A couple of years ago I bought about 100 year old house in upstate NY. The house had been lived in but not updated for about 50 years. I bought it as an estate, "as is". I have recently discovered "bugs" in the walls. There is also termite and carpenter ant damage to floors on the first floor of a two story house. I have gutted the upstairs, but hesitate to invest on rehab when I'm not sure of the condition of the first floor. Money is scarce. Terminex says I have termites, Cornell Coop Extension says they're not. Any ideas on what to look for, where to investigate, who to contact before I invest more money in this house? I've already put on vinyl siding and all new windows!

well, you have difficult choice ahead of you. you have to determins what the house means to you, is it something that tugs at you emotionally? once you start down the renovation path its hard to turn back. remember, you will probably want to sell the house at some point so don't invest so much money that you will have to take a loss to resell it.

if you decide to continue, the first step would be to determine what kind of bugs you have. try a couple of different exterminators and get several opinions. if they are termites, you can have the ground treated and have the house tented and gassed. you will have a hard time telling how much damage there is until you uncover the walls. I would ask around and find a good contractor to come take a look under the house for damage to structural members, this is a two story so it will make replacing certain members problematic if damaged.

if you think it's too much to undertake and you don't have a ton of money invested already, you may be better off dollar wise to tear it down and rebuild a new home on the property. again, bearing in mind that resale is always an option.

good luck with this project.

Ummm Terminix has a vested interest in your having termites...Cornell Extension does not. Does that give any idea who to believe?

A decision cannot be made until the extent of damage, if any, is assessed, but my guess is that the cost of investigation and repair, considering what you have already done to the house, will be less than demolition and building a new house.

I'm tackling a 100 year old farm house in Indiana as we speak. Nine times out of ten you will have more termite damage on the first floor than the second, so if there is a lot on your second floor, I'd really hate to see what's on the first floor. Like others said, if the main structure is sound & you do the work yourself, rehab would be cheaper, but twice as much work. You have to tear out before you even begin to rebuild.

Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated! I'm wondering if it's feasible to do tear down the walls and make repairs room by room. How fast do termites consume a house? My kitchen doesn't even have a crawl space under it and there's no access under the kitchen so I have no idea what is under there. When I started tearing up the floor I got to a layer of Luann and stopped there since it looks good.
I've never heard of "tenting?" Is that something that is done in the northeast??? What about the products sold on epest with the spray on foam? Any experience with them?
Again, thanks for the feedback. Any information is useful at this point.

tenting is done all over as far as I know, the exterminating company can do it. they wrap the entire house in a tarp and fog the whole structure,that way they get to every nook and cranny.

Termite treatement is not a DIY project.

In our area we only have subterranian termites. They nest in the ground and come up to the surface to eat dead wood or cellulose material. Apply the right chemical in the proper fashion and it will discourage further eating of your house (they'll go to the neighbor's house). Better yet, Termador is a relatively new brand name, the termite workers crawl through the poison and carry it back to the nest, killing the entire nest.

I understand tenting a house is for when the nest of little buggers move up and live in the walls of your house (formosan termites, I think). Since your house is probably only zoned for single-family residence, I recommend hiring professionals to kick the second family out. Only licensed pest control operators have access to these restricted chemicals.

If you have conflicting advice, don't just look at some damaged wood and say yep-termites. Take samples of the insects and have the species identified; remember you may have more than one kind of insect also.

First off get another opinion on the insects. Choose a smaller company other then the one you used. Their prices (larger companies)are way to high. Typical treatments for termites in the north east should be around $800 - $1000 depending on the size of the house. Not how much damage or activity you have. Also remember they all use the same chemicals. So your not getting anything special from one company or another.
Contact a local realestate agency and ask them for qualified people to use. Both for treatment and any special repairs that may be needed.
Remember you may someday sell this home and these very same people will evaluate the repairs and condition. This should help you get it right the first time.
As far as tearing down walls etc. Why? If your planning to sell the home, do not get to involved in it. Unless your experianced in doing so, you will not see any monies back after you figure all the time it is going to take you to redo the rooms.
Get a few real estate agents in from other companies and have them give you their opinion on what should be done to max out the value of the house. Quite often owners new to rehabbing a house get carried away with improvements that they think they would want for themselves if they are going to live in the house. If your intention is to sell. Do not get carried away. Things like kitchen and baths will do little to increase the value of the house, but will help sell the home quicker. Things like new windows, finished wood floors, bright clean paint often work great at making a good sale and do not cost to much to do youself. Things like new wall board will do nothing to the house, unless there are holes and other damages that cannot be fixed easily.

Rehab!! I bought an old house 23 years ago, also upstate NY, Dutchess County. Termites abound here as do carpenter ants and powder post beetles. I have the wide board floors, one room just laid on dirt on sleepers. That's how they did things back then, I guess. I've been here 23 years, fixed some of the worst floorboards with same type antique pine boards but bought these from someone demolishing an old barn. I have had the place sprayed for the powder post beetles but was told that my great great granchildren will be alive before powder post beetles could do enough damage to matter. After 23 years, I believe it! As far as termites, the treatment works and they are long gone. As far as carpenter ants? they are the worst of all. I have had the house exterminated professionally twice now and cannot seem to get rid of them. They were living between the vinyl siding and the original board house. That is why I dislike vinyl siding. It hides things. I had it all torn off and replaced with first quality cedar siding. Tearing off the vinyl is when we found the carpenter ants and there seemed to be millions of them, there and other nests they had moved to as their numbers grew. I am still fighting them but , to me, a house that is 100 years old or older ( mine is way older) is worth renovating. They are made with real wood, when 2" was really 2". I would never trade my house for a new one. Ick.
Carol

On the other hand, every time I hear someone say "they don't build them like they used to" I say "thank goodness". The atrocities I have seen in old houses could fill a couple of volumes.

