Termite Damage Repair

Damaged historic bridge to get $100000 in repairs

“I am an old bridge,” she wrote in a hand-lettered sign placed on the now 106-year-old trestle structure that once suffered extensive rot and termite damage. “I was the pioneer structure across a lovely canyon. I have carried my share of walkers. I have provided a place to view the bay, a quiet place to pause, to stop and think.”

The creaky 236-foot-long Quince Street Bridge, which survived its death sentence under the now-deceased Meadow’s close watch, is again closed and gravely wounded. A massive eucalyptus tree crashed through it on March 20, wiping out a five-foot section of planks and railing that have long offered Bankers Hill residents a quick path across the yawning Maple Canyon to the edge of Balboa Park.

San Diego officials have offered the structure a reprieve, anteing up $100,000 for repairs at the request of Councilman Kevin Faulconer.

“It’s a well-traveled bridge, and it means a lot to the residents in that area,” Faulconer spokesman Tony Manolatos said. “It’s a historic structure that people have a lot of pride in … not just your run-of-the-mill bridge over some canyon.”

In a strange twist, the once forsaken span, which city officials deemed too expensive to fix in the past, now has a group of powerful friends. Its champion in the 1980s, then-Councilman Bob Filner, is now a nine-term congressman representing Imperial County and the southernmost parts of San Diego County.

“We had a real fight (to save it) some time ago,” Filner said. “It’s a reminder of San Diego as it used to be, and we ought to keep it.”

Filner said the cost of repairing the bridge was minimal compared with the sentimental value it held for those who crossed it every week.

“It’s a great retreat from our urban pressures,” he said. “It ought to be remembered. It happens to be beautiful.”

When the massive windstorm that wracked Bankers Hill pulled the eucalyptus down in March, those supporters turned up the heat on city staff to quickly start repair efforts.

“The Monday morning after the damage occurred, there was an outreach to anybody we had email addresses for to encourage them to contact Councilman Faulconer’s office and encourage him to make that a priority,” said Nancy Moors, who lives in the house Meadows owned overlooking the structure. “By 9 a.m. he had something like 40 emails waiting for him about the bridge.

Termite Damage Repair Cost

Does termite damage pervade your home, or do you wonder how to prevent this from happening? Several preventive measures exist to avoid this problem, but if termites are already present in the structure of your house, then you must have them exterminated. If the termites are gone, but your structure has been made weak by their hunger for wood, then you must have the damage repaired before your home starts to fall apart.

Having a termite problem treated usually costs around $1,000. Repairing the structure of your building can, in extreme cases, cost up to 50 times that much. If you spot termites, then you need to have them removed as soon as possible to avoid this cost.

Though damage to wood is visible, other types of termite damage cannot be seen simply at a glance. To assess the damage, rugs and carpets must be lifted, appliances and furniture need to be moved, ceilings and walls must be opened, and possible excavation may be necessary.

Most pest control companies offer free inspections. However, if a Wood Destroying Report is needed, this will run around $100. Termite inspections are recommended every two years. Termites are very focused in their mission, and they are one of only a few insect colonies that eat continuously. One single colony can totally annihilate in one year 2.3 linear feet of two-by-four pine. Imagine the damage incurred if that two-by-four happened to be one of your house’s supporting beams. Remember also that where one termite colony exists, usually others reside as well, multiplying the destructive potential.

Termites are attracted by soil, wood, and water. Termites build their colonies under the ground. They adore soil and devise intricate tunnel systems, descending down to three feet under the surface. Termites eat materials containing cellulose, and because wood has a large amount of cellulose, termites eat it with a passion. If one piece of wood comes into contact with the ground, then termites somewhere will sense it. Some termites will eat other things, such as vegetation, hummus and dung, but their favorite food is wood. In addition to food, termites cannot live without a water source. Fix any leaky faucets to avoid supplying them with this need.

Now that you know what termites need, you can understand why the following preventive measures will safeguard your home from an infestation.

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