Just looked at a house for sale. Is this photo termites?

[bbabythai]

The wife and I just looked at an old house for sale. I got in under the house and noticed this huge ant mound. I suspect termites but have no idea to be honest. 

 

If you have experience with this could you please advise.

thanks

 

[thaitom]

WOW !

[KarenBravo]

Yes.....it's a termite mound.

Dig down to find the Royal Chamber and then kill the queen. The chamber has a few small openings for the workers to get in. They are also made of a darker soil and very smooth. If you don't somehow kill the queen, they'll be back.

Have tried chemicals which are a bit hit and miss. Killing the queen is 100% effective.

 

 

[bbko]

Tell the seller you have no intention of buying unless the price is dropped, and watch out for other hidden pitfalls. 

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Termites. There will be tubes leading from he nest into the house where the termites have been feasting on the wood inside. Termites hollow out wooden moldings, floors and fittings leaving a thin veneer that looks normal but is unsound. If you are interested in buying the house, make sure an expert checks for termite damage first.

 

Usually the main termite mound is located underground somewhere near the house, but those mounds are so large the main nest might be in there somewhere.

 

Professional exterminators sometimes use bait that is treated with a chemical that interferes with the termites' ability to molt. The bait works slowly and it takes about two months or so for it to work. The colony collapses after the queen is fed with sufficient bait and dies. This method works quite well.

 

 

[steven100]

if it's cheap enough and you can witness no infestation inside,  however this is difficult unless you can remove architraves and skirting boards, which i'm sure the sellers won't like or even agree to. 

you need a chisel and a claw hammer.

[4MyEgo]

32 minutes ago, bbabythai said:

I suspect termites but have no idea to be honest. 

Yes absolutely termites.

 

As one of the above posters suggested, get the Queen, aroy muk muk.

 

[bbabythai]

Also, I obviously know that termites decimate wood in a house. But this house is a concrete structure and has brick/ cement footings. My question is.... can these termites stuff up the structure of this house?. Its got a tiled roof (old style ceramic tiles) and presumably these are supported by either wooden or concrete beams. I suppose I have to get inside the ceiling. Any opinions are appreciated

[4MyEgo]

2 minutes ago, bbabythai said:

Also, I obviously know that termites decimate wood in a house. But this house is a concrete structure and has brick/ cement footings. My question is.... can these termites stuff up the structure of this house?. Its got a tiled roof (old style ceramic tiles) and presumably these are supported by either wooden or concrete beams. I suppose I have to get inside the ceiling. Any opinions are appreciated

We have them around, but have concrete floor, steel beams in the roof, so if you find same, it's ok as far as I am concerned, as I am also told that, the mounds could be used as a base as they travel far underground to eat and return ?

[jojothai]

Termites do not only attach wood.
They also chew out grout and weak concrete.

You have to look for the telltale signs of eating into wood and for Grout (loose or missing) 
On the second picture below, the termites had chewed into the grout joints in the shower floor. Its been cleaned up but you can see the grout is missing. 
 

[jojothai]

Looking at your photo again, the brick joints on your photo look reasonably good.
But could have been cleaned and patched up since the termites had originally been there.
If the termites were still around I would have thought here should have been some evidence there.

[itsari]

32 minutes ago, bbabythai said:

Also, I obviously know that termites decimate wood in a house. But this house is a concrete structure and has brick/ cement footings. My question is.... can these termites stuff up the structure of this house?. Its got a tiled roof (old style ceramic tiles) and presumably these are supported by either wooden or concrete beams. I suppose I have to get inside the ceiling. Any opinions are appreciated

Will not damage the house structure . They will eat the door frames , skirting boards etc 

[jojothai]

Just now, itsari said:

Will not damage the house structure . They will eat the door frames , skirting boards etc 

Agree its vey unlikely they will damage any of the structure concrete and steel, or proper hardwood.
However don't just look for evidence in wood. That's what I used to think until I saw what they can do to grout joints in tiles and some items that had a grouted or cement surround.

[bbabythai]

13 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Agree its vey unlikely they will damage any of the structure concrete and steel, or proper hardwood.
However don't just look for evidence in wood. That's what I used to think until I saw what they can do to grout joints in tiles and some items that had a grouted or cement surround.

THanks for all the comments. I also took photos of these cracks which go around the house on the outside on the same side where that termite nest is. I dont know if its them causing this. But theres also cracks high up in one of the photos. What do you think?

 

[KarenBravo]

Termites don't cause cracks, they just exploit them to go where the crack leads to.

[jojothai]

2 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

Termites don't cause cracks, they just exploit them to go where the crack leads to.

Yes, they also chew into into them which will open them up a bit more
That's not so good in reinforced concrete where there may be more chance of it leading to corrosion if the reinforcing is near the surface.
I cannot see much evidence of corrosion on the pictures, except in the corner on photo 3. The dark patch.

[itsari]

36 minutes ago, jojothai said:

Agree its vey unlikely they will damage any of the structure concrete and steel, or proper hardwood.
However don't just look for evidence in wood. That's what I used to think until I saw what they can do to grout joints in tiles and some items that had a grouted or cement surround. 

I have replaced many door frames at our home . I replace with good quality frames costing three times the price of the cheapest. 

I located the termites nest under  the house and removed it . Decided to keep digging and now I have a basement . 

