If you’re planning a renovation, then it’s an ideal time to consider and address your termite protection options. During renovation/construction you often get an opportunity to termite protect your home using physical termite protection methods that typically carry 50 year design lives.
We recommend your home be timber pest inspected as part of your renovation planning process. From the Environpest timber pest inspection, we’ll have identified what termite protection is in place at your home, and after reviewing what you plan to do, we can guide you as to what termite protection methodology will best suit your home. To book a timber pest inspection, please call Environpest on (07) 3219 2777, or e-mail Environpest at info@environpest.com.au.
Where framing is being replaced/added/modified, we’re huge fans of termite resistant framing to limit the consequences of termite attack. Termite resistant framing can be hardwood, cypress pine, treated pine or steel. Hardwood is comparatively difficult to work with than pine. It’s heavy, has splinters, needs a sharp saw to cut it, and needs a better quality nail gun to work with it. Cypress pine twists and splits, especially if it’s dry. It’s generally regarded as termite resistant, but it can be termite attacked if it’s moisture affected. Steel framing is largely unaffected by termites, but has a much heavier carbon footprint than timber.
The most popular termite resistant framing in South East Queensland today is treated pine, with the most common being T2 treated pine. For more information on T2 treated pine, visit the Hyne & Son web site at www.hyne.com.au. They have one of the best (and honest) timber technical departments in the country.
We’d also recommend the more difficult timbers to be replaced in a renovation (door jambs, window and door reveals etc) be replaced using termite resistant or treated materials. For the easier to replace trim timbers (architraves and skirtings), we prefer that untreated finger jointed pine be used. That way, the termite resistant framed areas can’t be readily structurally affected by termites, and if for any reason termites were to occur, they’ll be found in trim timbers that are relatively easy to replace. It’s like leaving a sacrificial anode for termites!
You’ll find that at Environpest, we’ll steer you towards physical termite barriers wherever possible that have no ongoing planned maintenance requirements, other than annual timber pest inspection. The key is identifying the best termite protection method, with the lowest overall cost of ownership.
Where chemical termite treatment is recommended, we have preferences on what termiticides should be used where. Older (pre-July 1995 termiticides were very forgiving from a treatment perspective, and would kill termites up to a metre from where they’d been applied (even up to a metre below). Termites can work within 10mm of modern termiticides without effect. Modern termiticides have now been developed as repellent and non-repellent.
For areas adjoining a home, we prefer Termidor (the non-repellent termiticide with the longest labelled expected protection period) applied by a drilling and injection technique. Termidor has a labelled expected protection period of at least 8 years, it locks in the soil well, and is largely unaffected by moisture. Being non-repellent, termites will pass through treated soil just as readily as un-treated soil. Termidor is also very aggressive towards the termite nests. As a guide, a Termidor concrete perimeter treatment currently costs $55.00 per lineal metre including GST.
Termidor, to our view, represents the best long term value for money to our clients.
We recommend only original registrant, genuine termiticides be used, and anyone we refer you to for treatment will have assured us they use genuine termiticides. As termiticide patents expire, others manufacture generic copies of the termiticides and market them at a cheaper price. BASF (Termidor’s manufacturer released a video (http://www.pestcontrol.basf.com.au/products/professional-pest-control/termidor/) that probably best describes why the original registrants’ termiticides produce a superior result for the client.
If homes termite protected using chemical termite barriers are renovated, we recommend any areas with slab penetrations (eg. the tiled wet areas) have the slab penetrations termite protected using durable physical or chemical termite barriers with 50 year design lives, such as Termimesh or FMC Termiflex during those renovations. Retrospective termite treatments with modern termiticides have difficulty in effectively termite protecting slab penetrations, without damaging waterproofing, and/or requiring the removal and reinstatement of baths, showers, kitchen cupboards etc. Please note that some physical termite barriers can interfere with some common waterproofing agents. Please discuss with your waterproofer which termite protection product has been used prior to any waterproofing agent application.
Renovations provide challenges, in that you’ll find things behind walls etc that you never expected. Each home is different, and a termite protection product that is excellent at one home can be inappropriate at another. At Environpest, you’ll get honest independent advice on what will be in your best interests.
Environpest don’t install termite barriers now. We have excellent people to refer you to, no matter what termite protection product suits your home. We DO NOT charge any commissions on any referrals we make. Our income is completely derived from our clients. There is no additional benefit to Environpest, regardless of what we recommend. The treatment cost guides given reflect a price that the treating company can make a living at, and apply the correct termiticide volumes (critical). Our recommendations are genuinely heartfelt, based on over 41 years termite experience. A simple test we apply with every inspection and recommendation is: Knowing what we know, what would we do if this were our own home? It’s a test that’s really hard for us to get wrong.
As a guide, for an Australian Standard 4349.3-2010 compliant pre-RENOVATION timber pest inspection on a normal sized domestic home in the Brisbane metropolitan area, we currently charge $286.00 including GST. For larger homes sight unseen, or with particular complexities, or outside the Brisbane metropolitan area, we reserve the right to charge a proportionately higher fair and reasonable rate.
Repeat inspections of normal sized homes within the Brisbane metropolitan area, and within 2 years of an earlier Environpest inspection are charged at $220.00 including GST.
Our timber pest inspection reports are usually e-mailed the following working day, and payment is expected upon receipt of our report. Payment can be made by internet banking, direct deposit, over the phone or at the time of inspection by Mastercard or Visa, or by cash.
Environpest are not the cheapest timber pest inspection company you’ll find, (and we’re not the most expensive) but as you might have gathered browsing our web site, given what we provide in our inspections and advice, you’ll find we’re incredibly good value. The value of the honest advice you get here will be remembered long after you’ve forgotten the price!
If we can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to call Leeanne at Environpest on (07) 3219 2777, or e-mail Environpest at info@environpest.com.au.