I Never Expected TERMITE DAMAGE THIS BAD!! (What Happens When Water + Termites Hide In Your Home)

Check Out Our FREE GUIDE: *25 Must-Have Carpentry Tools...Under $25 Each!*

AFFILIATE LINKS BELOW:
100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know (Book):
Ultimate Guide To Home Repair (Book):

(These are affiliate links. When you shop through these links, we receive a small commission at NO EXTRA CHARGE TO YOU. We greatly appreciate the support!)

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:
FOLLOW US ON LINKEDIN:

Houses can harbor all sorts of bad damage. Water rot situations can easily lead to termite damage. This short video from The Honest Carpenter will show one nightmare water + termite problem--and explain how you can avoid situations like this!

(WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WATER + TERMITES HIDE IN YOUR HOME)

I tackled this repair several years ago. I had remodeled a screened-in porch for these folks, and while finishing that project I noticed some rotted siding on the backside of their garage. Upon further investigation (tearing off all rotted siding), I found that TERMITES had completely infested the back wall of their garage storage room.

In this instance, water spilling from the roof had splashed up and soaked the lower courses of masonite siding. This moisture was then transferred back to the "Chipboard" sheathing behind the siding. From there, it saturated the framing in the wall.

A termite colony mostly likely came up through a crack in the slab foundation. Termites need WOOD, WATER AND WARMTH to thrive. Here, they had all three, as well as an out-of-the way corner of the house where they would not draw much attention.

This was a tricky repair that required pulling out rotted portions of lumber while the roof was temporarily shored up from inside the garage. In the end, the masonite siding was fully replaced with hardie plank siding.

Be sure to check your home for signs of rot! Water rot provides a habitat for termites. So, have your house inspected 1-2 annually for termites, and consider getting on a termite treatment plan.

Thanks for watching the video!

Be sure to visit us at The Honest Carpenter Website:

[dudethatsmycat]

Shout out to people like you for being honest and trying to save the customer a dollar. These types of situations really suck

[partaydiyprojectionscreens]

I had a little worse situation....house about 108 yrs old with what appeared to be multiple waves of infestation over years. Tore out EVERYTHING from inside (floors to the dirt, plaster walls, studs and had to be extremely cautious replacing bottom and top cil which was holding up 2nd floor). There was an 8x8 corner stud (1 piece) that was paper mache except for about 1 inch in the corner. God bless you for helping these folks out. The more I tore out, the more scared I became. I literally wanted to cry, but now it is a beautiful theater room.

[juanr.]

God bless you for helping those people! Always be honest in life and you will be rewarded..

[aulii]

I'm going to have nightmares, but thanks for sharing! I need to schedule a termite inspection ASAP!

[Woshi]

You are such a honest carpenter with dignity. My house only needs to replace three lower panel of weather boards. It costs us more than $3000.

[richardmassoth]

One of my cousins bought a house in Houston that had a lot of nice foundation plantings around the outside and a sprinkler system. It was a slab-on-grade home. The plants and sprinklers kept the exterior veneer brick moist enough that termites moved in. The pre-purchase home inspection didn't catch the problem, and my cousin from New Mexico had not seen active termite infestation before. He ended up getting the house tented by an exterminator. He had to pull out the drywall from the inside and support the roof from the slab. Some of the 2x4 framing members and corner posts you could put your finger through without tools. He even shoved a bar of soap through a 2x4 with no tools. That's how bad the damage was.

[johnnyparker]

Termites! OMG I've seen two brick home destroyed by termites, my heart goes out to the homeowners and the carpenter who breaks the bad news. You had better believe what this guy is telling you and it all starts with water!

[thedouglaspodcast]

4:30 omfg what an absolute angel you are 🥺 that’s all I could think about.. financial. I bet you’re a man of your word too.. you seem very honest and like an awesome worker that’s passionate about what you do ♥️ this could put some homeowners in such a bad situation. You’re amazing.

Also, I don’t even own a home. Why am I here? Came here out of curiosity.. stayed for your great storytelling skills and education 😂 A++ my friend!

