Posts Tagged ‘termites’

monday update

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Ooh, more construction than deconstruction today! Tell us how it went, David…

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Today Joe and I started putting the end of the house back to together. First we caulked the uneven joint between the concrete slab and the old plywood sheathing and applied ice and water barrier (a special super-sticky sealing tape). Joe bent up some aluminum into a J-shape which we attached to the old sheathing with a bead of caulk and nails. Then we cut pieces to fit from the 3” foam/plywood panels…

 

monday update

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… and slipped them down into the channel.

monday update 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They got attached to the existing 2” x 4” framing with 5” screws. The aluminum protects the foam and plywood from attack by water, ants and termites…

monday update 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ran the aluminum up the sides of the new foam/plywood sheathing at each end of the wall…

monday update 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we taped the aluminum to the new sheathing with more ice and water barrier…

monday update 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here you can see why we added 2” x 4” frames around the window and door openings…

monday update 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… we had to bring them out to the new face of the house, even with the new 3” foam/plywood sheathing!

Once the whole two-story wall has the foam/plywood layer applied, we’ll cover it with a vapor barrier. Then a layer of special breathable mesh goes on which allows air to dry the back of the siding and then the siding can go on. Whew.

Those two black hoses you see trailing down the wall…

monday update 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Those and the white PVC pipe are part of the new HVAC system which also went in today. More on that later. Man it was hectic upstairs and down…

monday update 7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a good way.

 

what’s in your walls?

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

So back to the downstairs, which is now in motion. David will tell you what he’s up to…

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One of the aims of these renovations is to cut our energy use, ideally by 60% or better. How will we achieve that lofty goal? By making the house air-tight and by adding insulation. Lots of insulation.

We ordered 3” of EPS (fancy name for styrofoam) made right here in Rhode Island by Branch River Plastics. Not only did it not have to ship from China, they make their foam in any size you like and they put boric acid in it to keep insects out  — which is handy seeing as we discovered there used to be termites in the walls. It weighs 2 pounds per cubic foot, so it’s denser than the shipping foam you’re used to. It is made with air instead of HCFCs so it’s better for the environment and holds its R-value over time unlike most other rigid foam insulation that slowly loses its effectiveness.

PL-300 adhesive holds it in place without dissolving it, don’t use anything that isn’t labelled specifically for foam…

foam glue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had them cut pieces to fit between the floor joists…

rim joist foam

I wrapped it around the short walls on either end of the main space…

short wall before

short wall during

The wood-framed walls on top of the foundation receive two layers of un-faced fiberglass, here’s the first…

short wall after

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it’s done, the bathroom should be warm and cozy…

bath wall foam

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ran beads of the foam glue between the pieces to make them one big layer…

foam glue 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special tape seals the deal…

foam tape

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll be adding 3/4” furring strips screwed to the concrete. They’ll give us something to attach the sheetrock to, create a bit of air space to allow moisture to get out and give the electrician a place to run his wires. All that coming soon!

 

about those termites

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Okay, I’ve put this off long enough. Time to address the termites. Last week, tearing off the drywall downstairs revealed this…

signs of termites inside the wall

A sign that we’ve had some subterranean termite activity. Are they active now? Unclear. Here’s what we do know: Subterranean termites live, as the name implies, in the soil. They require moist soil to survive and build mud tubes to travel through the ground to their food sources. When exposed to the air, they die.

How did they get in? Through the soil that, until last spring, led them to a gap between the foundation and the wood cladding…

where we regraded the soil on the other side of the wall

You can see where we regraded and flattened out the slope just below the upper patio — this is just on the other side of the wall from where we found signs of termites. No more termite tunnels here. In fact, with all of last year’s retaining wall building, rainwater collection tank hole digging and patio construction, we’ve completely disturbed the soil around three sides of the house (as well as the entire yard). Although this doesn’t mean we’re done with the pests forever, this definitely helps.

New England Pest Control stopped by to give their assessment. They recommend a chemical barrier, of course. Pumping chemicals 2′ into the ground all around the house is the standard approach. A typical termite treatment can require that well over 100 gallons of insecticide be injected into the soil — and additional annual treatments may be necessary.

From what I can ascertain (and I am no expert), pyrethroids are commonly used for this kind of treatment. Are they toxic? Duh. This is just a smattering pulled from this article on pyrethroids at beyondpesticide.org:

… linked to disruption of the endocrine system, which can adversely affect reproduction and sexual development, interfere with the immune system and increase chances of breast cancer. Pyrethroids contain human-made, or xenoestrogens, which can increase the amount of estrogen in the body…

… extremely toxic to aquatic organisms…

… moderately toxic to birds…

Both pyrethroids and pyrethrins are often formulated with oils or petroleum distillates and packaged in combination with synergists, such as piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and n-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide… PBO inhibits important liver enzymes responsible for breakdown of some toxins, including the active ingredients of pesticides. Symptoms of PBO poisoning include anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, intestinal inflammation, pulmonary hemorrhage and perhaps mild central nervous system depression. Chronic toxicity studies have shown increased liver weights, even at the lowest doses…

And so on. Feel free to read it for yourself.

Now I’ve said from the beginning that David and I are struggling to be as environmentally friendly as we can in this remodel — and in life in general. The idea of pumping hundreds of gallons of toxic chemicals into the ground just goes against the grain. Although we want to be rid of termites forever, let’s be reasonable. Termites are a fact in New England. There has to be a non-toxic way to manage them, right?

The answer is yes. It looks like destroying any tubes that lead to the house is a good start. Pretty sure we’ve done that but we’ll need to do more than that. I’ll whip up another post next week on our non-toxic alternatives. Let me preface that post with this: Less than 20′ away, our neighbor opted for a termite baiting system over chemicals injected into the soil…

termites at our neighbor’s house

Those ring his entire house at about 7′ intervals. This is more along the lines of what we’re hoping for. More on that later!

 

scenes from the destruction

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Step into the dust mask zone with me.

All the trim is coming off…

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The sheetrock is coming down…

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Kitchen cabinets being pulled out…

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My fabulous wallpaper wall…

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It came down. *sniff*  *sniff*…

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Wait a second… what’s that in the far corner?

uh oh... signs of termites

Ugh. Signs of termites!! Old or recent? We’ll find out tomorrow when New England Pest Control stops by. In the meantime, wood for the construction arrived…

the wood arrives

Hey, termites… LUNCHTIME!

wood at the ready