Texas is home to several termite species, the most common of which are eastern subterranean termites, Formosan subterranean termites and western drywood termites. All three of these species dwell within most of Texas, while the Formosan termite is typically found only within the southeastern to central region of the state. Texas, especially eastern Texas, is located within a high activity zone for termites, so infestations within homes are not at all uncommon in the state. Homes located in east Texas see the highest rate of termite infestations. Luckily, newer homes are more likely to be surrounded with a termiticide barrier which prevent subterranean termites from accessing a home’s boundaries, but infestations in new homes are certainly not unheard of in any area of Texas. Considering how common termite infestations are in Texas, you can imagine how vulnerable a 160 year old log cabin must be to termite attack, especially if that log cabin is located in east Texas. Not surprisingly, the historically significant Daniel Boone log cabin succumbed to a termite infestation decades ago. The treasured site was nearly destroyed by termites until a group of University students worked to restore and relocate the cabin during the mid to late 2000s. One of the most important things to remember when buying a cabin, such as a Prefab log cabin is location, as you don’t want to buy one in a place that could be subject to termites. If you are set on buying a log cabin that is in somewhere like east Texas, then you must take the necessary precautions to ensure that you home is protected from these insects.
Back in 2005, students in professor Caroline Crimm’s hands-on history class started to rebuild Daniel Boone’s termite infested cabin when it was located 11 miles outside of Huntsville in eastern Texas. The cabin was owned by Boone’s relatives until they donated the infested cabin to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in 2004. The next year, students at Sam Houston University disassembled the cabin and rebuilt the structure at the museum. The students did the best they could to reuse the cabin’s original logs, but many had been heavily damaged by termites. In order to prevent further termite infestations in the cabin at its new location near the school’s dormitory, cement was used to fuse the logs together, as opposed to mud and hay, which attracts termites. It is very common for termites, as well as other animals and insects, to damage the soffit, fascia and eavestrough elements of your roofing system. If you don’t inspect or carry out any maintenance to the damaged components of your roof, then its lifespan could significantly reduce. As a result, places like Dominion Roofing, (visit the website here), have qualified contractors who will be able to resolve these issues and to ensure that your roof is suitable and stable again. In this case, the roof, which had been damaged by termites, was replaced with an aluminum roof, and the cabin’s porches were also replaced. The cabin’s restoration cost a mere 25,000 dollars thanks to the efforts of Sam Houston University history students, the cabin would have been destroyed if it wasn’t for the students, normally with a job as big, and with damage as bad as it was, the inclusion of professional services such as https://www.northerncaliforniaroofing.com/ offer, wouldn’t have gone amiss.
Do you know of any other historical structure in Texas that had to be rebuilt due to having sustained termite damage?