I personally would think long and hard before I save another rehab. Paint and carpet are one thing but if George Washington didn't sleep there tear it down.
After a successful rehab what is left?
The electric is probably knob and tube, I doubt it has central air. The heating system is likely out dated.
I bought a 1930's house and people really are impressed with the work, well transformation, that was made but deep down I know that yeah the house saved but at what cost. And now I have a family and if I had done the correct thing and tore it down the rooms would be laid out better, the second floor wouldn't be so ****n hot in the summer time and ultimately it would sell for more. And I didn't save any time rehabs take a lot, a lot, of time. Termites too?
Dirt floor! Humidity! Please!
Stop. Think. Think for a while. How much time and money will you invest? At what point will you be satisfied? What will you get out of it? Each way. A nice new comfortable house or a house that will give you surprise after surprise after surprise.
Rehabs snowball!
Perhaps getting an opinion from a certified home inspecter would be beneficial. Walk around the house for three hours pick their brain leave no stone unturned to let you know what you're in for if you decide to go ahead. It could be the best $300.00 bucks you ever spent.
By all means, let us know what you decide to do.

Termites have 2 segments to them a head and a body. Ants have 3. Goto this link to see good examples: http://www.pestproducts.com/termites.htm

Just because you have termite damage doesn't mean you have an active infestation. Carpenter ants are a beast to get rid of and they can come back.
Good Luck.
Previous Orkin Pest Inspector

As many have said, you need to decide what's in your best interests. If you decide to re-hab, and after knowing that the structure is sound (not eat up by termites), then I suggest you tear off the wallboard inside and start there. This gives you several areas to improve. First, replace the wiring, and add many more outlets. second, replace any plumbing you find, if not all the plumbing. and Finally, and most importantly, spray Cullulose insulation in the cavities. The borate which fireproofs Cellulose will for ever more prevent any bugs and mold from infesting those walls. Do certain interior walls also, as it's a good soundproofer.

First of all, thank you so much for giving me your comments. Your input is invaluable. To answer some of your questions. This house is a dump. It has no restoration value (ie no features worth saving or restoring), no emotional value, and at this point, a resale value of about $20K. Unfortunately I owe $50K on it! I would love to sell this house, but no one wants it in the condition it is in. A realtor "friend" showed it to me. It was owned by his contractor friend, and they did a number on me. So much for trust. There are active termites in the walls, even as I write this. I live here. Sometimes it's difficult to sleep. My dreams turn to termites. I have had half a dozen realtors look at it. They tell me to fix it up and they'll list it. Two have tried listing it in the last two years, to no avail. Money is definitely a problem for me. I am hesitant to get into rehab because of the "snowballing" effect, of not knowing just what is underneath, and every time I uncover something, I find something else that is even worse. I am at the point where I am ready to start tearing down interior walls just to see what is there, but that means I will lose my insulation (I live in upstate NY where it gets quite cold), and don't have the resources to deal with that immediately, so I'm kind of on hold. The house is zoned single family residence on a residential street. I do have a creek which runs through town and through my backyard, hence, termites. The walls are irrepairable, not even paintable. They crumble and fall down on their own. I made the mistake of trying to peel off some wallpaper, being told that it would soak up paint and fall off anyway if I painted it. The whole wall (about a 6foot linear section) crumbled and fell at my feet. It sounds like tear down is not out of the question, and may be more advantageous for resale in the long run. If you have experiences with that, I would love to hear it. We have a lot of Mennonite neighbors whom I have been told will salvage windows, siding, etc for a tear down. What are things I need to consider to do a teardown? The foundation is old fieldstone, so basically, that would have to be redone. Stick build, prefab? What way should I go? What are the advantages and disadvantages? Who do I need to talk to? What questions should I be asking? I still would need to do something for termite prevention in a new structure. What would work?
Again, thank you so much for the input. You have been very helpful and I really appreciate it. Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Oh yeah! And finding an exterminator has been nigh to impossible around here! Any hints on that? I'm in the Finger Lakes region of NY!

If your friend is a licensed real estate agent, I'd consider a lawsuit. Even "as is," what he did violated the ethical values to which real estate agents are supposed to adhere. Did you get title insurance? Do you owe a mortgage? If so, contact both. Having renovated an old house, I think you're better off financially to salvage the windows and siding, and then burn the house; contact your local fire department. I sunk A LOT of money into my project, and I'll never tackle a rehab project again.

Got one other Idea for you to try. Put an ad in the local paper looking for investor to rehab and sell the home, split the diffrence with them. If the area is anything like most of the country, a investor will be willing to work with you using their money. If the area warrants a new home and a profit can be made even if you pay off your debt your better dumping it and moving on then sitting on it while it falls down around you. Good luck

I have spoken to several lawyers. They agree that I was taken but for the value of the property, it's not worth their time and effort. I have contacted the Better Business Bureau. They have registered my complaint, but will not do anything more until they have received three complaints against the agent. The bank holding the mortgage simply doesn't want to get stuck with it and will come after me if I foreclose. The whole situation is pretty amazing. I have considered the fire department too. There is still a mortgage against the house. Funny how it's a disaster for me, but if the house burned down, insurance would take care of it. There's something wrong with this picture. Anyway, be that as it may, it's onward and upward, still looking for more information on which to base a decision to tear down or rehab. If anyone is friends with Ty Pennington, send him my way!