[n00dle]

It most certainly is 

[itsari]

18 minutes ago, itsari said:

I have replaced many door frames at our home . I replace with good quality frames costing three times the price of the cheapest. 

I located the termites nest under  the house and removed it . Decided to keep digging and now I have a basement . 

 

[jojothai]

12 minutes ago, bbabythai said:

THanks for all the comments. I also took photos of these cracks which go around the house on the outside on the same side where that termite nest is. I dont know if its them causing this. But theres also cracks high up in one of the photos. What do you think?

The photos do not look like anything to do with termites.
I think the photos are all for concrete. But the last two may have a rendered surface
Photo 1 looks like it may have originally been a defective joint that was likely cleaned out and repaired.
Assuming it is concrete then likely it was a horizontal joint. Cracks do not usually form so clearly in a line.
You can see the repair by the difference in the surface. The repair mortar area has cracked and needs making good.
It does not look very good but could be superficial. Clean out a bit and it should be possible to judge.
Photo 2 and 3 a bit unusual. Look like shrinkage cracks, but nearly along lines. Do not look like formed joints. More likely joints in the layering of the concrete. Poor compaction. Cracks form along the weak areas at the surface.
The dark area looks like it could be a small area of corrosion that needs repairing.
Photo 4 look like simple very small shrinkage cracks due to poor curing and protection.
Photo 5 definitely looks like its where there is a horizontal joint. The cracks formed in the surface look likely to be large enough for capillary action from water on the surface to cause corrosion. They should be cleaned out and made good.  Possibly a small horizontal notched cut out could be made to clear the bad area and make good.

[blackcab]

A troll post and replies to it have been removed.

[driver52]

5 hours ago, bbabythai said:

What do you think?

those cracks look like water penetration to me. I've seen similar on render where water has been running down damaged chimneys/roofs and balconies

And yeah it looks like someone has done a bit of repair work or 'bodging' with some sort of mastic or liquid sealant type stuff

Also your first pic, blue pipe on right, some other bodger has just bent the end rather than glue a proper stop on

How much is it up for? Post a pic of the whole house for interest

 

[couchpotato]

Lots of advice here, but you have a huge amount of work to do on the house, with the cracking and termite damage (mostly unseen). And from your initial questions you don't know much about construction or house builds, so unless you get the house for a fantastically cheap price, then my suggestion is don't buy, because these type of problems can cause tears.????

[KarenBravo]

10 hours ago, jojothai said:

Yes, they also chew into into them which will open them up a bit more
That's not so good in reinforced concrete where there may be more chance of it leading to corrosion if the reinforcing is near the surface.
I cannot see much evidence of corrosion on the pictures, except in the corner on photo 3. The dark patch.

Termites don't eat, or chew concrete. Their jaws are just not strong enough (like yours).

 

https://www.greenleafpestcontrol.com/2015/12/can-termites-eat-their-way-through-your-concrete-foundation/

 

https://connect2local.com/l/170975/c/337757/can-termites-eat-through-concrete--an-exterminator-answers

[ourdon]

5 hours ago, couchpotato said:

Lots of advice here, but you have a huge amount of work to do on the house, with the cracking and termite damage (mostly unseen). And from your initial questions you don't know much about construction or house builds, so unless you get the house for a fantastically cheap price, then my suggestion is don't buy, because these type of problems can cause tears.????

Agree with couchpotato.  Find a house that doesn't have these problems.

[fredscats]

15 minutes ago, ourdon said:

Agree with couchpotato.  Find a house that doesn't have these problems.

In fact dont find one,not at this time,it will be far cheaper next year

 

Those horizonal cracks how are you going to infill?  no good raking out,you will be raking out until the wall falls down,it needs taking down and rebuilding,in fact it all looks bad

[Saanim]

15 hours ago, bbabythai said:

Also, I obviously know that termites decimate wood in a house.

Do not let get yourself scared too much. The concrete house will not collapse by termites. If you like the house, location and the price is OK, all others can be managed. The cracks are nothing serious.    

[JeffersLos]

If you're planning on moving into the termite mount, it looks okay. 

[1FinickyOne]

And the positives to buying a termite infested house w/cracks in the cement are ???? 

 

Or is this the last house left in a 20 mile radius? 

[jojothai]

3 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Termites don't eat, or chew concrete. Their jaws are just not strong enough (like yours).

 

Water penetrates concrete without having Jaws.

It does so through cracks and joints and can degrade the concrete in these places.

Yes, termites do not eat cement based materials, but they chew.

As stated in the articles Solid Concrete no, but also note.
"Poured concrete foundations are most resistant to termite attacks, but only if walls have no visible cracks"

Cracks get degraded and porous areas at cracks / joints are not solid.
I showed a picture of a termite that had chewed through grout. How do you explain that?
They had chewed through most all the grout between tiles in the shower floor. The grout cement particles were all heaped around the joints.
That was not the worst. They had chewed out the cement fill around pipes in the walls.

Grout is made of cement and that is what is used in concrete as the binder.
The grout was solid, but because in a area that gets wet it can make it more porous and easier to chew.
At concrete cracks or joints, you can expect loose and degraded areas. Water adds to the problem.

Termites will penetrate cracks or joints as best they can,

From what I have seen they can chew through degraded cement or porous areas just like the grout on the picture.