Termite Damaged Trusses / Wood Hardener

[thirdrock]

I have a 1600sf detached block garage on my property, which i purchased not long ago. I had a new shingle roof put on it right off the bat. They had to replace most of the decking. They said many were termite damaged but so no actual live termites. The trusses are exposed on the inside (no ceiling / attic). This is in Florida. There are no active termites anywhere that i've seen or seen evidence of (wings frass etc). The building is 50+ years old so likely damaged at points in the past.

The trusses all appear, to the eye, fine. However once i started inspecting / touching them, many are somewhat brittle to the touch. Not that they'll disintegrate in your hand, but noticeably soft.

So, i've coated all the trusses and decking (from the inside) with boracare (to prevent future termites) which i've used at other points in time in other locations with good success. I'm going to be converting this detached block garage essentially into a guest house.

My question is in regards to wood hardeners. I've read that penetrating epoxy hardeners & similar products can solidify the existing wood. I've seen some things such as Abatron Liquidwood, Minwax Wood Hardener and some others. It seems I'd need many thousands of dollars worth of these products to coat the trusses. Any other alternatives here? I've seen an outfit or two selling generic penetrating epoxy (not for any specific purpose). Is sistering into such wood as it is viable? Thanks!

 

[MarkB_MI]

I don't think any of those products will restore strength to the damaged trusses. I'd sister the damaged boards with treated lumber. If the original lumber is too weak to take a screw, I'd sandwich it between the treated boards.

 

[john in la]

Did no one think to check the trusses when it was noticed that the decking was damaged by termites????
Since most roofs are built stretching the limits of the wood strength replacing the trusses is your best option.
As a temporary fix sistering new wood next to the truss should work but with no way to nail the new decking to the new wood you might just be kicking the can down the road till the next hurricane takes the whole deck off depending on the condition of the existing trusses and the nail grip into them.

 

[thirdrock]

For what it's worth the building just went through the eye of a cat 3 with no ill effects...

 

[DoubleO7]

Not that they'll disintegrate in your hand, but noticeably soft.

I would use an old ice pick and re-inspect.

"They said termite damage" The roofers? You think they were smart enough to tel the difference between termite damage and rot due to a leaking roof? Did they give you a business card of a pest control company to call at the same time?

 

[MarkB_MI]

I would use an old ice pick and re-inspect.

"They said termite damage" The roofers? You think they were smart enough to tel the difference between termite damage and rot due to a leaking roof? Did they give you a business card of a pest control company to call at the same time?

"They said termite damage" The roofers? You think they were smart enough to tel the difference between termite damage and rot due to a leaking roof?

+1
If it had termites in the roof, they must have run out of plates and studs to eat.

 

[DoubleO7]

+1
If it had termites in the roof, they must have run out of plates and studs to eat.

"Mainstream" termites prefer wet to damp wood, like under a leaking roof.

But Florida is also blessed with dry wood termites.

Termite Types - Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center - University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences - UF/IFAS

flrec.ifas.ufl.edu

 

[Janicholson]

Building new "trusses" next to each existing truss is probable labor intense but much less expense than replacing the trusses (which is a new roof). using glued and nailed plywood splices for joints can make that happen. Jim

 

[thirdrock]

thanks, appreciate the input guys

 

[plattman]

I have a 1600sf detached block garage on my property, which i purchased not long ago. I had a new shingle roof put on it right off the bat. They had to replace most of the decking. They said many were termite damaged but so no actual live termites. The trusses are exposed on the inside (no ceiling / attic). This is in Florida. There are no active termites anywhere that i've seen or seen evidence of (wings frass etc). The building is 50+ years old so likely damaged at points in the past.

The trusses all appear, to the eye, fine. However once i started inspecting / touching them, many are somewhat brittle to the touch. Not that they'll disintegrate in your hand, but noticeably soft.

So, i've coated all the trusses and decking (from the inside) with boracare (to prevent future termites) which i've used at other points in time in other locations with good success. I'm going to be converting this detached block garage essentially into a guest house.

My question is in regards to wood hardeners. I've read that penetrating epoxy hardeners & similar products can solidify the existing wood. I've seen some things such as Abatron Liquidwood, Minwax Wood Hardener and some others. It seems I'd need many thousands of dollars worth of these products to coat the trusses. Any other alternatives here? I've seen an outfit or two selling generic penetrating epoxy (not for any specific purpose). Is sistering into such wood as it is viable? Thanks!

I have used the Min Wax hardener a number of times usually around windows to prep wood rot for painting. Is expensive but had good results. I Doubt that it would restore flexural strength which is what trusses are all about. If it passed the hurricane and there are no active termites I I wouldn't do anything.

 

[caterpillar guy]

I was going to say if it survived the current hurricane, I would just like it as is. And wait for the next one to peel it off then replace with new top trusses and all.

 

[showcrop]

Your "inspecting touching" needs to be aggressive enough to check the inside of each member. Keep in mind that termites leave the outside pretty much untouched. I would use a hammer to beat along pretty much every frame member in any area with damage to ascertain the true integrity of the structure.

 

[Texasmark]

What kind of wood made the trusses? If #2 Southern Yellow Pine, the sap runs heavy and usually groth rings are close together. Termites eat the cellulose (soft part) of the wood but don't eat the rings that are sap heavy.......at least not in my experience. I had a severe termite problem under my house which I built using SYP in 1979. What I just said is what I found. The wood was still supportive. I still live in the house and the floor is solid.

 

[thirdrock]

What kind of wood made the trusses? If #2 Southern Yellow Pine, the sap runs heavy and usually groth rings are close together. Termites eat the cellulose (soft part) of the wood but don't eat the rings that are sap heavy.......at least not in my experience. I had a severe termite problem under my house which I built using SYP in 1979. What I just said is what I found. The wood was still supportive. I still live in the house and the floor is solid.

Not sure, but the building is from the early 70's. I'll post a pic later on.

 

[DoubleO7]

from the early 70's.

Undoubtedly better that todays 2x4's

 

[thirdrock]

Photo

 

[DoubleO7]

Photo

showcrop's hammer suggestion is a good one.

You can rap the bottom chords to get the sound of what they all should sound like. Assuming of course those have not been touched by termites.

So according to the roofers the upper chords under the new plywood are most worrysome.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

+1
If it had termites in the roof, they must have run out of plates and studs to eat.

I agree with Mark,
You can buy chemicals the pros use to treat for termites. I would treat the blocks.

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[bc]

Likely just the upper chords which look like 2x4s. A hammer will find any bad parts. Then just sister in another piece of 2x4 long enough that both ends are nailed in solid. Check the rafter tails to see if the have any rot from leaks or termite damage. A little trickier to cut the notches and sister them in but doable. I've done it. I didn't really see anything obviously bad in your photo.