Termites are an expensive nuisance. It is estimated that they cause $1.5 billion worth of damage every year to buildings in Australia alone. That is why all homeowners should consider all the available options to prevent termites from getting into their home or garage.
Understanding Termites
Termites eat wood. In general, they are supposed to target wood that is soft and starting to rot. But, the wood in houses is generally easy to get to and they are happy to live on it.
Interestingly, termites don’t live in the wood. They have large colonies that exist near the wood. There is a good reason for this, termites need to stay damp, which is why they live in the soil. They can travel through the soil to your foundations and the wood of your home, eat what they want, and then return to the damp soil to sleep before repeating the exercise.
The best way to keep termites away from your home is to ensure they don’t have a clear path to the wood. A solid concrete foundation can help you to block their path although the concrete should extend at least six inches around your home.
How Epoxy Floor Coatings Can Help
Choosing high-quality epoxy floor coatings means you are adding an extra layer between the termites and the wood! Once the epoxy has set it is very strong and a termite will not be able to chew its way through it.
An epoxy coat is effectively a resin, which is similar to paint, and a chemical hardener. It needs to be applied to a clean surface and you will need to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines to ensure you get the flooring down right. Once it has dried it is resistant to stains, spills, and you can even drop tools on it without damaging it.
That is what makes it aesthetically pleasing and a practical option for the floor and walls in your home. You can get it in a variety of colors to ensure all tastes and styles are catered for.
Cracks In Floors
It should be noted that epoxy is very resilient and therefore a good option to keep many other pests out of your home. However, as mentioned, termites like to stay damp. It is unlikely that they would move through a crack in your concrete foundation unless it was wide enough to stay moist.
As an attractive and practical finish, epoxy floors and walls are an excellent choice. But, as a means to prevent termites from rising through cracks, you are better off using a crack filler and then finishing with the epoxy flooring.
Of course, a slim crack in your floor may not be wide enough to allow a termite through and it won’t be easy to fill with crack filler. In this instance, the epoxy floor is the logical choice as termites cannot get through it.
Keeping termites out of your home will save you a lot of money and a lot of hassle, it is worth investing in epoxy floors and walls.
