termites?

boman47k

Does this look like termite damage?

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Bud Cline

Nada.

PAbugman

Don’t see anything that looks obviously like termites. Looks like “brown rot/dry rot” in the first picture. What is the white fibrous looking material in the second pic?

Subterranean termites bring mud into the wood with them. Probe the wood, break open the weak areas and look for galleries and dried mud in them. If you find saw dust, or a powdery dust, that would be beetle larvae damage. If you can’t tell, then wet it. Dried mud will smear when wet, wood dust/frass won’t.

If just dry rot/brown rot, it will break off in soft, fibrous chunks. Could the white material in the second picture be a wood-destroying fungus? There may have been or may be chronic moisture issues.

boman47k

I do have a moisture problem under the house, and was wondering if this was termite, carpenter bees, or something or moisture damage.

Not sure about the white stuff. I don't recall seeing it until I loaded the pics on my laptop. I just did a quick scoot in and out with no light.

One day, wife and I heard a very noticible snap/crack. I went under and found a joist in that area with a somewhat long crack in it. I need to correct some drainage around the north end of this house.

PAbugman

After further review (watching too much football), look at the second photo; the top right photo. Are those vertical mud tubes going from soil upwards on the block walls? Next tiime you are in there, take a good light and scrape parts of them. If it is mud tunnels, then that would be subterranean termite evidence. Moisture problems, dry rot, fungus, termites are all found in the same environment, as well as carpenter ants. If they are mud tunnels, after scraping parts of them, watch for a minute and see if the small, white worker termite emerges. Otherwise, scrape enough that you can see the broken mud tunnels from the crawl opening and see if they get rebuilt after a day or so.

boman47k

PA, I think one of those vertical lines is old wiring I replaced when I rewired a few rooms. The other may be a crack in the foundation, but I will have a look. May be moisture seeping through. I don't think I have ever found actual tunnels when looking for them. I do seem to remember finding a hole somewhere under there in the wood.

A few of these joists I have concern about is in front of where the piano is I will have to move when I install the new laminate. I can jsu see me and the piano falling through the floor!

These floor joists are 2x8's with 12.5' to 13.5' lengths. That explains some of the bounciness in the floors, imo. If they had nailed the bottom of the cross braces, maybe it would be a little different. Its like whoever built the house forgot to nail the bottoms.