Termites or ???--problem under wallpaper & backsplash

17 years ago

We just closed today on a new house (well, it was new in 1978) and went over to work this evening. I started removing two layers of wallpaper in the eat-in and found little pockets that seemed to be tunneled out. There was also loose gray dust or grit and black specks along the sides of the "pockets." DH also removed a laminate backsplash and found more of the same.

Any guesses what this is? We had a home inspection and termite inspection and both said they saw no evidence of past or current termites.

Any idea what we should do with the newly revealed walls? They are a mess and we were hoping to retexture a bit (the walls throughout the house are textured) and paint, but may have to get a new plan.

Thanks!

Kristy

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Comments (8)

glennsfc
17 years ago
Uh,...well...I believe you have an issue with the termite inspection and the home inspection. Having never purchased a home in the usual manner, I can't say what you should do at this point regarding what recourse you may have with the seller, the home inspection service and the termite inspector. It sure sounds like someone missed something here. I have seen and worked to correct termite damage and what you describe pretty much describes termite damage.
kristyj
Original Author
17 years ago
We called the termite inspector, who came out again and confirmed it is termites. He will come back next week and do a treatment where he will drill holes in the foundation and put something down in them. Is that enough, do you think? We haven't looked behind any other walls--just found these because we were peeling wallpaper. Do you think we should have them check further?

Also, how do we go about replacing these walls. We are not drywall experts by any stretch of the imagination. The areas we know need to be replaced are the backsplash area against an outside wall and a section of our eat-in kitchen.

Thanks!

Kristy
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I'm not seeing a current picture witht he sink -- just the one with the paper down on the wood which I understand to be before use. That wall looks like it has a raw end of drywall, not a side that is finished (paper or whatever) or maybe even no drywall. It looks like they tried to smooth joint compound in there, either by itself over your studs and built up or over something less than a full side of finished drywall. Joint compound will turn to mud (that's what they call it when it's wet -- hence the verb to "mud" the walls) and dissolve away if it gets wet. Paint will only seal the surface, and if water gets behind it -- well, I dare say it is probably worse than damp sheetrock, which is worse than damp green board. You say they had to sheer away your window sill. Did that sill come below the window too? I don't think you've got clean drywall there. I think you've got a really poor job of mudding and an even worse job of sealing the joint. That's my guess.
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Nope, no dishwasher. We bought the home from out of state sight unseen with only family members actually seeing it and no one noticed :) They were all too excited to find a property large enough for my Wolfhounds, and to be honest the land was more important to us than the house itself. Yeah, we're strange. I don't miss a dishwasher one bit and wouldn't use it if I had one- folks just hide dirty dishes in them and it's gross. I wash them and put them away and feel good knowing they are DONE. So... backsplash. I am Photoshopped out. Nothing suited me- everything I did to change anything annoyed me. Husband held up plates so I could see if I needed decorative touches and it looked WRONG. I know some see this kitchen as unfinished or not "warm" enough, but I love it. It is very bright, it is easy to keep clean, and it functions beautifully. As I said I cook three hot meals a day and over the years I have fine tuned my storage and gotten everything just right. I can reach anything, do anything, and look out my window to my rear garden all the while. It's function is exemplary and that is what is important to me. It's aesthetic pleases me greatly and some of my happiest moments each day are when I am simply walking through it on my way to another part of the house. That says a lot to me. It says that I should repaint this room in a manner very close to what it is right now, so that is what I have decided to do. If it didn't need painting I would be very happy to just continue on with it as it stands but it needs painting. It seems like a lot of trouble to sand everything down and repaint just to achieve the same effect, but laws amighty that is what I am going to do. The thread helped me immensely in sorting out my thoughts, so I thank everyone who commented. Even if I did not comment on your idea I considered it, and those considerations helped me become more confident in deciding to keep it almost exactly the way it is. Thanks, all.
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cat_ky
17 years ago
Kristy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a friend that had this happen, had to remove all the sheetrock from the entire area, and her kitchen cabinets etc, and also the outside siding and sheathing. Replace the studs in the wall after everything was treated, put in new insulation, new sheathing, and siding, and then completely resheetrock and reinstall the cabinets. It was a huge job.
glennsfc
17 years ago
Well let's see...the backsplash is about 3 feet above the floor? They've been established for some time. The treatment will help keep them at bay, but you have to remove any moist wood in an around your home. Termites have an uncanny ability to find moist wood anywhere and will build their tunnels to get to it.
kristyj
Original Author
17 years ago
We started tearing out the sheetrock today and found wood we will need to replace. This painting project has now become a complete kitchen remodel. Too bad it is not in the budget right now. We have a friend who can help with it, but are wondering if we should press to see if the termite inspector should be held responsible for any of the home repairs since he did not find evidence of termites in his inspection 3 days before we closed. What do you think we should do?

Kristy
Tryin2Grow
17 years ago
Kristy
I'll respond to your question on my thread over here so you don't have to jump between two threads.

I'm curious about something still. How did the inspector do the original inspection if they didn't check the condition underneath the house? Also, when you tore out the sheetrock today, did you see termites? Maybe one of the experts here would know this, but if you had an active infestation wouldn't you see the termites inside the walls?

At any rate, I think the first person you should contact is your real estate agent and find out the laws for your state as far as what the inspection company would be responsible for.
kristyj
Original Author
17 years ago
The inspectors couldn't go beneath due to it being a slab foundation. We saw a lot of old damage in the kitchen, mostly to drywall and some to studs. But as we kept going, we found live termites in the family room.

We are going to be talking with our realtor, insurance agent, and possibly an attorney this week.

Kristy
glennsfc
17 years ago
Sounds like a reasonable plan...I would think that the seller certainly has some responsibility here, at least that is what I think.

Termites or ???--problem under wallpaper & backsplash

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Termites or ???--problem under wallpaper & backsplash

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