What's particular to Paddington
Stumps were a termite measure
Brisbane City Council's traditional housing guide says houses here were raised partly as a measure against termites, as well as for breezes under the floor and for flood protection.
What counts as traditional
The council says traditional houses are generally from 1946 or earlier, mostly timber, on stumps, and often with enclosed areas underneath. Those enclosed areas are worth an inspector's time.
A local example
Drumtochty at 163 Kennedy Terrace is a heritage-listed timber house from about 1887, clad in wide horizontal boards and raised on posts. The listing says residents moved out along the ridges and hill tops from the early 1880s.
Not the Sydney one
Australia Post lists Paddington at 4064 in Queensland and 2021 in New South Wales. If you're in the other one, Sydney's page has the right rules.
Signs to watch for in an old timber house
- Mud shelter tubes under the house, on brick foundations or beside architraves. Don't disturb them.
- Sagging floors, doors or ceilings.
- Damaged skirting boards, door jambs or architraves.
- Dry, sand-like pellets in small piles on timber, which the QBCC lists as a termite sign.
- Cracked or blistered paint or plaster that you can't explain.
Before you renovate
Building in under the house changes what an inspector can see. The QBCC says renovation work can make a termite management system less effective, so have the termite side looked at before the plans are final, and again when the work's done.
For repairs, the QBCC lists treated timber, masonry, steel, concrete and fibre-reinforced cement as termite-resistant materials. Business Queensland adds that the West Indian drywood termite occurs throughout the state, and it has caused real damage to timber homes.
Buying an older Paddington home
A building and pest inspection covers two different things. The QBCC says only a residential building inspector can do the building half, and the termite half takes a pest licence. We pass on that second half only.
The building inspector also points out possible asbestos, which the QBCC says most homes built before 1990 contain.
Fire ants are the one thing to report rather than treat: tell Biosecurity Queensland inside 24 hours, as Queensland law requires.
The order we'd do it in
Termite inspection first, renovation plans second. It's far easier to change a plan than a finished floor. Tell us what you've spotted, or that it's simply been a while.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
