Ashes to Ashes

The past couple of days were spent at my father's house, starting the reconstruction process.....actually more like deconstruction.

The contractor spent all day Monday opening up the walls in the house, removing the drywall and insulation, exposing the wood framing and studs.

It wasn't good.  Around every window the studs had been reduced to ash and disintegrated at the mere touch of a finger.  How the windows managed to even stay in the walls, I'm not really sure. Some of the studs in the wall, further away from the windows, were still pristine, so not everything is a loss.

The next step involves hiring an engineer to determine what needs to be done to ensure the structural integrity of the house.  The report he writes will determine what we wind up doing with the house.  If it will be too costly to repair, we may have to sell it "as is" to an investor at a shockingly low price.

I should have taken pictures to scare all you homeowners out there.

Take my advice...don't mess around with termites.  If you think you have them, deal with it immediately.