Pre-Construction Termite Protection
Termite Protection for new homes and renovations
Newcastle and Hunter Valley
If you are building a new home or carrying out renovations, it’s important to consider termite protection at the planning stage.
There are strict regulations in place that must be followed to get building approval certificates. The regulations and need for termite protection applies to many renovations as well as new builds.
But it’s not just about meeting regulations – CSIRO estimate that 1 in 5 new homes will be attacked by termites within 5 years of construction! You want to protect your investment!
It’s a good idea to consult an independent termite professional rather than just rely on your builder, to ensure you get the correct advice and a range of options to consider.
Why Choose Rebel Pest Professionals?
- We provide termite protection solutions for new homes, extensions and renovations
- We follow Australian Standards 3660.1 in designing and installing our termite protection systems
- Rebel Pest Professionals have over 25 years of experience in termite protection installations
- Fully licensed and insured to carry out termite work
- Rebel Pest Professional protect homes using the Homeguard range from FMC, the leading termite protection system on the market and comes with a manufacturer $1 million warranty for complete peace of mind
- The products we use provide for a warranty period of up to 50 years
- We issue a Certificate of Treatment on completion of installation
Guidelines and regulations
When building a new home, adding an extension or carrying out a renovation it is important to make sure that your home is fully protected from termites.
There are detailed regulations that cover the termite protection requirements for new homes and extensions / renovations, detailed in Australian Standard 3660.1 and the various building codes.
A well designed termite protection system is integrated with the physical attributes of the building to prevent concealed entry by termites.
It is important to check the requirements for all building work, including extensions and renovations (especially bathroom, laundry and kitchen work) at the planning stage.
Building work will be assessed by the building certifier both during and at the end of the renovation. If the building or extension / renovation does not comply with the requirements they will need to be corrected (can be expensive) and in the worse-case scenario, the inspector can order for the building / extension to be taken down.
If your particular building activity requires certification, failure to get approvals and appropriate certification can impact your building insurance and effect your ability to sell the property in the future.
Information for Home Owners
Termite Protection for New Homes
Termites can squeeze through gaps as small as 2 mm, so to make sure a building is protected from termites all potential entry points need to be protected.
The key areas of protection are the perimeter walls of the building, pipework entering the building, any joins in the construction, and sub-floor elements if your home is built on piers.
The best strategy is to install a range of physical termite protection products, which are integrated with the physical construction elements of the building to create a physical termite barrier. For example, for homes built on a concrete slab, plastic collars impregnated with insecticide are placed around pipework before the concrete slab foundations are poured, embedding the collar in the slab, thus eliminating any potential gaps around the pipework through which a termite could enter.
Although chemical treatments of sub-floor soils before starting to build used to be a common method for protecting homes, the regulations have changed. It is important to ensure that any termite protection measure for new buildings are designed to last the lifetime of the building. So if chemical treatments are to be used, as they degrade over time, there also needs to be a method to re-treat the soil into the future. In such cases, where a chemical treatment is desired underneath a concrete slab or pathway, a reticulation system (a network of pipes containing holes), also needs to be installed. This allows the soil to be re-treated when required.
Rather than carrying out chemical treatments, Rebel Pest Professionals prefer to utilise the Homeguard range of products to provide a physical barrier preventing termite entry. This provides protection for the life-time of the building and is also better from an environmental point of view as no chemicals are used.
Termite Protection for Extensions
The building regulations also apply to extensions, whether carried out by a builder or as part of a DIY project.
The join between an extension and the original building is a weak point in the construction design and needs to be protected to prevent termite entry.
It is critical to consider how to protect this construction join at the planning stage.
Sometimes it makes sense to actually modify the building design to get the best result.
Termite Protection for Renovations
Renovations – building improvements that occur within the existing outline of the building – often don’t need building certification. But this doesn’t mean that termite protection should be ignored! Common renovations include bathroom, kitchen and laundry upgrades, which also happen to be the most common termite entry points.
The main reason these “wet areas” are common entry points for termites, is that there are often leaks in taps, pipework or tiles, which provide an attractive source of moisture for termites. Often these leaks are caused by poor workmanship or poor waterproofing, which are more common when these projects are tackled as a DIY project.
Not only is it important to ensure good waterproofing, plumbing and tiling, it’s vital that any joins in slabs and pipe entry points are protected from termite entry.
It’s especially important for the DIY renovator to consult a termite professional before commencing work. But even if you’re engaging a builder it’s important to know the requirements to make sure they are incorporated into the building plan.
For more information see our blog on renovations and termite protection
Termite Protection for Landscaping
Landscaping work often results in concealed termite attack – management of the area immediately surrounding the building is critical to prevent termite entry. Unfortunately homeowners and most landscapers are unaware of these issues and building regulations and inadvertently carry out work which leads to a costly termite attack.
If you are thinking of installing garden beds, paths, patios or decks adjacent to the building, please give Rebel Pest Professionals a call first, it could save you a lot of heartache and money!
Information for Builders
Rebel Pest Professional provide support for builders in Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland and the Hunter Valley area.
Why work with Rebel Pest Professionals:
- Call Rebel Pest Professionals to discuss your building project
- We are full licensed and insured to carry out pre-construction termite work
- We use Homeguard products for a quality installation, to ensure your reputation and your customers homes are protected
- We pride ourselves on providing superior service and will work with you at the planning stage and will assist you in overcoming any challenges during the build, ensuring an efficient, on-time build
- We will take on big and small projects covering both residential and commercial projects
To find out how a partnership with Rebel Pest Professionals can benefit you and your clients call 02 4656 8727 and ask to speak to our pre-construction expert.
Termite Protection Products
Rebel Pest Professionals use the Homeguard product range from FMC. Homeguard has been a leader in the termite protection market for many years and have a complete range of Australian manufactured products to protect any type of construction. With the products coming with a 50 year warranty, FMC back their products with a $1 million warranty, giving homeowners complete piece of mind.
Every construction is different so it’s important to use the right combination of products for your particular situation.
The products in the Homeguard range include:
- Plastic sheeting materials to protect perimeter walls and under slab areas
- Plastic collars to protect pipework entering through concrete slabs
- Fillers and polymer paints impregnated with insecticide to protect joins in concrete slabs
- Insecticide impregnated granules to protect wall cavities and construction voids
You still need regular termite inspections!
A well designed termite protection system is integrated with the physical attributes of the building to prevent concealed entry by termites. This is an important point – the system is designed to prevent CONCEALED entry, but termites could still build their mud tubes up and around any protection, which is why it is still important to have regular termite inspections even with termite protection in place.
Regular termite inspections are not just a recommendation from governments and building authorities but they are required to maintain any warranties