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Termites... old damage I think, found in Bathroom remodel


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Finishing off my whole house remodel and I found some termite damage that sort of freaked me out.  The good news is that I know the wall in question is not load bearing.  We knew there was prior termite activity when we bought the house years ago.  It appears as thought this damage is all old, but the amount of dirt and tunnels on the edge of the double top plate.  Looks like the critters came in from the area beneath the tub plumbing access and through a small slab crack. 

Normally I would say tear all that shit out and replace it.  But most of the wood is pretty good and since it is not structural I was thinking of just re-rocking over it, if I can confirm there is not current activity.  My biggest concern is that while most of the framing is treated, I do not believe any of the rafter material is treated lumber.  And of course where I want to look is in an awkward place.  I'm going to go up in the early AM when it's cooler and really poke around to see if there is any activity in the attic.  If not I am thinking of treating all the wood in the attic in close proximity with the area as a preventative if I leave the framing in place.  it's more dirt on the surface of the wood against the treated wood and behind the sheet rock.  I probed pretty well with a screw driver and only found one area that was really spongy.  

Part of me says fuck it.  Tear out the wall and pop up a new one.  But I worry that if I do that I may open up another can of worms and cascade into more work. I think I am going to drill into a few spots that seem solid and probe around some more.  If I don't find anything alive, I think I am going to foam all the boring holes I can find and fill with wood filler and finish off the bath.  IF I find anything alive, I am thinking tear out the wall framing.  Treat the new wood and reframe.  Only real pain in the ass will be having to redo the electrical, but if those fuckers are alive it seems removing the termite highway would be the wisest choice.

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Luckily there looks to be no activity up in the attic.  Just the old activity in the two boards on the top plate.  No tunnels to any of the untreated wood.  Still think I am going to treat around the whole house and set up some traps (soup can with some wet cardboard inside to see if I ca find any activity around the slab.  So just dig out the couple bad spots, fill with wood filler and fill every hole with termite foam and move on.

I thought this was old, but I figured with my luck I would see dirt tunnels moving to fresh untreated wood.

  • Hook 'Em 1
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I may be wrong, but my understanding (from past termite issues) is that the treatment works really, really well for ten years. If it was treated before, that probably stopped the damage. (Of course, a pre-emotive treatment may be called for now). Good luck!

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