Running a pest management company with seven technicians and doing mainly termite work, the risk of missing termite damage during inspections is always a worry. Five years ago I had an irate customer call to say that discovered termites in her home just a few days after an inspection by one of my technicians.
She was having carpet replaced and upon lifting the carpet active termites were present and termite damage to the skirting board was extensive.
On viewing the damage it was easy to see how it had been missed, all the damage was at or below carpet level. Tapping, or running the donger along the skirting gave no indication of “hollowness: normally associated with “sounding” timbers. The result was a free termite treatment and barrier to keep her happy instead of a $3,000 job.
In my previous life before termites I was an aircraft engineer for 25 years. With my engineering head on, I though there must be a more efficient way of checking timbers, and the idea of the “Multi-Facet Donger” (MFD) was born. Unfortunately, due to being too busy, the idea stayed in my shed. Just recently we had the exact same scenario and I decided that I must trial the MFD.
I had two of my most trusted technicians use the MFD on their inspections, using the rounded side as they would use a normal donger then running the the flat side along the skirting. Within four weeks, one technician found three areas of termite damage to skirting boards with the flat side, and one area of damage in the molding of a window frame architrave with the rounded face. The second tech found two areas of skirting board damage. These areas were not, and could not have been detected by a normal donger. Fantastic results and over $10,000 of work.
If you are a professional and want to improve your inspection techniques and reduce the risk of missing termite damage, then the MFD is an essential addition to your collection of inspection tools.
Mick Humberstone
Trade Management Systems pty ltd
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