Week 1

Day 24 - Termite Inspections
Remember you are about to enter someone’s home or building, so be polite and treat it with respect in fact, treat it as if it were your own home. Remember, you are liable for any damage incurred by yourself or any equipment you choose to use.

how to inspect
Inspecting the inside of a building

Using a probe, be it a screwdriver handle or a purpose made donger as it is known in the industry; tap all timbers within the structure you are inspecting. Check the bottom of doorjambs and architraves for soundness. If the wood is solid and healthy it will offer resistance, but if the wood is infested by insects or has wood decay, it will be penetrated very easily.

Use of the moisture Meter

When termites attack timber, they bring moisture into the wood that they are attacking, and hence this causes discolouration. So be very alert for discoloured timbers, for example, Radiata pine goes bluish black in colour when attacked by termites, but bear in mind, that the termites would have to be close to the surface for this discolouration to take place. Use your torch and shine it at a 45-degree angle on the wood in suspect areas to see if the wood shows any irregularities. If you do find any timber that is suspect, probe very gently, as termites are easily disturbed, and they may not return if you are too invasive with your inspection. If you breach any termite leads, quickly seal them off with a piece of tape, as not to let any light in, as you may want to to apply some form of dust or bait in this area in the near future.

Remember, a moisture meter will not find termites, it will find areas of high moisture content, termites may bring moisture into the wood, so that is why it is an essential tool to employ when carrying out a termite inspection.

Window-sills

When checking window sills, always probe the underside of the window sill, as not to damage the seen surface, there are a lot of areas around a window sill, that seem infested when you tap them, this is not always the case, there are a lot of hollow spaces around a window sill, and timbers are used to hide them.

Obstructions

When you carry out an inspection, there will always be areas that you cannot inspect, due to stored goods, furniture etc. When this is the case, you must make a written note and include it in your written report to the customer. You must always note those areas in which you did not have access and the reasons why you could not gain access.

So what do we do with carpeted floors? We simply state on the inspection report that the floorboards were not inspected due to floor coverings do not forget to do this as you may find yourself paying for damages when you simply forgot to put this clause in, a good idea, is to have another qualified inspector read your written report, to see if you have accidentally omitted anything important that would make you or your company liable. A good test is to get in all four corners of the room and bounce up and down, if it is springy should be investigated, as they should be hard and resilient.

Wet areas

Some rooms in a building require more attention than others, and that is because they are commonly called the wet areas; those areas include kitchens, laundries, bathrooms etc. All these areas have the possibility of allowing water to escape and get into wood in their respective areas. Water is a key requirement for termites when they are searching for food or building a nest. If you note areas that have moisture problems, say a leak in the shower, then you must tell the client and write it into your written report.

Furniture

Timber pest may also be found in the normal everyday furniture of a house, so be very vigilant, unless you have stated in your timber pest paperwork, that furniture is not included in the timber pest report.
Furniture beetles and the West Indian Drywood termite can infest furniture so be very vigilant!

Flight Cuts

Sometimes you may find slits in paintings or walls, these slits may be from termites swarming, so always have a close look, and probe around as much as possible, without causing damage to the local area.

Look for mud leads in dark areas such as behind a door, near the carpet edge, lift the carpet if possible in areas that are suspect, (ensure you have the owners permission to do so), as termites love to track along the wooden edge made for concrete floors.

Inspecting the Roof Void

Before going up into the roof, stand outside the building you are about to inspect, hold a piece of A4 paper up in front of you and line the two highest points of the roof up with the flat edge of the paper you will see if the roof has any sag in it, if so then there is a good chance that there may be substantial timber pest damage in the roof. Before getting into the roof, ensure once again that you show respect for the owners of the building, by placing a drop sheet down under your ladder, so that any debris that may fall once the manhole is removed will be caught on the mat. Ensure that you offer to clean up if some debris should land on their floor coverings.

Once in the roof you may be lucky to find a light switch, very rare, but if you do find one, only use it to familiarise yourself with the roof layout, as the best tool you have with you are your eyes, so switch this light off as soon as you are happy that you know the layout of the roof, and wait until your eyes have adjusted.

Now that you are familiar with the roof layout, you should note the following

• Condition of the roofing material
• Insulation
• Wildlife
• Dust and debris

Roofing Material

Take a close look at what the roofing material is made from, as there could be roofing iron on the inside and slate on the outside, so be careful about what you are inspecting and note everything down. Check and look for leaks find where they came from and why, Can you see daylight anywhere, if you can there is a likely hood of birds getting into the roof, let your customer know this, and place it on your report.

