The next examples are images of the ceiling of a typical gyprock home with some insulation above it on a hot day after rain. The thermal image shows a yellow colour around the ceiling downlight where the insulation was pulled back from the downlight and the dark colour where moisture from a roof leak was sitting in the insulation. You can see that the insulation was effective as is the area where the insulation was missing was much hotter. The image on the right is the visual image as seen with our eyes.

This example shows moisture in the wall of a garage that we detected using thermal imaging. The roof was leaking from due to a downpipe issue and we probably wouldn’t have identified that the problem existed without thermal imaging. It would have been very difficult to reach and test the walls in this area with a moisture meter. Imagine if it had been termites in the wall.

If we can see the area with our eyes, we can inspect it with thermal imaging.

A Termite Solutions inspector emailed this photo to the Buyer of this Everton Park home showing the high water line on the concrete stumps under this home. The buyer has decided to terminate the contract after having this issue, and several others brought to her attention by our Inspector. Termite Solutions was invited to the home for a free quote for a Termite Barrier after a small termite issue was observed. The Buyers Inspectors hadn’t mentioned the drainage/flooding issue in their reports.

Organize your own independent Building and Pest Inspections rather than those recommended by your Real Estate agent.

Our inspector has found a roof leak with thermal imaging at this home. He is seen here pointing at the suspect area identified with a thermal camera. Moisture was entering beside an unsealed solar panel wire.

This roof leak was obvious with thermal imaging, but not visible with the naked eye,

Our inspector is seen in this thermal image pointing at an area that has been identified as having a roof leak.

Our inspector can see a small stain on the ceiling in this digital image, but the the thermal image identifies that moisture is present due to the different temperature pattern as shown in the previous photo.

This image shows that there are moisture issues in the roof of this Belmont home

Insist on thermal imaging when you book your next Termite or Building Inspection. Freecall 1800 009 229

See Termite Inspections for more information about how these are carried out.

After a thorough inspection including thermal imaging, the areas of termite activity are identified and (if conditions are suitable and enough termites are present ) a Termidor dusting or foaming is performed. Termidor dust is very finely ground cellulose, like talcum powder, with a small amount of the special ingredient, Fipronil, that sticks to termites. Termites love to eat it. Discreet holes are made into the termite workings and Termidor dust or foam is puffed into the galleries where termites are active.

Termidor Dusting Vial with an adaptor allowing easy application of Termidor dust into termite workings.

Termites in these galleries are coated in this dust, and with Termidors unique ‘Transfer Effect’ the treatment applied to hundreds of termites is transferred to thousands. Eventually (often within 24hrs) these dusted termites return to the nest and groom and feed other worker termites, soldiers and the queen. The idea behind dusting is primarily to stop all activity inside the house but with a competent Technician and a successful dusting, colony elimination can often be achieved. After the dusting, the holes are usually sealed (with masking tape or something similar) unless the technician has a specific reason to do otherwise. Foaming has a much quicker action and is designed to remove termites quickly but has less chance killing a colony that is located far from the foaming site. Your technician is trained to decide the best treatment for your home.

After a dusting the property is usually left for a few days to allow the dust transfer effect to run its course. Once activity has ceased inside the house, and sufficient time has passed, it is time to perform the perimeter treatment.

Before this stage it is strongly recommended that plans be provided for the property showing where water, electricity and telephone services enter the property. This can avoid mishaps where drilling or trenching is required.

Perimeter treatments are designed to prevent termite access to the home by creating a treated zone of soil around the house through which the termites can’t pass.

Where there is concrete beside/underneath house the technicians will drill through the concrete and then inject liquid termiticide under pressure. The holes are 12mm in diameter (other sizes can be made by specific request, but 12mm holes are strongly recommended) and are 200mm or less apart. Once chemical has been applied, injection holes are filled with similarly coloured concrete or plastic plugs to leave the site looking tidy.

Termite Solutions employees Bill and Jack Brewer are seen here drilling and treating under the concrete paths outside this Shailer Park home.

In other areas it may be soil against the external wall of the house. Where this is the case the technician will trench down to the footings and flood with chemical, back fill and flood again. All attempts are made to keep trenches neat and to save gardens but this is not always possible.

We remove soil to expose footings and we treat the soil as it is replaced, ensuring that any termite entry points are exposed and treated.

We see here how our labourers have trenched beside this brick veneer home to expose any termite entry points. The soil is treated with Termidor as it is replaced beside the walls.

FOLLOW UP CHECKS

Follow-up checks are done to ensure that the termites are gone, so that repairs can be carried out.

Complimentary ‘peace of mind’ inspections are included after treatment. The first will be performed roughly six weeks after the completion of stage 2. Repairs can be safely carried out after the six week check.

