A family had contacted us to conduct a building and pest inspection at a property at Cedar Grove they had inherited. They were preparing the house to be listed for sale in the near future.
The background story is their elderly relative had lived alone and didn’t allow anyone on the property. In his solitary existence, he was a hoarder and lived like this unchecked for years.
This lifestyle was detrimental in so many ways. Sadly, he had died alone and was only discovered by his nephew when nobody was able to reach him.
When our inspectors visited the property, the family had already filled four skips of stuff that had been hoarded and they were not complete. That’s a lot of stuff! When there is that much volume of clutter hygiene issues are a real problem.
It becomes a safe haven/breeding ground for pests and vermin. Not to mention, the problem of dust as nothing ever gets cleaned.
TERMITE INFESTATION
The clutter became a minor problem as we began the building and pest inspection. The termite damage was significant and the termites were still actively eating the timber structure.
It was a shock to see a house so riddled with termite damage. It has to be the worst termite infestation we have seen in a house. The exterior walls were pretty much being held up by the mud trails of the termites.
Because the termites had eaten so much of the support structure of the house the internal walls were now flexible. Yes, the walls were flexing when touched!
As they say, a picture paints a thousand words so we have created a gallery to show what we saw. It really was sad to see a house in that condition and that someone had been living in that state for many years.
Door frame had active termites eating the structure
In the hallway wall, the termites had eaten through the plasterboard completely
The loungeroom wall was riddled with termite damage
The bedroom window frame was so eaten out by termites it was hollow.
The termite damage in this bedroom wall was so significant that the wall is starting to collapse.
The termite damage in this bedroom wall indicates it is in serious decay.
What’s the takeaway from this story? If you need evidence of what an unchecked termite infestation can do to a home this is it! We don’t advocate regular termite inspections to simply generate business for ourselves.
Prevention is always way less expensive than the cure.
Whether you are preparing your home for sale or not, we advise regular building and pest inspections are in your best interest.
BOOK A BUILDING AND PEST INSPECTION
Phone today at 1300 304 145 to book a building and pest inspection. If you would like a quick quote for an inspection you can do so online.