7 Signs of Structural Termite Damage

When termite damage becomes structural

Plenty of termite damage is cosmetic, surface trim, a window frame, a bit of baseboard. What matters for the safety and value of your home is when the damage reaches the framing that carries load: beams, joists, sills, and studs. These seven signs usually mean it has.

The signs to watch for

• Hollow or papery sound when you tap on trim, framing, or beams
• Floors that sag, dip toward the middle of a room, or feel bouncy and soft
• Mud tubes, pencil-width tunnels of dried mud on foundation walls, piers, or sills
• Doors and windows that suddenly stick or won't latch as the frame shifts
• Buckling, blistered, or cracked wood, sometimes mistaken for water damage
• Gaps opening between the foundation and the framing sitting on it
• Crumbling wood that flakes or gives way when pressed with a screwdriver

What to do if you see them

Any one of these is reason for a closer look; two or more together usually means the damage has reached structural wood. The next step is an assessment that probes the framing to find out how far it actually runs, because what's visible is almost always less than what's there.

Repair, not just treatment

Treatment stops the colony, but it does nothing for wood that's already been hollowed out. Once you know the structure is involved, the fix is a structural repair, rebuilding the weakened wood back to code so the home is sound again.