Insulation

There are many types of insulation on the market, if it is pink bat type, it makes an inspection easier than say that of the spray type used a few years ago. If you find yourself in a spray type situation your report should read no inspection done of roofing timbers due to the timbers being obstructed by spray insulation, as it is very hard to see anything with this type of insulation, it is a real nightmare. Ensure that you have your overalls on a respirator and Elbow length gloves, as some insulation is made from fibreglass.

Wildlife

Whilst in the roof void, you may come across rat’s possums or birds in the roof void, you should also note this on your paperwork, as this may well be a added on job for you once you have delivered the written report.

Warning

Just a word of warning, when moving about the roof void, please be careful of where exactly you place your feet when moving about. The top plates in the roof are not as wide as your feet, so always just test some of your weight on the wood in question before placing all your weight on the timber.

Timber Construction

Termites and delignification will be the most common damage you will find in a roof, however, you may find on the rare occasion Anobium punctatum, but this will be rare as it is normally too hot for them in the roof void. Powderpost beetles can, and do live up here, but don’t forget, they can only exist in the sapwood of the hardwoods.

How to Carry Out a Detailed Roof Inspection

Start off as near to the edge of the roof as you can possible reach, lie down on a ceiling joist and with your probe sound the tope plates for evidence of termite attack. Also sound any top plates of any internal walls.

Remember this very important point, There are lots of recorded instances of where damage caused by termites was undetected simply because the corner was too far away.

If you do not make the effort to get to those award places you will not get there, and have a potential claim on board.
Check the ceiling joists and all accessible roofing trusses or structural timbers. Each piece of wood you inspect, should be checked for both termites and borers and sometimes delignification (this can be easily seen). The top of the wall plates will be where the room walls reach the ceiling and all the way around the edge of the house. In areas or risk (kitchen, laundry. Bathroom, any areas where moisture is common) you should probe the timbers. Some roofs are just impossible to get into or have certain areas that you just cannot reach, so say this in your written report.

Delignification

When you are at the edge of the roof, inspect the tile battens that are normally made of timber, if they look furry, they are suffering from delignification, which is basically the organic glue that binds the wood fibres together have been leached out by industrial pollution, salt air and heat. This damaged wood, is incapable of holding any weight and should also be mentioned in your written report.

Termite damage In Roof Voids

• Termites usually enter through top plates
• Attack all timbers
• Can hide their progress under insulation
• Will travel large distances to gain access to timber that they prefer
• They are very secretive, need to look hard to find them
• Can enter roof voids through conduits band piping

Detective Work

Basically there are no short cuts to a proper inspection in the roof void and it is up to you to methodically inspect visually, probe and sound timbers in the roof void. Always remember to tell your client if you could not inspect anything, or at least mention it on your report.

Check  list

• What type of roof was it?
• What was the roof made of?
• Where was the insulation?
• What type of insulation was it?
• Did it stop you gaining access to any parts of the roof?
• Was there anything else in the roof that should be noted?
• Were there any leaking air-conditioners or hot water services?
• Were there any leaks or staining in the roof?
• Was there evidence of termite activity?
• Was the activity old or current?
• In what part of the roof did you locate it?
• Any borer damage to any timbers?
• Does it have to be reported as active, or is it old activity?
• What type was the roofing timber?
• Was any timber suspect anywhere?
• Is there anything else that may encourage any timber pests that you need to mention?
• Would a qualified builder or equivalent have to be recommended to inspect damaged timbers?

INSPECTION  OF SUB FLOOR

Prior to entry to the Sub Floor

For this part of the inspection you will need full PPE, you will spend a lot of your inspection time on your back, and crawling around wet, dusty, smelly conditions sometimes all of these at once in different areas under the house.

The subfloor has a purpose in a house, normally to provide good ventilation and drainage as well as servicing certain services from. They also provide a good home for insects, spider’s snakes and dead cats and many other nasties. It is a must that you educate your client in how to keep this area junk free.

Inspection

One of the first things that you look for when entering a sub floor, is a termite treatment sign which may be affixed to the first bearer that you come into contact with, other places where signs may be placed are in the power/meter box or on a pole (power pole). You must wear full PPE when inspecting the subfloor, as there may be chemicals that have been sprayed for termites or even dusts used in general pest treatments.

Look around, can you see air vents, are there enough?
Start from the left of the entrance of the subfloor and go all around, and check all four sides of any support pier. Once all the support piers have been inspected then re-start and do the perimeter walls if it is an enclosed subfloor, if it is not enclosed, check slab verandah, and any service pipes that enter the house from beneath, as these are a favourite route into a house or building for termites.

