Termite Repairtermite repairIt’s no secret that when western subterranean and drywood termites come for dinner in the Oakalnd, CA area and decide to stay awhile, it can be disastrous. The severity of the disaster often depends on whether or not they managed to eat their way through key areas of the home. So, what are those key areas? Let’s spend a few minutes talking about four of them and how they may impact termite repair costs:

1.) Load Bearing Walls

Load bearing walls are tops on our list. Their primary function, as you might have guessed, is to support the weight of the home. Therefore, when termite colonies alter the walls’ ability to do that, the house could develop stress fractures or ultimately collapse. The fractures could cause a series of problems on their own, including broken windows and doors. The same may be said for the next area on our list, foundation beams.

2.) Foundation Beams

Foundation beams not only help solidify the home’s overall structural integrity, they also help support the first floor. As such, their deterioration could weaken the floor to the point of collapse and put an extraordinary amount of stress on other areas of the home, like the load bearing walls we mentioned earlier. When a home’s foundation fails, it is generally considered uninhabitable until termite repairs are made properly.

3.) Floor Posts and Joists

While we’re talking about floors, we can’t forget to mention posts and joists. They work together to help support floors located in the upper floors of a home. When they go bad, they can cause the same problems as weakened foundation beams with one important twist. Their total collapse could impact the levels below them. Consequently, the cost of termite repair could climb quickly in such situation.

4.) Rafters and Collar Beams

Roof rafters and collar beams are two other areas where termites can cause major damage. These components are used to support other parts of the roof, like the ridge boards and sheathing. If they lose structural integrity, the roof could leak or collapse. That, in turn, could damage the home’s walls and floors all the way down to the foundation. To learn more about the structural damage insects can cause and how termite repair can help, please contact our General Contractors at Times Up Termite™.