Lindsey Buys a Fixer-Upper: Part 6, Termites

By Lindsey Wolf Lunney

Last May, my husband and I unintentionally bought a major fixer-upper. In earlier posts, I talked about some of the problems we uncovered during our routine and not-so-routine inspections of the home. I hope my story will make the process easier for others who are thinking of taking on a big project like this one.

Termites!

It's a common belief that there are no termites in Colorado, right? Wrong. We have found throughout our remodeling process that inspections can only uncover so much. For example, the family room had thick, dated wood paneling on all the walls. When we tested the paneling for Asbestos, it came back negative. Asbestos materials are dangerous and very expensive to remove properly but since it wasn't asbestos, we decided to take it down. This is when we discovered evidence of termites.

Drywall Replacement

On the exterior wall there was what appeared to the untrained eye to be water damage. I met with Marvin at MDR Corporation to have that section of drywall and part of the ceiling removed so that we could re-insulate and re-drywall. While Marvin and I were talking, he mentioned that he thought the drywall damage from bugs, not water. Beeline Pest Control did an inspection and concluded that at some point the house had had termites.

Soil Treatment

Beeline treated the soil around the house for $850.00, which guarantees no termite activity for 15 years. Marvin removed the old drywall, and new drywall was installed and painted. The room could not look better! If we had not removed the wood paneling, Beeline might not have been able to tell if there had been termite activity.  That is why, once again, an inspector can only tell some much.

Next time: Electrical