|
|
AUSTIN, Texas — For the 50th renovation in the history of PBS’s “This Old House” the challenge was a 1926 Craftsman Bungalow in Austin, Texas, with several inherent problems, including signs of termite presence.
The Austin bungalow is owned by Michael Klug, 38, co-founder of a hologram company, and Michele Grieshaber, 41, a marketing executive. The major reason for the renovation was to turn the home from a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house into one with four bedrooms and two baths. Michele Klug owned the house for the past decade, but the couple married this past April and needed more room to accommodate their new family, which includes Michael's two sons, Sam, 13, and David, 11.
An important goal of this particular renovation was making it totally "green" — using as many environmentally friendly building products and methods as possible — and creating a functional home for a contemporary blended family.
Enter Acme Pest Elimination’s Austin branch office (dba, Budget Termite & Pest Elimination) and Nisus’s Bora-Care, a borate-based termiticide that is applied directly to wood. Nisus Corporation has had a longstanding relationship with “This Old House,” which has used Bora-Care on several of the program’s home renovations. Nisus President Kevin Kirkland contacted consultant Creig Manson seeking a reputable Austin company that does borate work. Although Acme, which is based in San Antonio, primarily does commercial work, the company’s Austin office is heavily involved in the residential market and is experienced at making borate applications, according to Acme President Paul Barr IV.
“Since there were signs of subterranean termite activity in the damaged lumber that was removed from the home — and since the renovation was a ‘Green Project’ — borates were the best option,” Barr said. Specifically, Barr said, borates are well-suited for ‘Green Projects’ because they are minimally invasive treatment and “have a toxicity similar to that of table salt.”
The Austin Acme crew, consisting of Branch Manager Arthur “Butch” Ritchie, and senior route technicians Keith Turner and Brandon Babcock made the borate applications. The majority of Acme’s borate treatments are pre-construction, meaning a structure’s studs are fully exposed and easy to treat. Because the Austin home was a post-construction project studs could not be treated; however, the skirting was removed so Acme technicians had access to the structure’s underside and sill plates. Because these applications were made directly to the wood — and not the soil — this type of treatment fit into the “green” goal for this project, Barr said.
“It meant a lot for us to be recognized as a company and as an industry on ‘This Old House,’” Barr said. “We are proud to be a company that uses a broad spectrum of products and is environmentally conscientious.”
Click here to read more about this project.