I am building a hard maple table for a person and was asked a question I had never been asked before. She says that her loft apparently has termite issues and wanted to know if there is anything I can treat the wood with before I finish it since she doesnt want the termites to attack the furniture. I am planning to use waterlox as a finish on this piece but am open to other suggestions. My first response was for her to move if there are termite issues or get her landlord to fumigate the place.
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Replies
What kind of flooring will the table sit on? Termites aren't going to go thru non-wood flooring to get to the table. Even if it's hardwood, there shouldn't be a problem unless the flooring is crumbling - and if that's happening, she should be living somewhere else. - lol
If she knows that termites are present, she should be fussing at the landlord. If she's just a little paranoid, some of those metal or plastic pads on the leg bottoms would probably make her happy.
By the time termites are attacking the furniture, the place will be falling down around her ears. The termite extermination should be a priority, both for her, and for her landlord who has the obligation to fix the problem. Living in fear of termites is not "quiet enjoyment" of the property.
I 100% agree. I sent an email to her telling her the same thing when she sent me the termite question.
My salesperson instincts tell me this gal might be hard to reason with, but here goes. Termites come in two varieties, as far as I know (some from experience): The kind that must go from the dirt to the wood (need wood-to-ground contact for them to infest) and what are called "dry-wood termites" -- the kind that don't need the ground contact. The dry-wood variety are the ones that require a big tent over the house for fumigation (been there, done that, declined the T-shirt).
So, unless she puts the table on the ground, or her floor has termites coming up through it, she has no worries about normal termites. As far as the dry-wood variety goes, I suspect (1) they'd prefer a house to a table and (2) they need some kind of vulnerability in the wood to get started. Your finish should easily protect the table. If termites infest it, she could probably sell her story to the media for a healthy sum!
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Edited 5/25/2007 1:03 pm by forestgirl
Thanks for the helpful info.
Good luck with this. The client sounds like someone I would not be happy doing business with. I suspect termites will be the least of your worries before this job is over.
She is really just the recipient of the table. My client is a gentleman that we have had a relationship with for a long while. Why he is buying her the table i can only guess. He understands and is ok with me building the table my way and not warranting for any termite damage.
lime,
Shellac, thinned with Lindane?
Ray
If you've ever repaired termite damage (sucks, big time) then you'll know that termites will go through material that isn't edible to get to material that is. It's not like there's a little termite dude with a pair of binoculars that sees the maple and calls his buddies, but still, I've seen a lot. And they'll eat anything that has any cellulose at all.
There is no finish that will prevent them from eating the wood, 'cause eventually wood movement will create a separation somewhere that will let them in (realistically, any relatively thick film finish, say 2 or 3 mils, should hold them off, except for shellac, which is edible by just about everything). Borates, copper quaternate or petroleum based penetrating treatments (think treated lumber) will prevent them from eating the wood, but these are not something that's gonna look very good.
The big problem is that furniture tends to set still for long periods of time, allowing potential infestation. It's not likely, but last week I saw a knock-down mdf bookcase that had been parked next to an infested wall for only a year. The bookcase had significant damage...and particle board mdf supposedly not edible for subterranean termites, AND the termites went through the melamine surface to get to it. I've also seen OSB sheathing with only the glue left...all the wood chips were consumed, leaving just the termite "mud" and the remaining glue.
I'd also agree with several other of the posts on this subject...perhaps the lady should get rid of the termites prior to the table taking up residence. It would be nice the there to a floor for the table to sit on.
FYI, my real job is inspecting homes professionally.
"...all the wood chips were consumed, leaving just the termite "mud" and the remaining glue." I lived in a rented house like that once. ROFL. Had a gorgeous view of Puget Sound and Seattle, though. Wow, they ate through Melamine? Determined little critters. I stand corrected!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Be happy you don't live in Alabama, the little buggers tunnelled up through the mortar joints in the fireplace and went between the subfloor & flooring in one bedroom. That got rather expensive :-(
We sure miss Port Angeles.
Ahhh, jeeeezzzz, that oughta be against the rules! I lived in Floriday for a few years when I was little. The insect I remember the most is those incredibly huge cockroaches! Palmetto bugs, I think they were called. Gave me nightmares!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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