Annual inspections are recommended by the Australian Standard. These checks are to ensure that all activity has ceased and that the perimeter treatment has not been disturbed.

Termite Solutions offer an initial one year free service period on our perimeter treatments which can be extended, usually up to 6 years, by you having annual inspection with Termite Solutions.

These are issues that could cost thousands to rectify, so it’s important to find these issues before you buy your next property and all the problems associated with it. We detected a moisture issue recently during a termite inspection at Coorparoo. This is what we found:

Moisture was not visible at all with the naked eye at this townhouse in Coorparoo, and the owner had no idea that her shower had leaked for a long time.

Unfortunately for the owner of this townhouse, we detected a serious issue with her shower base. There was no visible damage but once the plumber removed the gyprock, the problem became obvious when the rotten flooring under the shower was visible.

Rotten particle board flooring is now visible, but may not have been found for some time without thermal imaging.

Although we detected the shower leak early, unfortunately for this client, an expensive repair was still required, but it could have been a lot worse.

Ask for thermal with your next building and pest inspection.

FLIR is the industry leader in Thermal Imaging, also known as infrared imaging. Without thermal imaging building and pest inspectors walk straight past problem areas. Insist on ‘Thermal’ when you book your next inspection.

These are some digital and thermal images recorded at building and pest inspections I’ve attended recently, and they highlight issues that would not have been found without a thermal camera. We’ve been using thermal cameras since 2004, and I’m still amazed at what we find with these ‘Hi-Res’ cameras that could have been missed without this technology.  Ask for thermal with your next inspection.

This is what our eyes see, and there is no evidence of the large termite pack in the wall behind the tiles.

Our FLIR thermal camera clearly shows us that there is a large pack of termites in this bathroom wall. It also shows us exactly where to place our treatment for the maximum kill.

There is no way an inspector could have found this termite pack hiding under the bath without the use of a thermal camera.

Here is what we found with thermal imaging: Termites packing under the bath. Lots of termites! Next problem…How do we treat it?

From top to bottom we have a borescope for inspecting inside wall cavities, a moisture metre, a Flir thermal camera, and a high output LED Lenser torch. The tapping tool is on the left.

Tramex moisture metres are the industry standard for termite detection. The are accurate, durable and very reliable. Moisture metres are used to guage the moisture content of the surfaces that we are testing. This unit uses three ranges of sensitivity and a deep penetration signal to provide moisture readings and evaluations without causing any damage to the material that is being tested. Termites bring and create moisture in the areas that they are working in, so by detecting anomalies in moisture readings in wall and timber surfaces, we are able to detect whether termites are present, either before or after treatments.

Thermal or Infrared cameras are essential tools for termite inspections. The only inspectors who will argue this point are the inspectors who don’t have them. We’ve heard all sorts of arguments why other companies don’t use them, but the reality is that with thermal cameras, we find termite that other companies didn’t. Take a look at our post titled “If you don’t have Thermal” showing a tiled area in a bathroom with and without thermal imaging and the next photo showing a bath with and without thermal imaging. The second images clearly indicate where termites were packed behind the wall tiles and bath. Without thermal imaging most inspectors would have been scratching their heads wondering where the termites were hiding

Watch our wall camera video showing termites in a wall.

Termite Inspection firms that invest in expensive equipment such as Thermal cameras, moisture metres and borescopes are much more likely to find even small termite infestations than those who only have a tapping tool or screwdriver. I know, because that’s all I had to work with when I was trained 19 years ago, but since 2005 I’ve made sure that all Termite Solutions inspectors have thermal cameras, borescopes and moisture metres available, so when we’ve completed an inspection we know for certain whether termites are present in the buildings that we’ve inspected. No more guess work.

Termites were found here entering a brick veneer home beside a water pipe. Gravel, soil and polythene weed mat was removed to find the entry point in this brick veneer home.

This termite entry point was only found by removing soil to expose the large gap in the wall where the electrician ran his conduit.

When weep holes are covered by paths and pavers, it is likely that foraging termites will find the gaps and enter walls where they attack the concealed wall framing. Damage is usually unnoticed until significant damage has been caused.

Pavers were removed to find the termite entry point into this brick veneer home at Tingalpa. Our client was an electrician who was shocked at what we found. It was his young son that alerted him to the noise in the wall. Thermal imaging showed us that a pack of termites were working in the wall right above the entry point

Don’t be surprised! Poor brickwork such as seen in this photo is very common, and your brick home probably has similar issues. Bricklayers are only really required to make the wall stand, and as long as it stays up, they’ve done what they are required to do. The termite professionals then came along and treated the perimeter of the homes with products that generally lasted around 10 years. Our experience is that the homes most commonly attacked by termites are brick veneer homes over 10 years old. Once retreated with Termidor, brick veneer homes should remain termite free for around 8 years. Annual inspections should be maintained to ensure that termite barriers have not been breached and there are no conducive conditions around the home to attract termites.

