Stud with a Hole after Demoing Kitchen

LKarondo on 06/07/2020 - 20:02
Last edited 06/07/2020 - 20:02

Hi all

Does anyone know a bit about stud walls? Short story, bought our first house, had it inspected with no issues, ripped out kitchen and a fake wall, and this stud was behind, which I'm assuming are dead termites all over it. It's load bearing too, however rest of the stud looks in good condition. It is adjacent to another stud that looks okay. It's just a very neat hole…

Just need confirmation that I've got the right end of stick and need a guy out for it…

https://i.imgur.com/nUJ8rNT.jpg Stud

https://i.imgur.com/XiL29BU.jpg dog tax

Cheers

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Muzeeb on 06/07/2020 - 20:17
    +7

    Get it lab tested

  • TheAccountant on 06/07/2020 - 20:35

    Cute dog.

  • resubaehtgnolhcs on 06/07/2020 - 21:10

    looks like termites to me

    • [Deactivated] on 07/07/2020 - 11:20
      +1

      No. Its a black dog.

  • RiseAndRuin on 06/07/2020 - 22:26
    +1

    When you say "had it inspected with no issues", do you mean you had a pest inspection as well as a general/structural one?
    They might be dead, possibly exterminated at some point, however they might be in other places.
    I'm not an expert, but it seems unlikely that they magically appeared in that spot, they'd have come from outside and found a path to the stud, so you might want to have a professional check if there are still other creatures alive and doing damage in other spots. FWIW I'd also double check with whoever "inspected with no issues".

    • Karondo on 08/07/2020 - 09:31

      Cheers we did do a pest too which found nothing, with a thermal camera and they are all dead. But it's just so odd, and I hold my hands up and say I know nothing, just a hole with dead creatures in it. But what raised my suspicion is that the cut is too neat, in which case… why?

  • AdosHouse on 06/07/2020 - 22:50
    +1

    I'm no expert but those to semi-circle cutouts on the bottom and that top angled cut look like they were done with tools.

    • Nugs on 07/07/2020 - 07:11
      +1

      Agree. Looks like a cut out to house a power point or similar
      .

    • Karondo on 08/07/2020 - 09:32

      Yeah, maybe I've done 2+2 and got 12…

  • sraymond on 07/07/2020 - 00:13
    +1

    Termite activity would usually be throughout the stud. Not just a small section like that. Get a big screwdriver and probe up and down the timber. A couple of better pics in focus would help but I’m not seeing anything that looks like termites. Seems like dead bodies that are black so not termites. Could be an old ant nest. Anyone saying you should expect the person who inspected the house initially to find that is misguided. Nobody would find that unless they did what you did….ripped the gyprock off. Find a couple of the insects and have a look at them under magnification. There’s plenty of pages on the internet explaining the difference between ants and termites. If you’re still worried call the pestie out but post back here if he recommends any treatment.

  • Cheeper on 07/07/2020 - 00:48
    +2

    Doesnt look like white ants nest to me. Droppings from some bugs or mice/cockroaches??
    Scrape some out and take to the local pest guy, he will soon tell you what it is.
    Rip out the stud and replace it.

  • RockyRaccoon on 07/07/2020 - 02:56
    -1

    It’s old termite damage, black ants don’t eat wood. However black ants attack termites, so it’s likely termites were there at one stage and the black 🐜 s got them. But as RiseandRuin says they can’t just be there on their own there has to be a pathway to that spot. Probe around with a screwdriver. You might find there is other damage, what appears to be a good piece of timber from the outside might be just a shell eaten from the inside

  • Euphemistic on 07/07/2020 - 06:17
    +1

    Doesn’t look like termites to me. As others have said they tend to follow the wood grain. Also doesn’t look like pine, more like Oregon which termites don’t like much.

    Looks to be more like a section of knot in the wood that has fallen out. The top section seems to be following a line like would be from a knot. Then years of dust and cockroach crap have accumulated in the space.

    It is not unusual for a stud to be imperfect in some place, and as this one is duplicated there probably won’t be any issues.

  • JimmyF on 07/07/2020 - 08:37

    OP doesn't look like termites. Can you vacuum out the hole and post another picture?

    Looks like it was man made cutout and its just filled with cobwebs and bug shit….

  • Karondo on 08/07/2020 - 09:34

    Looks like the hive mind has helped, that it's not termites just a hole in a stud for a socket that doesn't exist…

    Thanks guys! Appreciate the help

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