Termites & Historic Restoration In Charleston – What You Should Know

Wood with termite damage

So you’ve started the historic restoration of your grand purchase in downtown Charleston. You WILL find termites – that remains an indisputable fact. There are two types of termites that will attack your property, “Bad ” ones and, “Worse ” ones. For those in the know, we have Eastern Termites and Formosan Termites. The first is an American native which lives in the ground and slowly eats your house – if you let it. The latter is invasive and lives anywhere and eats everything quickly … as in 16 oz of wood a week resulting in severe damage within just a few months.

We find them in every run down house renovation undertaken by our construction teams and in quite a few modern ones too. The entire front wall was missing inside the stone cladding of our renovated rental property on Magnolia Avenue in West Ashley, and everything had to be replaced.

These photos reflect another recent discovery – the photo is a secondary Formosan termite colony we found yesterday in a house on Percy Street in the Elliotborough neighborhood of downtown Charleston. It’s quite nasty.

termite damage collage

 

The best advice on combating termites is to never let them get a foothold to start with. Keep up with repairs and keep that Termite Bond current.  It takes a firm will to deal with them. When the damage is discovered all surrounding material must be removed and replaced. The source must be eliminated and any disrepair rectified. You cannot remove them with a pesticide spray …  and certainly not with a hope and a prayer.

Note: When buying an older home for renovation, you can be certain that termites will be there. An inspection is not necessary to confirm that, trust me you will find them. Our expert team at Luxury Simplified Construction has experience repairing and rebuilding termite damaged homes.