Termite Solutions technicians Jack and Bill Brewer are seen here drilling the small holes required through the concrete paths and injecting Termidor into the soil under the paths to protect the building from further termite attack. Brick veneer homes are at much higher risk of termite entry than most other classes of homes.

In this video you’ll see termites being flushed out of hiding from under the concrete slab. You’ll hear building inspectors carry on about gardens against walls being high risk, but the reality is more likely the opposite. This is why we drill and treat under slabs because this is where termites like to work:

Recently we assisted clients in Springwood with serious termite issues. The owner had carried out his own treatments, but the termites progressively moved to other areas of the house. He contacted Termite Solutions for assistance and to carry out a Termite Treatment. Due to the complicated multi level style of construction combined with construction issues and the highly conducive conditions in the subfloor of the home, we installed some termite baits on the walls and placed bait inside the walls rather than attempting a chemical perimeter treatment. Termite Baiting can be a highly effective method of Termite colony control, particularly when Coptotermes species are involved and a nest isn’t found.  A large termite nest was discovered some time after baiting had commenced in a park on council property well over a hundred metres away from the affected home. Here are a few photos from the job:

Termite workings are seen here coming from under a stair void and through the Besser block foundations.

The owners woke up to find this pack of termite mudding had appeared overnight. The box is the termite bait box, and the black tape was holding rubber stoppers over holes in the walls where termite bait had been placed.

Termites had completely emptied this bait box and eaten significant amounts of the bait in the wall cavity. No live termites were found inside the box or wall. Live termites were still found in other areas of the home, so further treatments with bait have commenced.

This photo shows a termite stalactite hanging from the vacuum pipe under this Springwood home. Termites were building a tube down from the flooring to the ground to source moisture. Some of the tube had already been broken off prior to the photo being taken.

The owner found this large nest in a council park over 100 metres away from their home. This photo shows our inspector Mal Brewer beside the nest.

The home owner is seen here breaking into the termite nest near his home to kill the colony. The exterior of the nest is very hard to break into and the steel bar being used barely dented the clay like material.

This thermal image shows how thermal imaging assists us to see where termites are hiding in wall cavities. We can then place termite bait directly where they are feeding. Note the shaded areas on the wall. We can see that there is termite workings in the wall and accurately and effectively treat the activity

Whether buying or selling Real Estate, there are some things that you need to be aware of.

Property sale contracts can now include Pest and Building inspection clauses and if, during inspection, problems are found, buyers will often attempt to renegotiate your properties value by Thousands of Dollars.  In a buyers market, vendors have to be prepared to listen.

Common issues are Termite Protection/Damage and Structural faults.  If you have your home inspected before it hits the market and there are Termites or structural problems in or around the home and garden, we’ll find them.  That’s our job.  Without this information it could cost you thousands of dollars, or worse, your contract may crash.

Find the problems, treat the termites, present your home, then sell!  Your agent will love you and you can confidently sail through Buyer inspections already knowing the outcome.

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Termite Solutions offers a FREECALL booking service where we coordinate Pest and Building Inspections with the Agent, the Buyers and the Sellers.  Our Pest and Building Inspectors are specialized in their field, are licensed and insured and each inspector has conducted over several thousand inspections.

Working in conjunction with Barry Moore Building Inspections BSA licence 21978, we can both provide Professional Reports, presented in an easily understood format, (not checklists) with digital photos taken during the inspections to illustrate our comments. Interstate and Overseas clients love our Photo reports. Our Inspectors can walk clients through inspections and explain both good and bad points of the home. We’ll show you areas of risk, and explain the termite protection methods used. We won’t alarm you, try to sell expensive treatments or home improvements, we just give the facts. Our reports are available shortly after the inspection for delivery by email, fax, or post, and our reports don’t protect us…..they protect YOU!

Remember…

Agents work for Vendors, We work for You

Termite Solutions Proprietor Mal Brewer, BSA licence 76114, with 19 years experience, specialises in pre-purchase pest inspections and often works in conjunction with Brisbanes most experienced building inspector, Barry Moore. Mal is happy to explain inspection results to his clients and is happy to supply photos of relevent issues with his reports if requested.

Barry Moore has over 30 years experience in conducting building inspections and, together with Termite Solutions inspectors, has carried out several thousand inspections throughout Brisbane suburbs. Barry will walk his clients through the inspection and explain the relevence of any issues. He attaches photos with his reports if requested.