Ok, the lead timberframer on my house job really made me nervous today. We were discussing panels, and he said that ants really love the foam – both urethane and EPS. What makes matters worse is that I have an ICF foundation, and some of my beams that were sitting a while had some pretty severe ant infestations in them – dormant for the winter, but they were all sitting there hibernating when we pulled the pile apart.
Now I’m worried that carpenter ants will eat my house. I’ve heard of borate-treated ICF’s (which I didn’t use) but no such thing as borate-treated panels. I guess I need to treat my timbers and my panels – what do I do? What products are available and how are they applied?
FWIW – I’m in southern VT – not a hotbed of activity for termites (I’ve never seen a termite) but the carpenter ants seem to be everywhere, in force.
jon
Replies
Jon.. almost all of the SIPs mfr's are R-Control licensed
any R-Control mfr. can get you SIPs with PerformGuard.. which is borate treated
also.. a lot of the southern jurisdictions require treated ICF's.. ( usually the same PerformGuard )
and some of the northern distributors will ship them up special order
i share your concern with vermin in foam..
the only foam we'll use is borate treated PerformGuard
Thanks, Mike.
Right on!