Client: Domestic
Our client, a homeowner in Beckenham, tasked Timberwise with conducting woodworm treatment in their property. This property was a mid-terraced house of solid brick construction, and was both occupied and furnished at the time of our inspection. The weather conditions were sunny.
Challenges
Our inspection was limited by fitted units, furniture, and stored items. These are common obstructions our surveyors face daily, especially when surveying residential properties, and they use their experience backed by 55 years of Timberwise’ industry knowledge to ensure a property is assessed correctly prior to treatment beginning.
Observations
Our surveyor began by conducting a brief inspection inside the property. In the ground floor hallway, our surveyor identified flight holes within one of the timber floorboards, evidence of a woodworm infestation. Continuing their inspection, further flight holes were identified in floorboards within the front and rear reception rooms, as well as an understairs cupboard.
Woodworm is a collective term for a group of wood-boring beetles and weevils. Each species looks, acts, and lives differently, but all of them share a common trait: As their name implies, they burrow into and live off timber structures, only emerging after several years as fully formed beetles, ready to mate and continue the cycle.
There are several key symptoms of a woodworm infestation, no matter what species has invaded the timber. A key indicator of an infestation is flight holes; small tunnels dotted along the surface of wood where the beetles have previously emerged.
Continuing the investigation, our surveyor inspected the upstairs rooms for additional infestations. However, after inspecting both the upstairs rooms and the roof void, no further infestations of woodworm were found.
Solutions
Concluding that our client’s woodworm infestation was isolated to the downstairs floorboards and the sub-floor void, our surveyor designed a treatment plan to eradicate the incumbent infestation and prevent recurrence of the issue.
To begin, our technician lifted some of the worst-affected floorboards to assess the condition beneath. In most cases, further flight holes were identified, indicating that the infestation was also present in the sub-floor void. One length of floorboard was found to be defective during this inspection, and was replaced with a new timber floorboard prior to treatment beginning.
Once the affected floorboards were raised and set aside, our technician cleaned each timber down to prepare them for treatment. This would allow the following treatment to adhere to and penetrate the surface of the timber.
Once cleaned, our technician then sprayed each floorboard and the sub-floor void with an insecticidal solution. This would eradicate any woodworm on the surface of the timber, but also render any eggs inert. For any deep-seated larvae, these would die upon emergence over the next several years, preventing any chance of the infestation regrowing.
Once treatment concluded, our technician re-nailed the floorboards, and asked our client to leave the treatment to dry for 24 hours before returning their furniture to each room.
Results
Our surveyor identified an active infestation of woodworm within our client’s ground floor floorboards and sub-floor void. They conducted a targeted to eradicate the infestation and prevent future egg development through specialist chemical treatment. Our treatment was covered by a 20-year guarantee, providing peace of mind to our client and ensuring their home remained protected for years to come.
Do You Want Help with a Woodworm Solution?
Our dedicated and experienced team in South London are ready to talk to you about your options for property preservation. Don’t hesitate to call us on 0208 226 4493, or you can request a survey online.
