Sub Flooring Termite Damage
This could be a big problem in any house and of course I'm talking about
sub flooring termite damage. Termites in sub flooring or floor sheathing
can create more of a safety hazard than termites working their way
through other parts of the house.
Once a termite has destroyed the sub floor sheathing or one of the
framing floor joists the damage could be enough to have stepped on to
have someone actually fall right through the floor.
There is a good chance you will not be able to see the sub floor termite
damage because it will usually be covered up with a flooring of some
kind like carpeting, tile, wood flooring or vinyl flooring.
The first clue while doing a home inspection would be a spongy or soft
floor and this will probably be located in a bathroom or kitchen area.
These areas are more susceptible to water damage than other rooms in the
house because of the actual plumbing fixtures in the rooms.
If you look to the left and the right side of the arrow you will see
water stains on the wood floor sheathing. This gives us our first clue
that there was water damage at one time and this attracted the termites
to the sub flooring.
The water stains on the floor looks quite extensive and could have been
leaking for a while but the leaks of course would have been small
because we see no wood rot in the sub flooring.
When looking for sub flooring termite damage you will have to put your
home inspector hat on and do some investigation. Don't forget on a floor
like this you can always grab a flashlight and some overalls and crawl
underneath the floor in the crawl space area to look for additional
house damage.