Inspecting for hidden Dryrot/Termite damage inside walls?

Specific Inspection Topics Structural Inspections
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What is the current regime for inspecting for this type of damage?

I’ve done and seen a few cases were major damage, 25% or more of the entire exterior, had to be repaired during a Real Estate sale. IIRC this was all done in conjunction with a “Structural Pest Control” aka “Termite Company” and their inspectors. Their reports always include lots of “inaccessible, further inspection recommended”, etc. Sometime “further” meant knocking a bunch of holes in a pattern in the exterior stucco (how that is ever patched with underlying tar-paper correctly flashed I never figured out).

Do “Home Inspectors” do the hidden dryrot/termite or do they defer to Termite Companies for that?

I’ve gotta think these days if an inspection in hidden areas is required they use a snake-scope from the inside with only a 1/4" or smaller hole (and patch with Crest, lol). Are Sellers and their agents allowing any of this type of “destructive inspection” and if so how much extra does it cost?

This sort of hidden damage is one of my biggest fears in buying a new house.

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I own a termite control company for over 30 years.
It’s a state statue required form down here, no different from a home inspection.
Visual only, no destructive testing performed.

There are common disclaimers like:
areas not inspected & reason:

  1. closets-cabinets-garage 2) limited partial interior 3) limited partial attic
  2. packed-storage 2) furniture on perimeters 3) insulation, ductwork, low construction design

If there are some damaged areas that are questionable,
note possible hidden damage may exist

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A home inspection is a noninvasive visual evaluation without the use of special tools and it is not technically exhaustive.

If you need more in order to mange your risk, speak with your home inspector first and understand his limitations. Then ask for advice on how to proceed to minimize your risk. This may include hiring additional specialists.

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Here’s a state mandated WDO report on a vacant home.

2-10-26 WDO_pg1
2-10-26 WDO_pg11275×1650 312 KB

2-10-26 WDO_pg2
2-10-26 WDO_pg21275×1650 294 KB

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I guess I’d be a “qualified expert in the building trade”, which according the State mandate ranks me above any Cert/Lic Home or Termite Inspectors.

I guess now my question is “what is the SOP polite way to ask permission to put some holes in walls to inspect for dryrot/termite damage?”

Hidden dryrot is about the only thing I’m seeing that a normal person (maybe with a couple rented toys like IR camera) couldn’t inspect themselves with a little coaching from some phone app.

Maybe I’ll just have to shy away from any house that looks a little mossy. Is the “tap test” where you tap on walls looking for “dead thud” spots allowed under “visual”?

They got these Sensor Sticks to detect chemicals of dry-rot and they are advertised as “non-destructive” but still requires a SMALL hole. www.dryrot.biz

I wouldn’t have much faith in moisture detectors because all the dry rot I’ve encountered has been bone dry.

I was hoping that, in this day and age, there might be a gizmo that fits over electrical outlets and sucks air and checks for the chemicals produced by dryrot.

6

Good luck, Fella.

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Now that I remember I’m pretty sure the “additional inspection” of knocking a pattern of holes in stucco was done by a Contractor’s guy (some random guy with a hammer, ladder and seemingly bottomless pack of cigs) without any “Inspector” oversight. If its important, call a pro.

IMO calling it a “Home Inspection” that is strictly visual is pretty much like a car inspection that is also strictly visual AKA no test drive. Sure a cagey experienced mechanic might be able to see evidence of likely problems beyond obvious stuff like active or past leaks, but by no means would I call it a “real inspection”.

Reminds me of when I had Kaiser Health Insurance, after having PPOs. Hadn’t seen any docs for a few years so I’m 110% sure they are gonna do Blood Work, etc. Nope, “not needed”. Go to get new glasses and unlike the place at the Mall with my PPO, they only do the minimum to get your prescription and skip all that other Eye Exam stuff.

If I was in charge of promoting “Cert Home Inspections” I’d work on including stuff like “non-destructive” testing for dryrot chemicals as well as “non-destructive” taking of samples to test for asbestos, lead, etc. “Non-destructive” would be defined as “1/2 inch or less square or round surface area in as least noticeable area as practical”. Most houses I’ve seen online and in person are due for an interior re-paint, or have just had a cheap paint job done, so either way 1/2" areas aren’t a real problem. We ain’t talking about imported marble at the Hearst Castle.

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That’s right, anyone can do it. There really is no reason why many inspectors here have spent decades honing their skills and continued education.

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An extremely poor analogy

KOO KOO for Cocoa Puffs - stay away from inspections

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Here’s a thought. Start your own home inspector organization. It can’t be that difficult for such an intelligent person like yourself.

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Did someone just get a new horoscope.:rofl::rofl:. I doa lot movie homes and of course termite damage is noted and qualifieied termite report does same. I visit my clients occasionally to see how they are doing and when termite droppings re found the seller gets company to tent or whatever, but when client removes a wall to create open room 90% of time interior framing after drywall removed is so eaten out by termites it is amazing to see. I always wonder why termite companies don’t do invasive investigations when testing house ? Well that’s the way the ol termite tumbles I guess? You see it, report it, let termite company do their thing.

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Mobile homes not movie homes

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The laws, requirements, licensing procedures, and SOPs for wood destroying oirganism inspections vary widely from state to state.

How anyone does it in any one state has zero bearing on how it works in another state.

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You realize most home inspectors were or are contractors. It’s not like we don’t want to do a more destructive inspection, we just can’t do it, as our client is usually not the homeowner, also homeowners do not want us to find anything, so granting us permission to drill 1000 1/2" holes into every stud bay looking for dry rot would never happen.

