Thread: Rumpus Renovation

Hey - thanks all.

We have got the termite guy coming out next week for a look ... will let you know what he says.

Might get the bricks sandblasted as suggested, repaint, and then put in a ceiling (probably covering up the ant caps), but with a chemical barrier as well, I doubt they will make it all the way up through the bricks to the rumpus ceiling.

Incidently - what is the chance that termites can travel up the inside of two meters of bricks? Do all bricks have holes in them? Wouldn't the mortar block their path? The top line of bricks looks like they have no holes, but not sure about the other ones below.

Cheers everyone!

what is the chance that termites can travel up the inside of two meters of bricks?

Don't assume that they can't they're very tenacious little buggers. Your termite guy will assess the chances of it and determine what, if anything, you can do. Make sure you tell him you plan to put in a ceiling and cover the ant capping so that he takes that into account.

im trying to get a handle on this room.
I take it as under floor height, like a celler might be?

one thing to watch is ,
is that a strip footing running on the inside i can see?
An infill slab?
If you are going to put on floor coverings, termites will come up the crack between the footing and slab floor.
thats something else to think about. Sorry.

Bugsy, we went through that on the previous page. He's going to get a termite guy to come in and see if anything can be done. Kordon has been suggested. There is a detail on the Kordon web site that shows it being used in an expansion gap. It might be possible to install it between the strip footing and the infill slab.

The only problem I can see with that, assuming that it is feasible, is that it would be impossible to tell whether there are any voids in the footing under the brickwork. Would also need to make sure that the edge of the footing is completely exposed on the outside.

Looks like I didn't read it properly either. Seems he's planning to smash up the existing infill slab and re-pour.

If you do that, you can probably use Termimesh. They could parge it onto the strip footing and cast the other edge in the new slab. I prefer Termimesh to Kordon because it doesn't rely on chemicals. It's a physical barrier (stainless steel mesh). The parging cement is rock hard and termites can't eat through it.

Kordon will not stop termites from entering the building from the crack between the footing and in fill slab , as i have suggested in my previous post. As for Kordon itself, there a plenty of...

You seem to have deleted your last post Bugsy but I just want to point out that I'm personally a bit sceptical about it, but I am by no means an expert on it. My neighbours tried to do a similar thing and the Termimesh contractor couldn't help them. They built the room anyway.

I think it's definitely worth speaking to a termite guy and worth getting Termimesh to have a look. Nothing to lose.

The crack between footing and slab will be taken out of the equation by the fact that he's planning to rip up and replace the existing slab, at which point it might be possible to protect the join with Termimesh or something.

Parging - Hadn't thought about the parging option with termimesh - will follow that up.

Strip footings - I suppose that is what the stip of double bricks is at the bottom of the wall?

Chemicals - Anyone know how much these tremite reticulation systems cost?

Thanks all.

The strip footing is the strip of concrete on which the bricks are laid. It's usually formed by digging a trench and filling it with concrete and reo.

The problem is that you've no way of telling if it is continuous. For example, at our previous house, we discovered there was a gap in the footing under one of the walls and the termites were coming up through that and then into an adjacent stud wall.

They really are tenacious little buggers. They work around the clock. No trade unions in the termite world.

HI froghopper

I would be a bit careful about making sure that any work you do can be assessed by your local authority. Where we live they are doing compulsory property checks (YES it is legal!) to make sure that houses have no unauthorised structures. Apparently this is going to be a more widespread practice by local councils.

We were in a similar situation (and yes we got caught by council - long story grrrrr!) with work done by previous owner except their work is extremely high quality, almost professional. BUT they just didn't have any council approvals done.

What I have done is
1. Check local council records if possible to see what is what. They may be able to get you a set of plans for the building.
2. Speak to SEVERAL termite guys. Try to deal with the ones who do "old" houses. I seriously got the irrits with a couple of guys who just walked away from the gate and said they do not do preexisting structures because they are too hard.
3. Try finding a private certifier - what we used to call a building inspector. These guys can come out, look around and tell you what you can/cannot do to your rooms, and what will/will not be legal, and whether it can be made what they call "habitable" at all.
4. You will need to get a civil engineer to give you a structural certificate to say the building is not going to fall down in the next cyclone. Ring around and ask if they will come out and take a look.

Good luck. I know it is really frustrating, but you are better off to do it right.

Originally Posted by mummybeast

and whether it can be made what they call "habitable" at all.

It doesn't have to be habitable. It's a 'store room'

[ramble]
I once built an architect designed four story house that had amazing store rooms on the bottom levels. They had huge windows with panoramic views of Sydney harbour, and they opened up to large patios:



The reason that they were 'store rooms' is that for a house over two storeys, you have to have a minimum 1500 set back from your side boundaries, but only 900 set back otherwise.

edit; The surveyor made a huge mistake on that job as well. He was 1.5 metres out on his heights at the back, but luckily for him, I picked up the mistake before the excavation had gone too far into the solid rock. The operator of the huge excavator did an amazing job of ascending the very steep hillside. His skills were very impressive.
[/ramble]

It's not legal height - so it won't be habitable anyways. We just want to tidy it up and make it a usable area of sorts.

Originally Posted by silentC

You seem to have deleted your last post Bugsy but I just want to point out that I'm personally a bit sceptical about it, but I am by no means an expert on it. My neighbours tried to do a similar thing and the Termimesh contractor couldn't help them. They built the room anyway.

I think it's definitely worth speaking to a termite guy and worth getting Termimesh to have a look. Nothing to lose.

The crack between footing and slab will be taken out of the equation by the fact that he's planning to rip up and replace the existing slab, at which point it might be possible to protect the join with Termimesh or something.

I deleted my post because things were getting a bit mixed up.

I didnt realise that the poster was looking into ripping up the floor.
My deleted post was in regards to kordon not helping with the problem of the crack between the footing and infill slab.
So after reading your post, i deleted mine because it wasnt necessary.

This floor area could simply be drilled and injected with chemical.

I seriously got the irrits with a couple of guys who just walked away from the gate and said they do not do preexisting structures because they are too hard.

Unfortunately some people think we have magic wands and a quick to take cases to court.
Even though what ever you have done was to the book.

So i can understand why some pest managers walk away from jobs.

Originally Posted by frog_hopper

It's not legal height - so it won't be habitable anyways. We just want to tidy it up and make it a usable area of sorts.

If you did want to think about a "living area" rather than just a storage area, then although the ceiling height is SUPPOSED to be 2400mm, you can get away with 2100 in some circumstances. But the guidelines regarding light and ventilation are very strict in these cases. That is where a private certifier can help, but it will cost $$$.

Bugsy - I know you guys don't have a magic wand! I think people need to get realistic about what can and can't be done with pest control. I mean, I see termite control as being a bit like sunscreen - it works most of the time pretty well, but there will always be a risk if you keep going out in the sun no matter how much sunscreen you put on IYKWIM!

you can get away with 2100 in some circumstances

I think you'll find that's only allowable if the majority of the room is 2400. So you can have an alcove with a 2100 ceiling height, but the room into which it opens must be 2400. Or if you have an attic room, it's allowable for the walls to be <2400 so long as the slope up to at least that height - something along those lines.