Inspection of Termite Damage on Home? |
Question And Answer Category: Gardening |
Question: |
| Dear BlankHelp Team, Now that warm weather is here, I decided to go around and clean up my yard, and get ready to feed my lawn. I picked up a downed branch and noticed something weird. It had been laying there a while, and was light, and soft. When it broke easily, I looked at it even more, and noticed it was swish cheesed. It looks like termites. That is what when through my head, Termites, and oh no, what about my home. The branch was only about 15 feet from my home, and I suspect termites. What do I do, do you have any suggestions for finding out what type of termite inspection I should get, and how do they determine what home damage I have? Oh, I've never had a Home Termite Inspection, so go easy on me. Thank you, Billy Joe |
Our Advice and Answer: |
| Dear Billy Joe, First let me say, good job on checking debris left over in your yard after winter. This way if anything blew into your yard, your mower won't get damaged, or send it flying into neighbors. OK, so you have what you think is a termite damaged piece of wood. We can speculate whether the wood was damaged before it fell, explaining why it fell, or was it damaged after it hit the ground. What we suggest is you do get a home inspection for termite damage. A termite inspection can be rather non-intrusive, and easy. These are the steps we would do. 1. Ask neighbors if they had inspections, or a termite protection program, or a pest protection program. This will help with a following step. 2. Find out what your state or local jurisdiction requires for termite inspector, or termite inspection programs. This way you can ensure you are getting the best protection for your money. 3. If you have home insurance, drop them a line, they might have a procedure they want you to take to protect your policy, and they might have affiliate termite inspector for your home. 4. Get referrals, this might be from talking to termite inspectors and asking for current/past customers, or asking friends and neighbors for recommendations. 5. Check with the BBB, no reason not to, they will help identify any problem termite inspectors for free. 6. Understand, termites don't just walk around, they tunnel, so if your home has any termites they are already damaging the wood of your home. 7. Relax, it takes years for most termites to take a home down to the foundation, so be happy you are getting a termite inspection. These steps should help understand how to proceed with a home's termite inspection. Often an inspection is under a $100 and quick. If they find any, then the inspection really doesn't need to proceed, since you have to act on eliminating them regardless of the number. You might have to have your home's structure inspected, that can take more time and money, but addressing the cause will help prevent further termite damage to your home. Please feel free to keep us up to date with your results, and we are glad to share information about home termite inspections. The BlankHelp Team |
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