Finding and Keeping a Healthy House
| Authors: | R.C. Biesterfeldt, T.L. Ambeurgey, L.H. Williams |
| Year: | 1973 |
| Type: | General Technical Report |
| Station: | Southern Research Station |
| Source: | Gen. Tech. Rep. SO-1. New Orleans, LA: U.S. Dept of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Forest Experiment Station. 22 p. |
Abstract
A house is the average family's most expensive and important possession. It stands between the family and the world, and it will continue to do so as long as it stays healthy. Curing a sick house, one that has a serious case of decay or insect damage, can be a big job. But preventive medicine is no great chore in a well-constructed house. This booklet provides tips for selecting a healthy house and for keeping it that way.
At Gulfport, Mississippi, years of research by the Southern Forest Experiment Station have demonstrated that good construction is essential for excluding decay, termites, or other structural pests. Unfortunately, construction practices are not always the best, and many people do not know how to maintain their houses. As a result, houses often fail to outlive their mortgages without costly repairs. The annual costs of termite damage and control exceed $500 million in the United States. Estimates of losses to wood decay are not available, but the costs, including outlays for repairs, probably are as high as those for termites.
No buyer is looking for a house that is infested with termites or weakened by rot, but many a buyer gets just that. A termite inspection is required before certain types of home mortgages can be obtained, but for the most part the buyer must depend upon himself or his agent to find a healthy house. In a poorly constructed house, damage may not be visible. The buyer, therefore, should give careful attention to design features as well as signs of insects or decay.
Many buyers who would carefully inspect an old house for evidence of decay and structural pests fail to consider these wood destroyers when choosing a new house. Their confidence is often misplaced. If it is not properly protected, the sapwood lumber used in new homes is highly susceptible to decay and insects. If poor construction makes the wood vulnerable, damage almost certainly will occur in just a few years. In one sense, an old house is less of a risk. It has stood the test of time. If it is healthy now it will probably remain so with proper maintenance.
In this booklet, the destroyers of wood in houses are discussed in order of probable occurrence. Decay comes first because it is the most likely form of damage in most houses. Termites and other wood-destroying insects are covered next, and wood-nesting insects last.