When considering the longevity of your home, it’s worth investing some time in thinking about how you’ll best protect the crucial foundation of your home: your framing system. When it comes to the risk of termites and borers infesting and eating away at your home’s frame, the logical choice is to minimise the risk as much as possible. In fact, this is such a crucial element of building your dream home that it is recognised in the Australian Standard AS 3660, which states termite preventions against all structural members as a building requirement.
Well, we’ve got good news! Steel frames simply cannot be eaten by termites and borers. So, in terms of your frame and trusses – you can not only minimise the risk but eliminate it entirely by building with steel. In fact the Building Code of Australia permits the building of steel-framed houses without any extra defence against termites.
Of course, termites and borers can impact other areas of your home, such as door frames and skirting boards. However, if your home is built upon a steel frame and it is infested by termites or borers, the damage to the overall home is significantly minimised. This is not the case with timber frames and trusses; termites and borers can attack and destroy a timber frame to the extent that the cost, time, and inconvenience of repairs are burdens that many home owners simply cannot afford.
The National Association of Steel-framed Housing (NASH) notes:
“The incidence of termite attacks seems to be increasing everywhere and has reached disturbing levels. Conventional termite barriers fail for a variety of reasons, and there is convincing evidence that these failures are on the increase”.
This is interesting to note as timber-framed homes generally rely on the frame being treated by chemicals prior to erection, as well as physical barriers that require careful installation and maintenance. However, termites are not the only risk to the integrity of a timber frame – borers and fungal rot are also recognised risks, and yet these cannot be prevented by barriers. Again, with a steel frame – these are non-issues.
So what is the best option?
NASH recommends choosing from the following low-risk options:
- A steel-framed house, with non-structural components of termite-resistant materials. In this case no barrier is necessary.
- A steel-framed house, plus a termite management system that confirms at least to the minimum requirements of the relevant Australian Standards (AS 3660 series)
At AusSteel, we recognise that knowledge is power when it comes to protecting your investment (i.e. your home), and we believe that power should belong to you – the owner. If you’d like to chat to us about how best to protect your home from termites, borers, and fungal rot, get in touch – we’d be happy to help! Similarly, we can assist with advice on the best framing system when building your home in bushfire and flood-prone areas. Let us offer some peace of mind when it comes to the risky stuff, so you can enjoy the process of building your dream home.
AusSteel has facilities in Goulburn (Southern Tablelands – NSW), Cameron Park (Newcastle area – NSW), and Crestmead (Brisbane area – QLD).
Reference: NASH Fact File 6: Termites, accessed 15/12/24: https://www.steel.org.au/getattachment/9dd1c5fd-d0ab-466a-b6b2-97512e211e7f/NASH_2007FactsheetsNo6-Termites.pdf
