Changes Could Have National Implications

Even the mayor's house isn't safe from termites. At least, that is, in some cities. When Scott Vandergrift, mayor of Ocoee, Fla., recently found termite damage in excess of $6,000 in his seven-year-old home, he wanted some answers. Hoping to draw attention to the matter, he invited the press to his home and devoted more than two hours of a city commission meeting to discussing construction practices and needed changes in the building code.

Changing the local building code, as it turns out, may be a novel idea, but it's not exactly a new one in certain Florida municipalities. It was in December that building and pest control professionals in St. John's County, Fla., were successful in adding provisions for termite protection to their local building code. It seemed the code in place there didn't say much about what to do in the case of termites, and it needed to. What's significant about the modifications is this is one of the first occasions that builders, pest control operators, and elected officials have worked cooperatively to resolve ongoing termite problems.

At the heart of these code changes is responsibility: pest control companies not accepting blame for termite infestations caused by situations beyond their control, and contractors taking steps so they don't end up in the courtroom, trying to defend themselves in lawsuits involving major termite infestations in homes just two, three, and four years old.

According to John Mulrennan, chief of the Bureau of Entomology and Pest Control for the state of Florida, there is no specific building code instruction now in place for dealing with termites in the state. But if he and his colleagues have anything to say about it, that may change before the year is up.

With more termite problems cropping up every day in the state, builders, legislators and pest control professionals have begun to take note of the agreement reached in St. John's County. Now, in unprecedented cooperation, experts from the building, regulatory, and pest control communities are working together to implement similar changes statewide.

COMMON CONCERNS. Roland Holt, director of building and codes for St. John's County, first realized the problem needed attention about two years ago, when a homeowner wanted an explanation for the major termite infestation in his new home. It seemed the builder would do nothing about the infestation because the slab had been pretreated. And the pest control operator blamed the owner because he did not contract for the first annual inspection. The homeowner looked to Holt to provide the answers.

Holt referred to the Southern Standard Building Code, which is the model code used throughout most of Florida and the southern United States. In it, Holt found that there is no specific instruction with regard to termite infestations, except that the local building official is to determine protection methods based on the extent of the local hazard. Not being an expert on termites and termite infestation, Holt consulted professionals and regulators in the pest control industry.

In late 1994, Holt was introduced to Tim Hulett, president of Hulett Environmental Services, a six-branch pest control firm headquartered in Riviera Beach, Fla. Hulett, a certified entomologist, had already been at work on the question since earlier that same year. He had been appointed to a state subterranean termite study committee set up by the commissioner of agriculture to research the problems Florida was having with subterranean termites, such as why there were so many callbacks, complaints and problems. Among the committee's findings was that most infestations are caused by building-related problems.

"The majority of the problems we're finding are framed stucco," said Hulett, explaining that the most troublesome infestations occur where framed stucco has ground contact below grade. "Basically our products cannot get to the termite infestation when we have a below-grade, framed stucco home." With building modifications, Hulett said, 90% to 95% of the problems can be eliminated.

The committee had suggested amending the state building codes but had not yet come up with any specific action plans or details as to how it should be done.

"As far as the building code changes, we were at a stalemate," recalled Hulett, "and it was obvious that we should have gotten involved with our local building officials as well as the local contractors."

It was early 1995 when Holt and Hulett were able to compare notes on the situation. Because of the anti-regulatory climate in the legislature that year, it was likely that no changes in the state building code would be made. So Holt and Hulett decided to take matters into their own hands, starting with St. John's County.

LOCAL CHANGES. Holt began by asking John Mulrennan of the state Bureau of Entomology to give a talk to building code officials about the kinds of termite problems that were common statewide. Then Holt met with Dr. Ray Parsons, Bureau of Entomology field inspector, and Vernon Cribbs, president of the St. John's Building Council, to jot down what building code changes would be required. At the meeting, Cribbs estimated that implementing the changes would increase building costs by just $200 to $300 per house.

Hulett arranged a focus group meeting of several Florida Pest Control Association members and Holt. There, PCOs were to figure out what they could offer in return for the contractors' implementation of the suggested building code changes. In return, the PCOs said they would be willing to assume the responsibility for infestation, by way of providing a guaranteed repair bond.

"There's nothing the builders can do to protect the structures from termites," Holt explained. "All we're trying to do is to get the builders out of the way so that the pest control operators can use their chemicals effectively to get protection."

With help from contractors, local PCOs, regulatory officials, university entomologists, and the state board of entomology, Holt and Cribbs drafted an ordinance of added provisions to the St. John's Building Code. The final version was passed by county commissioners in mid-December, and by the end of the year, the Secretary of State had approved the ordinance. The ordinance is now slated to take effect April 28, giving contractors a 120-day grace period during which they can adjust to the changes. Once it is in place, contractors at each site will need to provide building inspectors with the required treatment certificates at each regular inspection in order to be permitted to continue the construction process.

As drafted by Holt and his colleagues, the four major goals of the ordinance are simple in the eyes of the structural pest control industry: minimize termites' available food supply; eliminate hidden termite accesses; increase the effectiveness of the chemical barrier; and provide treatment certifications and owner's retreatment/repair warranties.

Provisions for minimizing the food supply include removing all wood debris at the building site and prohibiting wood in the backfill within 15 feet of the proposed building.

