Hi Geoff,
The Termite Wars are over, and they have been vanquished. I've not seen any activity since Mar 2002, which was when I removed the kitchen and laundry, including the suspended cement slab floor and supporting brick walls, and then removed the 30cms of dirt and I got down to bedrock.
Removed 7 metres of external wall, built new brick piers ( with antcaps ) and new bearers, joists and floorboards, and rebuilt the external wall.
Removed all the soil outside the house ( uphill side ) down to sandstone, dug a trench in the sandstone to drain away any surface water. Due to this and the new piers rather than brickwall support for old kitchen slab, there is constant airflow under my house now and it is super dry.
I found active termites in a small tree out on footpath in November, informed council, they are removing tree soonish.
When I go under house to inspect, I take a 500W halogen flood and go around every pier ( so I can see all sides ) and look at the external engaged piers and walls from about 50cms away - I can see very clearly, and there are no new mudtrails. I inspect every 2-3 months, and have spent a lot of time under the house in the last year ( re-wiring, aircon install, plumbing, storage, hiding from kids to make phone calls ( study not yet finished, no door ))
When removing old kitchen, I found repairs done in 1981 showing termite damage back then. The termites were coming up the brick wall supporting the slab, through cracks in slab, into baseplate of wall, then into studs, posts and door frames ( that's how I found them , door architrave crumbled ). The termite cap under the baseplate was partially buried by slab, so termites had unimpeded protected access to baseplate.
Had various quotes from pest companies, I didn't want to dump 1,000 litres of poison under house, as my kids play in backyard which is downhill, so poison would leach out into yard. I didn't want to fork out 4k for Sentricon and a maint contract, as they were quoting for stations where no dirt existed ( bare sandstone ) and wouldn't modify their quote to reflect reality.
Everything I read said remove moisture and improve ventilation. Prior to 1st Termite War ( mid 1999 ) I had running water under house when it rained, and pooling water for weeks afterward as the sub-surface water from uphill ( about 20 houses worth ) trickled down the hill.
Now, after having dug serious trenches around the house and backfilled with gravel and 90mm pipe, plus removed dirt from uphill side, it's dry under house now. I've taken about 60 7'x4' box trailer fulls of dirt away, and I'm a lot fitter <grin>. My wife has got the nice new kitchen with Ilve oven & cooktop and handpainted cupboard doors ( French country style...), and we shuffled every room around ( Master became the boys room, boys room became the girls room, girls room became the dining room, dining room became the study, study became the Master bedroom. ) and we've sanded/polished floorboards and
done fancy Porter's paint finishes everywhere and we're still working on stuff.
We'll probably stay in this house for next 10 years ( till youngest child finishes primary school ) we like the area & school etc. We'll decide then whether we sell or demolish it. Great views, 960 sqm, house is 1950's weatherboard.
Our pest inspection when we bought here didn't say 'signs of old activity', and didn't say 'no signs of old activity', just said ' no sign of current activity'. Once we knew what to look for, we found termite activity mainly in kitchen & laundry, with single trails to other 3 corners of house, and up to roof ( to old gravity hot water heater, which was disconnected mid 1980's )
Next house I buy ( soon ! ) I'm am inspecting myself, v.e.r.y carefully, as well as getting a detailed pest and structural report, so that I can sue if they are wrong. Little beasty munchers have cost me 45k to rebuild, 95% with my labour, has taken 12 months to get almost finished. Ever cooked dinner in middle of Sydney winter with 7m of wall missing and most of the floor gone as well ? wife not exactly happy !
Valuation before ripout and 6 months later ( new kitchen installed and looking good ) gave a 100k increase.
Anyway, I'm off to paint the laundry doors now.....
