Upgrades

Hume & Company offers upgraded services to enhance your property’s defenses against the on-going battle against termites.

The attic area of a structure is extremely vulnerable to termites.  One significant feature of the attic are the vents that allow the attic space to “breathe”.  The building code requires these vents to have a screen that keeps birds and other creatures out of the attic.  However, the size of the screen holes still allows termites, bees, hornets, etc., to enter the attic space.  A common-sense solution to help keep the termites from freely entering the attic space is to install a fine-mesh screen over the roof and gable-end vents from inside the attic.  Hume & Company offers to re-screen these vents as part of our Upgrade service.  Ask your sales inspector about this option during your inspection.

The other significant challenge with the attic is the wood is completely raw and exposed to termites – The wood doesn’t have any coating, primer or paint to protect it from termites.  Applying a protective treatment using sodium borate will give this vulnerable area of the attic extra protection.  When termites find a way into the attic and land on sodium borate treated wood, they will die before they have a chance to dig into the wood and create a nest.  Hume & Company offers this Attic Borate Treatment as part of our Upgrade service.  Ask your sales inspector about this option during your inspection.

Exterior wood structures such as Patios, Arbors, Decks, and Decorative Elements on our homes, are very susceptible to wood rot since they are exposed to the elements (sun, rain, heat and cold).  Although these items may be painted or stained, the environment will eventually break down the protective coating and wood rot can develop.  Repairs can be expensive, especially for the larger structural members, including Beams, Joists, Posts, and Corbels.  Hume & Company offers the installation of Borate Rods into the wood members which will arrest the growth of fungus in these wood members and halt the rotting process.  Borate Rods are molded from water-diffusible borates and are highly concentrated for maximum efficiency.  When inserted into decaying wood or wood in high risk areas, borate rods diffuse very slowly and provide a controlled and long lasting release of borate preservative…helping to protect against rot and insects.  Ask your sales inspector about this option during your inspection.