• To summarise what needs to be checked and how:
• Look at all the walls for termite leads
• Check all piers from all angles for termites
• Check all structural timbers (bearers, joists etc) for soundness
• Inspect the flooring for borers, decay and termite attack.

 
Once you have checked the above, roll over on to your back and probe and sound timbers that are supporting the floor of the building. You use the same process of sounding as you did in the roof and the interior of the building.. If all looks good, be very vigilant for small mud tubes between cracks in the exterior wall, and double floor bearers etc,
Check for any old form work left by the builders and recommend to the owners that these timbers be removed as soon as possible put this in your written report. Look for any old off cuts of wood or stored goods under the house, as this can be a start point for the termites as they can build self-supporting leads.

Floorboards

Normally floorboards are made from softwoods; more modern houses will have chip board under their carpets, to save money. White cypress pine is resistant to borers and termite attack, but Baltic pine and alpine ash are not these are a few of the most common used in floorboards.
Check for Furniture beetle attack (Anobium punctatum), which is commonly found in softwood flooring and furniture, the identifying signs are round holes approximately 1-2mm in diameter on the subfloor side of the floorboards. If you do find these holes, look for the frass on the bearers or on the piers directly beneath the holes, if you cannot find the frass, bang the floor with you fist and it will drop out, then rub the frass between your finger and your thumb, if it has a gritty rough feel, you can be assured it is furniture beetle. If it is smooth like flour, then it will be Powderpost beetle, however you will know that if it is Powderpost beetle, the timbers you are dealing with will be hardwoods, as Powderpost beetles can only re-infest hardwoods. Another way of identifying Furniture beetle is if you cut off a slice of damaged timber, it will look like an Aero chocolate or a violet crumble inside. In your written report you should if you find borer damage recommend that the affected timbers be sprayed with a registered spray for 3 consecutive years or replace the timbers. If they do replace the timbers, then recommend that those timbers that have been replaced be burnt as soon as possible do not leave them hanging around they must be destroyed.

Furniture Beetle Facts

• Attacks softwoods, but sometimes can attack hardwoods
• Prefers woods over 20 years service
• White cypress pine and most hardwoods are resistant
• Attacks flooring, panelling and furniture
• Seldom attacks roof void timbers because of heat
• Generally occurs in coastal Australia
• Life-cycle can be up to three years
• Chemical treatment is ok if damage is slight
• Replace timbers and burn if damage is extreme
• Very similar to the Queensland pine beetle. Queensland pine beetle is lighter, less shiny and narrower than furniture beetle.
• Scientific name is Anobium punctatum.

Ant Capping

It should be noted, that ant capping is not designed to prevent termites entering and attacking a building, and they are placed there so that if they come up the piers, they will have to show themselves by means of their mud packing leads. It is so important that we make note of the condition of the ant caps, as any defect in the ant capping such as a break or rusted through will allow the termites to enter the building. Not all buildings have ant cappings those built previous to World war 2 will not have them so your inspection will be harder.

Borers

These borers have been covered on the course in day 20.

Inspecting the Exterior

When inspecting the exterior of a building, and its surrounds up to 50 meters of the building or its boundaries which ever is the least, you should inspect any garages, carports, garden sheds, outside toilets and any other buildings within the distance required.
When inspecting these constructions, carryout your inspection the same way and degree as you did in the main building you have just finished. If you keep your inspection process the same as you did for the main building, then you are sure to do a good job.
 When inspecting these structures, be aware that these buildings, are not normally looked after as much as the main building, so there will be probably more wood decay, concrete slabs covered right to the top in soil and plenty of areas with high moisture content. Make note of any areas that you also did not have access to or was covered by vegetation.

Checklist for Outbuildings

• Check laundries and toilets for wood decay
• Check windows for decay and termites.
• Check roofs for termites and borers.
• Check wall frames for termites.
• Note areas that you could not inspect and state why.
• Make notes on any stored goods areas.

Fences

Termites love fences, so check all posts that are in the ground, in fact check all palings that are also in contact with the ground. Try and look at the next-door neighbours side also if possible if you cannot see or gain access, then put this in your written report. Check for wood decay, bores and termites.

Trees

Remember that you must inspect up to 50m of the building or within the boundaries of the property or whichever is the least. All trees and stumps must be checked for timber pest activity. When inspecting the trees for termite damage, check for flight holes, broken branches that may have been hollowed out etc., not to mention mud leads.

Inspection Sheet

Ensure all notes have been entered and that your check sheet has been fully filled out. Also ensure that you have recovered any tools that you have left on site or used during your inspection.

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