Case Study: Termite Resistant Pine Framing Includes a 25-Year Warranty

Australian builders are more concerned than ever about termite attack and the susceptibility of their buildings to damage in the future. An increase in consumer awareness highlights the need for termite management systems to be considered at the design, specification and building stages.

Using the right products from the start of construction helps provide peace of mind for builders and homeowners alike. As Mark Ware, Managing Director of Ware Building in Tuncurry explains, "I want products manufactured to the relevant standards and I want a warranty from the manufacturer backing up their products. I like to be able to sleep at night!"

Ware Buildings' latest project is a 740 square metre addition to Taree Christian School on the mid-north coast.

Initially the architect for the project, Rod Crossweller of Stanton Dahl Architects, specified a steel frame for the building. "I chose steel primarily because it is resistant to termites," says Rod.

However, Mark's team wanted to keep costs down and continue to work with a material that carpenters and other trades are familiar with – pine framing. This would also amount to labour savings. For these reasons, Ware Building used Termi-nator Termite Resistant Pine Framing prefabricated frames and trusses.

"The building code requires that structural components of a building be protected from termites," continues Rod from his Sydney office. "However, the builder wanted to use timber on this job so we went with a termite resistant product."

Mark Ware has been in the building game for 33 years and now uses Termi-nator termite resistant pine framing for all his jobs including residential and commercial building projects. The most important reason for making this decision was the manufacturer's warranty.

"If anything goes wrong in a building, the customer comes back to me," says Mark. "If the window leaks, they call me. If the floorboards creak, they call me. Termi-nator gives my customers a 25-year transferable warranty so I know I'll never get a call about termite damage to the frame of anything I build," says Mark

"We give our clients the written warranty and all the other product warranties, in their handover pack at completion of the building. It's part of the service we offer and the reason why our customers keep coming back. The Termi-nator warranty means that I can continue to spend time building and not worry about spending time in court."

Mark believes that total termite protection of the structural frame is the best way to build. Over the years he has seen termite barriers being breached, homeowners building garden beds against outside walls and owners failing to get regular termite inspections. Maintenance staff on commercial properties may sometimes overlook regular termite inspections. Using Termi-nator ensures that both the customer and the builder can have peace of mind regarding termite attack and damage to the structure.

Mark also approves of the environmental credentials of plantation timber framing as opposed to steel framing. "We try to make environmentally responsible choices where ever we can," says Mark.

McNamara Frame and Trusses in Forster supply Ware Building with all their prefabricated frames and trusses. McNamara's is one of Australia's leading prefabricator of Frames and Trusses, having been awarded Best Frame & Truss Country Region and Best Frame and Truss Centre State Wide (NSW) by the Timber and Building Materials Association (NSW).

Denyse McNamara says that many of her customers are specifying their frames and trusses in Termi-nator because of all the added benefits without any change to the way builders work. "I can see Termi-nator becoming a significant proportion of business in the future," says Denyse.

Safety is very important to Ware Building. Termi-nator enabled them to save on site costs without compromising occupational health and safety standards.

Adam Clarke, Project Manager for the Taree Christian School site noted, "The narrower joist centres on the timber framing compared to steel, meant that we didn't have to use fall protection". This saved Ware Building time and money related to installing safety meshing.

The benefits of Termi-nator Termite Resistant Pine Framing include

• Termi-nator comes with a fully transferable 25-year warranty
• Termi-nator provides excellent value for money termite protection for the structure of the home
• Termi-nator is easily identifiable by the blue dye and stick labelling
• The Termi-nator warranty comes with a label to put in the home's fuse box for future reference