[alexusbonnin]

My husband and I were looking to buy in Fayetteville nc. Long story short we got the termite inspection report and the whole house was a total loss, but the sellers were refusing to work with us and said there was not that much damage. I keep having nightmares that we end up with the house and get involved with major home repairs while with our newborn. This video gives me a piece of mind in feeling justified for terminating that contract and loosing out on the due diligence fees. I just hope the next family looking to purchase that home do all the due diligence work to find out the home is in a total state of disrepair.
By the way, the inspection report said 10+ years of damage. All 4 corners of the house were heavily infected. The entire garage perimeter had not 1 inch of evidence of termites. The garage was located under the second story of the home. Even the roof was failing from the damage. And in the crawl space the living room floor joists were so bad that the room was caving in.

[AutonomousVII]

My Dad owns some apartments he purchased recently and went over to put up new Sheetrock in the laundry room. He found the walls were all rotted out just like this and the balcony above could collapse at anytime. There was basically nothing holding it up it was crazy. Pulled most of the studs out by hand. That’s awesome how you helped this client out, you do strike me as a all around good guy.

[theresak]

We had a rodent getting in, so we removed the bottom two vinyl siding pieces across the back wall and were horrified to see such termite damage; I've been in my home with a termite plan for 22 years, hoping it was old; our handyman replaced the studs, reframed the windows, and put plywood instead of that pressboard, as I call it; I am going to remove the bottom vinyl siding all around the house just to check it out; thanks for the tips.

[DHxJarsyl]

No joke, this is almost my exact garage at the moment. Also had the great news that it turns out i'm terribly allergic to the wood dust and termite feces in their trails.

[neef]

Dude, you are AMAZING. I’ve never been excited to watch rehab Carpenter projects but your end results looks so great and your videos are full of learned knowledge. I wish you were near the Philly area 🙂

[Hearts]

Thank you for this video-- straight to the point, with clear pictures to illustrate. I'm looking for a house. Saw one today with obvious termite damage, even in the baseboards and window frames. A shame-- this looks unsalvageable to me. This is why i came here to your video, and you've given us some critical information. Steering clear of this money pit. Thanks very much 👍

[firechick]

Can't thank you enough for your videos - honest assessment of problems, what to look for- really helpful!! You're on automatic notification! Thanks!! 😊

[JT_]

We were removing the shower tile for a large MB bathroom remodel a couple of years ago and found live termite infestation. This was on the first floor of a 2-story home on a load bearing and corner wall. Fortunately the base plate was PT and not eaten but the wallboard paper and the paper over the fiberglass insulation was eaten along with the studs and the corner studs. The floor on the other side of the shower wall was 3/4” oak over 3/4” plywood on concrete slab. We discovered this week that the termites had also eaten much of the subfloor which explains why we found so many dead winged termites on the hardwood floor after the shower repairs and termite treatment. We were under a termite contract which paid for replacing the studs but not for any of the tile or finishing.

[GSR]

Given my grandparents home recently very blessed to have the home I grew up in. Bad thing is after we moved in we discovered the hidden damages from this very problem. Needless to say we are at a loss for words. First we have to get the infestation out then literally gut the entire home. Hoping to save this place so I can pass it on to my own family one day. Fingers crossed

[QuantumPyrite_.]

.... What a freaking nightmare . If you can do a major rebuild like that and leave the sheetrock in place, you're good . I totally agree about Masonite / particle board siding and have replaced and repaired more than a few feet . Flexseal works good for bottom sealing bottom edges, but that old siding still sucks .
My nightmare true termite story - My neighbor guy in Kansas and his wife come home from a vacation in Arizona . It's night time and the guy wants a beer from his fridge and didn't turn on the kitchen light .
His refrigerator is now in the basement and while he was looking at the hole in the kitchen floor, he falls into the basement .
Thanks for your video my friend . Stay safe, healthy and happy .

[ronmack]

Enjoyed the video Ethan. That was a surprise for the customer but good thing you found it. Nice job on the porch and garage. Thanks for the video. Y'all stay well and God bless.

[jodywhitehead]

In the Vancouver area what people refer to as termites are usually carpenter ants. In my first home I had taken out a basement 18"x10' window to replace it with a 4'x10' window and in the process of reframing the lintels discovered that the corner studs and joists were totally eaten away, and like your job i was able to tear them out by hand. It was so bad I was amazed that the house hadn't collapsed or sagged. I was so glad I'd decided to upgrade my windows to brighten the basement suite living room. This initiated an extensive inspection which showed that the enclosed back deck was even worse. lol