Hidden termite accesses into the protected structure are to be eliminated by providing at least 6 inches of clearance below any siding or sheathing so that the foundation sidewall exterior can be easily inspected. Other provisions include requiring the use of noncellulose protective pipe sleeves and no wooden decks or fencing obstructing the required 6 inches of visible foundation sidewall.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the chemical barrier against termites, provisions call for the initial treatment to be made after all excavation, backfilling and compaction. Any later soil disturbances must be retreated.

Contractors must also provide a posting board for completed treatment certificates, and the owner of the building must receive a one-year retreatment and repair warranty, with an optional four-year renewal provision. The warranty must provide $50,000 coverage on buildings larger than 2,500 square feet or $25,000 if smaller.

At the heart of the provisions is the requirement that builders not only make sure that they build structures to keep termites out, but that they also ensure that whoever is hired to do the pretreat work will stand behind their work with a guarantee, will retreat it if necessary, and will repair any termite damage that occurs.

"What we're doing by raising the building code," said Holt, "is that we're leading the builders to no longer repeat old mistakes. The reason the builders are so cooperative is that we're going to let the pest control operators be more responsible for making mistakes and making certain that the homebuilders know what they're supposed to do in the way of maintenance and annual inspections."

"If the builders are willing to make these low-cost building changes," added Hulett, "then, in return, the pest control operators are willing to put a $25,000 to $50,000 damage warranty on every new home that is pretreated in Florida that would protect the consumer. And at the same time, the liability would shift from the builder to the pest control operator, provided that the building codes are followed."

To be sure, Holt and Hulett did receive some objections from small PCOs about not being able to provide the $25,000 and $50,000 bond required, but they had a ready response. "If they can't provide the protection for the consumer, then they won't be in the pretreatment business," reasoned Holt, "which I think is a laudable and exactly proper answer for the pest control operator." Furthermore, Hulett said, providing such a guarantee is not typically that much of an added expense for pest control operators.

THE BIG PICTURE. Of course, Holt and Hulett have not given up their original mission of getting changes made statewide, and efforts to implement similar modifications are now underway.

Five agencies have endorsed the development of a state regulation on termite protection: the Florida Pest Control Association, the Building Officials Association of Florida, the Department of Community Affairs, and the Florida State Department of Agriculture.

And, Holt says, the Florida Homebuilders Association has recently moved into the leadership position on this subject by drafting a statute that would create a seven-member termite advisory council made up of pest control operators, contractors, and regulatory officials. The state council would have rule-making authority to govern both building and pest con trol practices. Expected to be brought before Florida legislators by the Department of Agriculture this spring, the statute, if it is adopted, could be enacted as early as October 1996.

In addition, Holt said, counties surrounding St. John's County are now considering adopting similar building code ordinances even before any state actions are taken, and the new requirements could be put into a proposed appendix to the Southern Standard Building Code, providing a standard method for other states and localities using that code.

From a pest control standpoint, many feel the developments in Florida between the homebuilders and pest control professionals are just what is needed to protect homeowners. Perhaps Mulrennan put it best at a recent national termite conference: "I think it's unrealistic, from my point of view as a regulator, to try to put standards on the pest control industry, when the building industry is not living up to a certain set of standards. When we get that straightened up, then I think we can really begin to hold the pest control industry accountable, and that's what we intend to do in Florida."

Meanwhile, Ocoee's Mayor Vandergrift plans to set up a task force of construction professionals, regulators, pest control operators, and consumers that will address solutions, including reviewing the local building code. But if the statewide efforts proceed as many hope they will, Vandergrift's committee may not have to reinvent the wheel.

The changes underway in Florida represent groundbreaking efforts by forward-thinking building officials, PCOs, contractors, and regulatory officials. That such progressive efforts should occur in Florida isn't surprising; the state boasts some of the most sophisticated and oft-consulted PCOs in the nation.

Efforts like these also pave the way for PCOs in other states to work for similar changes. But for interested PCOs, Holt has this piece of advice: Don't start with the builders, who are concentrating on serving their own customers. Instead, start with the local building official, who's job it is to determine how to best protect the homeowner's investment.

Lisa Josof is associate editor of Pest Control Technology magazine.

Sidebar: TERMITE PROVISIONS

A partial list of termite protection provisions added to the St. John's County building code:

1) Minimize Available Food Supply.

• No wood, vegetation to remain under or within 5 feet of the building.

• No wood in the backfill within 15 feet of the building.

• Cavities in masonry units must be cleaned of all trash.

2) Eliminate Hidden Termite Accesses.

• Finished floor elevations and yard grading must provide at least 6 inches clearance of the foundation sidewall exterior between any wood, siding or sheathing and the top of sod or soil.

• No wooden structure shall obstruct the 6 inches of clearance.

• Protective sleeves around piping must be of a noncellulose material.

3) Increase Effectiveness of the Chemical Barrier.

• Initial treatment inside foundation walls is to occur after all excavation, backfilling and compaction is complete.

• All concrete overpour accumulated along exterior foundation wall must be broken away and removed prior to exterior chemical soil treatments.

• Additional treatments are to be applied under all exterior concrete on grade within 1 foot of the primary structure sidewalls.

• Any soil disturbances must be retreated.

• All drain lines and downspouts must discharge at least 2 feet away from the structure. Irrigation systems may not apply water within 1 foot of the structure.

4) Provide treatment certifications and owner's retreatment/ repair warranties.

• Treatment certificates for all required soil treatments must be posted.

• The homeowner must receive a one-year retreatment and repair warranty with an optional four-year renewal provision. The warranty must provide at least $50,000 damage repair coverage on buildings larger than 2,500 square feet or $25,000 if smaller.

Source: St. John's County Board of Commissioners Ordinance 95-66