Wikipedia web search 09/11/2010, original source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite provided some information about termite size. - [21] Hoadley, R. Bruce. Understanding Wood, 1980, Newton, CT: Taunton Press.
- [22] Panshin, A. J. and Carl de Zeeuw. Textbook of Wood Technology, 1980, NY: McGraw-Hill.
- [23] Story, Keith O. Approaches to Pest Management in Museums, 1985, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
- [24] University of Wisconsin Dept. of Entymology, "Insect ID - wood attacking insects", retrieved 10/25/2012, original source http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/insectid/wood-attk.php
- In addition to citations & references found in this article, see the research citations given at the end of the related articles found at our suggested
CONTINUE READING or RECOMMENDED ARTICLES.
- Carson, Dunlop & Associates Ltd., 120 Carlton Street Suite 407, Toronto ON M5A 4K2. Tel: (416) 964-9415 1-800-268-7070 Email: info@carsondunlop.com. Alan Carson is a past president of ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors.
Thanks to Alan Carson and Bob Dunlop, for permission for InspectAPedia to use text excerpts from The HOME REFERENCE BOOK - the Encyclopedia of Homes and to use illustrations from The ILLUSTRATED HOME .
Carson Dunlop Associates provides extensive home inspection education and report writing material. In gratitude we provide links to tsome Carson Dunlop Associates products and services.
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