Ozceltic

We are in the middle of doing the rounds speaking to builders and looking at the display homes of most of the various builders we are putting on our shortlist.
One thing that worries us slightly is the possibility of our new dream home being eaten by termites and becoming a nightmare home.
Most of the houses we have looked at are brick veneer with a timber frame which can be protected with a termite spray for an extra $2000 we are told, this comes with a ten year guarantee, is this worth doing?
All the builders build using termimesh which we are told is a stainless steel mesh below and around the slab which the ant's can't penetrate. Is this as clear cut as it sounds?
What other practical measures can we take to protect our home from termites as we are building in an area where there have been past infestations.

marco121068

Here's the answers I got for the same kind of question a couple of months ago.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=316589

biggy

we have termimesh....if u ask them they will send u a dvd on how it works. It basically sends the termites to the outside of the house where they would then build a track (visible) on the outside of the brick. you still need to get ur home inspected every year, and be vigilant for the little buggers!!!!!!!!!!! Dont leave anything leaning up against the house that they could use to bridge the termi mesh

Timber Floor Au

Termites dont just crawl thru soil and eat wood ! They can fly to !!!! There are differing breeds of termite or white ant.

If you get chemically injected treatments, be careful you are not on tank water, as the chemicals can leach into your water supply !

Termimesh is good, however most pest guys will tell you, where there is wall meeting earth, ants can infiltrate.

The key is to see if soil analysis tests were done prior to build, and to see if termites are a problem local to your new home,

Steve

arkon

Get it built with a steel frame, a lot more expensive but they can't eat that! For all the guarentees to be valid you need to get checked out each year, the cost of these checks over the years plus any chemical barrier system you might need could end up costing more than using steel. Its worth a thought. If I were building a new house out here I would definately use steel as the frame.

Oh and I might add I've been infested by white ants and they destroyed the sheds treated wooden frame in 6 months flat! They also eat hard woord too but much slower.

Ozceltic

We are living at the moment in a steel framed house, the major problem we have found is the noise it makes when cooling down at night due to heat expansion and contraction, it makes some almighty shocking noises, similar but louder than your copper pipes cooling down after running hot water through them.
Another reason we have dismissed a steel frame is the various reports we have received from people who claim cracks appear at your wall and ceiling joins due to this expansion/contraction.

We are going to use wood so all we can do is take every precaution regarding these white ants.

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

wanderingwombat

As you have mentioned the steel framework can be noisy during the day and night. Steel homes have been attacked by termites (non-structural damage). Steel homes in QLD have to be protected against termite attack of the internal timber (BCA).

Your choices in timber are:
"Whole of life" systems ie Termimesh or Granitgard (no maintenance). 10 year warranty subject to annual inspections.

Timber: Cypress (splits if nailed - pre-drill first) or LOSP pine.

Perimeter chemical reticulation systems can be used.

It all depends on how long you are going to be in the house.

For a belts and braces approach use a whole of life with either cypress or LOSP.

Significant savings can be made by the builder in choosing very economical systems initially that come back to bite later.
The 'think very carefully about this one' choices are "edge of slab" barriers and plastic sheet systems. Some plastic systems are just deterrents and not barriers.

WW