Just stay in your lane and we will do the same.

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We inspected a home that had zero indication of WDO. Later on we remodeled that home for our client and once the drywall was removed there was termite trails and frass everywhere. We had to replace a couple of structural members.

But you can only do what you can do. As stated before we are limited to “non-invasive” methods. That is non-invasive in the traditional sense where you look and feel and perhaps use a few meters and ir devices. Drilling a bunch of holes in anything especially the exterior components is a complete non-starter.

As a homeowner if you drill a bunch of holes in my stucco you’re going to be paying to have the house re-finished. Drill a bunch of holes in the interior and you’ll be paying to have drywallers and painters come in and correct your “mistake.”

Just saying.

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First you’ll never get the seller to agree to poke holes into their walls. Second if it’s an exterior insulated wall all you will see is insulation. Third better check with your E&O provider to get their opinion, I can’t imagine them covering hidden damage.

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“all you will see is insulation.” Idea would be to bore a 1/4" hole about 1" above and to the side of where the bottom of a stud would sit on the mud-sill and insert a probe to check for the crisp crunchy sound and feel of dry, sound wood on the bottom of stud and a few places on the mud-sill. Maybe try to collect sample with a small diameter hollow tube such as broken car antennae. Let termite/dryrot sniffing dog take a whiff.

Pro-Tip: check Google Maps Street View for what at least the front of the house looked like prior to it getting prepped for Listing, to see if it was overgrown in years prior to Listing.

I’m guessing the houses that I’ve seen with pattern of inspection holes knocked in stucco were already known to have major problems and it was trying to determine “how much” not “if”.

Most of the houses I’d want to bore a small hole into drywall would tend to be in the “needs new paint, like ten years ago” category and (few more) random holes in the drywall to match the eclectic collection of random holes from hanging pics and posters, etc, over the years shouldn’t be an issue for a reasonable Seller, if they were on site. Problem is I’d likely be touring with just an RE Agent who wouldn’t be authorized to OK anything.

This seems geared to drilling into exposed wood such as in crawl-space, and its for “monitoring” not an instant or even “next week” test, so basically unless for Home Inspection. Dry Rot Sensors to detect Dry Rot in Wood and Masonry

Anyone work with termite or dryrot sniffing dogs? Training sounds pretty easy.

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You should create a professional standards of practice for invasive and destructive WDI/WDO inspections. Because from a professional inspectors perspective, everything you just stated is erroneous.

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I just had two jobs last week with clients who were “blown away” that termite inspections 1) cost extra; and 2) don’t look for damage inside walls. I don’t know much about other areas of the country, but where I am, the only professionals who look for hidden termite damage within the walls are general contractors post-purchase when going in to do the remodeling unless the hidden damage has produced prophetic signs on visible surfaces.

These expectations display a lack of understanding of transactional real estate, professional services, insurance, and risk.

If you see a niche here and want to start some sort of inspection service like this, go for it. You probably won’t get much business on the point-of-sale side of things, but maybe I’m wrong - I don’t know the real estate rules in your area. Investment properties could be a good market. But there’s absolutely no reason to expect any home or pest inspectors to exceed the standards in this capacity.

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I agree, from a purely practical and “common sense” perspective there is nothing much wrong with basically a few more little holes in most houses, particularly the ones most in need of termite/dryrot real inspection. I sorta covered in here, but IMO 1/4" is plenty.

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If I was in charge of promoting “Cert Home Inspections” I’d work on including stuff like “non-destructive” testing for dryrot chemicals as well as “non-destructive” taking of samples to test for asbestos, lead, etc. “Non-destructive” would be defined as “1/2 inch or less square or round surface area in as least noticeable area as practical”. Most houses I’ve seen online and in person are due for an interior re-paint, or have just had a cheap paint job done, so either way 1/2" areas aren’t a real problem. We ain’t talking about imported marble at the Hearst Castle.

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Maybe a set Compensation For Damages of $20/per hole if back-filled with Crest Toothpaste. If Seller is smart and wants the holes left unfilled so a subsequent hopeful Buyer can also verify, then no Compensation. That would help clue in Sellers that their houses beat up scabby drywall isn’t the Mona Lisa, and pretending it is means the Buyer has to adjust their offer way down. I’d like to see it as a field on Zillow etc listings, but first I need a good euphemism for “destructive”. How about “verifiable inspection for termite/dryrot allowed under protocol X (Yes) (No)”. Then again, Zillow doesn’t even have a field for normal Inspections being done or not. Founded in 2006, stuck in 1996.

Everyone seems to agree its a big risk and major issue in RE transactions whether a house has termite/dryrot, but also only big and major because of the current RE regime. Before or after no one has a problem boring little holes to check for damage. I’ve seen guys carefully cut back some pretty fancy wallpaper fabric to make a hole and then paste it back.

BTW, one of my pet peeves is the current default method to patch/paint even minor drywall damage in commercial construction “tenant improvement”. Its four or more visits to the same spot over as many days and each one creates a big mess, typically requires Superintendent to let them in, min billable hours, travel time, etc. If someone could invent a good color matched Spackle-Paint combo, maybe color matched via just cell phone photos and shipped next day Amazon, so that a semi-skilled guy could patch most holes in one visit, mostly without even any sanding, and walk away with confidence, it would be worth $1000 and sell for easy $200 for 8oz can.