Termites, or What I Find When...

[hellbunny]

...I replace a bathtub.

The bathtub removal actually went fairly smoothly although it's not a job for the squeamish. I was mildly shocked to see the 'dirt' where they had cut a man sized hole through the slab to run the pipes. I was expecting something much less raw.

Installation went well except for pipe fittings. The ******* welded the bottom part of the drain assembly. This was the low-point where we considered hacksawing the pipe, but, eventually, we made things fit. A one day job and it definitely took two. Everything is easy except the plumbing (when you run into problems).

The termites piss me off though. Nasty white crawlers. So far no immediate critical damage visible although they ate out about 2 feet of wood on the ground (non load bearing), started a colony in the 'dirt' and chewed through the styrofoam bathtub support. I saw dirt tunnels running up towards the ceiling. I hope the damage in the attic isn't bad yet.

Any of you have any tips or insight on the next steps regarding termintes? I'll be sechduling a thorough inspection shortly. I sprayed the area with on-contact killing insecticide and left some white powder to kill more after the spray wears off. I'm actually 'happy' my bathtub broke (although it may have been the primary cause) since I'll probably be spending my Christmas bonus on this issue.

 

[wolfman]

Man that sucks about the termites. I dont have termites but have talked to exterminators about them. I dont know any of the names of the treatments but I know that there are several options that are new on the market. I would call a few places and ask them about treatment methods before making a decision on which way to go.

 

[EEE]

i ran into the same thing renovating my main bath a couple years ago.
tubes ran up the studs into the wall header plates where they did most of
their damage. you would think that they would eat their way up, but there
was practically no damage to the studs themselves, just about 10' of header
2x4 i had to replace. this was a total remodel, so i after i had the room
completely gutted down to the studs, i called the pest control guys. they
treated all the bare studs and pumped a bunch of insecticide down around
the tub trap and toilet flange. they seemed to know their business pretty
well and i'm reasonably assured they took care of the problem.

if you haven't already installed the new tub, call pest control first;
otherwise they will have to cut an access hole in the wall behind the
tub drain. it's likely that your other bath(s) have the same problem and
they may want to inspect/treat the traps there as well.

 

[OldManFrosh]

The dirt is the reason you have termites. The hole in the slab is supposed to be filled with tar to prevent termite entry. If you still have access, go buy a 5 gallon bucket at Home Depotfill up the hole, and then worry about your other bathroom(s) ;-)