Mud Tubes
Subterranean termites create mud tubes to travel from the soil to their food source – which may be your home. These pencil-thin tunnels retain moisture and protect the termites from drying out. Most often you will see mud tubes around a home’s foundation.
Why Inspect for Termites?
Early termite inspections can help homeowners save substantial repair costs.
- Prevent the potential of extensive damage that cannot be repaired.
- Timely inspections assess the conditions that leave your property vulnerable to termites and minimize the risk of attack
- If you are purchasing a property, a thorough termite inspection can save you from inheriting costly repairs.
- If you are selling a property, an inspection can help you fix the termite damage on time and prevent the infestation from adversely affecting the resell value of your property.
- It may be a condition of your home loan to have a proper wood destroying insect inspection.
Powder Post Beetles
Infestations typically are discovered after noticing powder, accompanied by small, round “shot holes” in the wood surface. These are exit holes where adult beetles have chewed out of the wood after completing their development.
CL100 (Wood Destroying Insects and Moisture)
If you’re purchasing a home in Greenville, SC or Charleston, SC, a CL-100 Inspection will be likely be required by your lender in order to close. So what is this inspection and what does it entail? The CL-100 Inspection is also called a Termite Inspection, and the report is called the Official South Carolina Wood Infestation Report, written on a state developed form named CL-100 – hence the name.
The purpose of the inspection is to check for:
1. Visible evidence of active, or a previous infestation of subterranean termites or other wood-destroying insects (like powder post beetles or carpenter bees, for example)
2. Below the first main floor, if there is the presence or evidence of: active wood-destroying fungi (which has a wood moisture content of 28% or above), or if there is the presence of wood-destroying fungi that is inactive (less than 28% wood moisture content). Fungus will not grow if there isn’t enough moisture, so it is important to find the direct cause of the moisture and work to resolve the problem.
3. Any visibly damaged wooden members below the main first floor of the home (columns, sills, joists, plates, door jambs, headers, exterior stairs, porches, or fungi damage below the first floor). If the Inspector finds any of this to be true, he or she will have to list the damaged areas.
The CL-100 Inspector will go under and around the house to check for all of these items and circumstances. If he or she finds that the damage and the is damage enough to warrant further investigation- then they will recommend that a licensed contractor make repairs as needed. If this happens, a “clear CL-100” will likely be requested by the Underwriter to close the deal. Your lender, when purchasing, will require a copy of this letter. It must be dated within 30 days of closing.
Don’t let the presence of wood destroying insects upset you. There are typically two kinds of homes in our area – ones that have had termites and ones that will. It’s just a part of our natural environment in the beautiful Upstate of South Carolina.
Pro-Tech Inspections believes in letting the experts be the experts. We have enough to look at inspecting your home. For your convenience, we can arrange for a licensed third party CL-100 from PestGuard Solutions at the same time as our inspection, or within 30 days of your close date.
Other Services
Radon Testing
Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer death in the United States. We live in an area where Radon concentrations tend to be greater than in other regions.
FHA Foundations
FHA Loans for manufactured housing will likely require a Foundation Certification. If there is an addition or a deck added, the Underwriter may make this a condition to close the loan.
Phased New Construction
Phased inspection offer a non-biased professional opinion regarding the quality and installation practices being utilized on their new home during the building process.