Buying an older Long Beach home: a termite checklist for Craftsman and Spanish houses

Why pre-war Long Beach houses carry more termite history

Most Craftsman bungalows and Spanish homes in Rose Park, Belmont Heights, Wrigley and Bixby Knolls were built between the 1910s and the 1930s. Many have been tented two or three times over the decades, some never. Western drywood termites have had a long time to find their way into rafter tails, window sashes and attic sheathing, and the mild coastal climate lets colonies keep working most of the year.

Raised foundations add a second set of questions. Wood mudsills and floor joists sit a couple of feet above the soil, which is good when the crawlspace stays dry and the vents stay open, and less good when a planter bed has been built up against the vents or a bathroom drain has dripped for years. Subterranean termites and dry rot both show up in these spaces, often near the original water heater location or under a remodeled bathroom.

None of this is a reason to walk away. It is a reason to look carefully and budget realistically.

The attic: what to look for with a flashlight

If the seller allows it and there is a safe hatch, a quick look in the attic tells you a lot. Use a strong flashlight and stay on the joists. You are not trying to diagnose the house, just to know what questions to ask.

• Small piles of hard, six-sided pellets on the ceiling insulation or on top of beams
• Tiny round kick-out holes in the sheathing or rafters, sometimes patched with a dark plug
• Discolored or soft roof sheathing near the eaves, which points to past roof leaks
• Old drill holes in framing, a sign of earlier local treatment
• Fumigation tags or old reports left on a beam by earlier companies

The crawlspace and the garage

In the crawlspace, the inspector looks at the mudsill along the foundation, the floor joists, posts and piers, and the subfloor under kitchens and bathrooms. Mud tubes climbing the foundation or a pier are the classic sign of subterranean termites. Wood debris left on the soil by past remodels, form boards that were never removed and posts set directly into dirt are earth-to-wood contact problems that often land in the report. A musty smell, damp soil or white fungal growth near a plumbing line points toward rot.

Detached garages on older lots are often the worst wood on the property. Many were built with untreated lumber sitting close to grade, have no foundation vents, and have had decades of hoses, wet leaves and stored firewood against the walls. Look at the bottom of the siding, the door jambs and the plate along the floor. Check the rafters for pellets the same way you would in the house attic. If the garage has an alley entrance, look at the back wall too, since that side is often ignored.

Eaves, rafter tails, windows and porches

From outside, stand back and look up. Craftsman homes have exposed rafter tails that run past the wall line, and the ends of those tails take sun, rain and termites. Peeling paint, a tail that looks shorter or rougher than its neighbors, or a fresh patch of filler are worth pointing out. Spanish homes hide more of their wood behind stucco but still have exposed beams over porches, wood window frames and decorative corbels at the eaves.

Original wood windows are a common spot for drywood colonies, especially on the sunny south and west sides. Pellets on the inside sill or caught in the track are the giveaway. Front porch columns, steps and the beam over the porch opening are also high on the list, since they get weather from more than one direction. Wood fences and gates attached to the house matter too, because a rotted fence post touching the siding is a bridge for subterranean termites.

Reading the report: Section 1, Section 2 and further inspection

California termite reports sort findings into categories. Section 1 covers conditions that are active now: live termite infestation, fungus damage or wood that has already been damaged. Section 2 covers conditions that are likely to lead to problems later but are not active yet, such as earth-to-wood contact, a slow plumbing leak or blocked foundation vents. Further inspection items are areas the inspector could not reach, like a finished-over section of crawlspace or a stuccoed soffit.

On an older house, expect findings in more than one section. The questions to ask are practical. Is the drywood activity in one or two places, or spread through the attic and eaves? Is the recommendation tenting or local treatment, and why? How much of the Section 1 cost is wood repair rather than treatment? Which further inspection items could hide something expensive, and can they be opened before you remove contingencies?

Lenders and buyers commonly ask for Section 1 work to be completed before close of escrow, while Section 2 items are often negotiated. A completion notice from the company that did the work is the document that confirms it was finished.

Using escrow timing so termite work does not slip

Termite work has lead times that can collide with a 30-day escrow. Tenting needs a date, a gas shutoff and two to three nights out of the house, and in late summer and fall many homes in the same neighborhood are on the calendar at once. Wood repair on rafter tails or a porch beam can wait on materials and on a painter. If the seller is doing the work, ask for the scheduled dates in writing early, not in the last week.

Get the inspection ordered in the first few days of escrow so there is time to read the report, ask follow-up questions and, if needed, get a second opinion while your inspection contingency is still open. If the seller would rather give a credit than do the work, compare the credit with the full scope, including wood repair and the further inspection items, and remember that you will be arranging the work right after moving in.

If you are trying to decide whether a specific finding is a small fix or a sign of something bigger, call us at (562) 636-0445 at any hour and describe what is on the report. We can usually tell you what questions to put back to the seller.

After you get the keys

Even after Section 1 is cleared, an older house benefits from a little ongoing attention. Fumigation and local treatments kill what is present but leave no lasting barrier. Keep soil and mulch below the foundation vents, fix drips under sinks quickly, repaint exposed rafter tails and trim on a schedule, and keep firewood and lumber off the ground and away from the walls. Borate applied to bare wood during a remodel, such as an attic opened up for new insulation, is a good time to add protection.

A periodic inspection every year or two, timed after the late summer swarm season, catches new drywood activity while it is still small enough for a local fix.

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