About California Wood Destroying Organism Inspection Reports
You’ve got your termite (WDO report), now what? The state of California’s prescribed form for termite/WDO reports has been designed in a way to make high level understanding easy. However, because of the latitude in which inspection companies are given to present the findings and recommendations, deeper dives into the details of a report can be confusing and sometimes overwhelming. Our aim in this post is to give you some insights on how to read your report and understand the condition of the structures detailed in the report. We will go over the following:
What a termite report is and isn’t.
The anatomy of a report.
Why the pre and post notes are some of the most important parts of the report.
What the “Sections” are and what they mean.
Finally, some of our tips on what to look for in a report and how to prioritize taking action on what is reported.
What is a Termite Report (Wood Destroying Organism Report)?
If you’d like a sample report to follow along, you can download one here.
Termite reports in California must have an indication as being one of the following, either Complete, Limited, Supplemental, or Re-Inspection. We will address Complete and Limited inspections in this post.
Complete inspections should be exactly as they sound. The indication that the report is a complete inspection means that all of the visible and accessible areas of the structure have been inspected and the report will include all findings in those areas. This type of inspection report is often used for real estate disclosure. Keep in mind that if the box on the front report is marked as a complete inspection, there is no legal or regulatory difference in a report used for disclosure and one that is offered to homeowners that are not going to use them for disclosure. A way to think of this type of inspection is as a “snapshot” in time of the findings and conditions of the structure at the time of inspection.
Limited inspections are inspections where only a portion of the structure is inspected and the limits of this inspection are clearly noted in the prenotes section of the report. A limited inspection report must specify the area or areas of the structure is limited to and the name of the party that requested the limited inspection. Limited inspections are often used for disclosure for privately owned units in a multi-unit structure where a complete inspection would require access to all of the units in the structure.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CONSUMERS: IN CALIFORNIA, YOU ARE ENTITLED TO A WRITTEN REPORT ON THE PRESCRIBED STATE WDO FORM REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF INSPECTION OR IF YOU WERE OFFERED THE INSPECTION FREE OF CHARGE.
Termite/WDO reports have a very strict scope. These reports, occasionally called “pest” reports are limited to organisms that can cause structural damage. Specifically, termites (drywood, subterranean, and occasionally dampwood), wood destroying beetles, carpenter bees, carpenter ants and wood destroying fungus. The reports should outline the observed infestations and damage as well as conducive conditions and items the inspector believes needs further inspection. These will be discussed in further detail in the section below.
What a Termite/WDO report ISN’T:
A Termite/WDO report is not intended to be a report on all pests in a structure. The report will be limited to the wood destroying pests detailed above. It will not have detailed findings about other general pests such as spiders, ants, roaches or rodents. Some inspectors may make a note of rodent infestations as it can become an issue that needs to be addressed prior to fumigation.
The report is limited to visible and accessible areas. These reports will not offer any opinions about what’s inside walls or any other structural component. For instance, water testing is not done on shower pans that are above finished ceilings as a leak could cause damage to the ceiling below. Other places that may be considered inaccessible are areas with a lot of stored personal items, areas that could be dangerous to the inspector, or areas that are locked or otherwise inaccessible to the inspector at the time of inspection.
The findings are descriptions of the observations by the inspector in terms of wood destroying pests and the related adverse conditions that exist at the time of inspection. Some findings may reference conditions of structural components on the home. These references should not be construed to indicate the condition of these components in any other context other than that of wood destroying pests. For example: a finding of cracks in the foundation is of note to the inspector and client ONLY in respect to it being a void where moisture or wood destroying pests can gain access to the structure and NOT an opinion on the integrity of the foundation as that would be outside the scope of the inspector’s license. More about this later in the article.
The Anatomy of a Wood Destroying Organism Report
Your termite report should be presented on a form that looks like this:
The front page should indicate the name, address, phone number and license information of the company providing the report. Names of the interested parties such as the homeowner, real estate agent or buyer. It should have a check box indicating the type of inspection, complete, limited, supplemental or reinspection. There should also be checkboxes that indicate the types of findings detailed on the report as indicated below.
Below the general information there should be a diagram, either of the entire structure or structures or an oriented indication of the portion(s) of the structure inspected. The diagram will have numerical/alphabetical indicators that correlate to the findings in the subsequent pages. Finally, the inspectors name, license number and signature will be at the bottom of the first page. The subsequent pages will be notes and disclosures about the scope and limits of the inspection, general policies of the inspection company, the findings and recommendations, post notes, guarantee statements, work authorization and prices (if offered) and finally a copy of an invoice if you paid for the inspection.
Something to keep in mind is, while all reports should have these components, not all inspection reports are presented in the same manner. For the purposes of this article, we will be explaining the report in the format that we use.
Pre and Post Notes:
It can be tempting to skip to the meat of the report and focus on the findings and recommendations but we urge you to slow down and read the notes on your report as they can have important information about the policies of the company performing the inspection or any subsequent work as well as notes specific to the property being inspected and can provide important information about the scope and context of the report. Understanding the policies and scope of the report will ensure that there is a lower chance of disappointing misunderstandings about what is expected or provided.
The “SECTIONS”
California State WDO reports are “separated reports”. Simply put, the types of findings are classified in “sections”. We present our reports in Section 1, Section 2, and Unknown/further inspection, in order to simplify for customers what type of finding is being addressed. Section 1 items are generally the most focused on for disclosure as they are findings that indicate an active infestation or damage from an infestation. An example of this type finding:
1A - Section I
FINDING: Evidence of infestation by drywood termites was noted at the substructure and wall framing, at the approximate locations indicated on the diagram (viewed from crawl space and vent openings).
RECOMMENDATION: Vacate the premises and seal the structure for fumigation with Vikane gas (sulfuryl flouride), using Chloropicrin as a warning agent.
Section 2 findings are classified as “conducive conditions”. These findings are not an indication of active infestation but rather a situation that could contribute to infestation or infection by wood destroying organisms in the future. Examples of this would be excessive moisture, areas where wood is in direct contact with soil or leaks in plumbing.
Finally, unknown/further inspection items are items that the inspector believes that would need further inspection in order to determine the presences/absence of wood destroying pest infestation or conducive conditions.
How to interpret your report:
First if all, try not to worry. The surprising thing most people don’t know about termites and other wood destroying pests is that this is not an emergency. The conditions described in your report have likely been there for a while and will not likely change much while you take the time to decide what to do next. It’s important to review the report in context with what you have planned for your home as a whole. The only exception to this advice would be if you’re buying a house that needs a fumigation, try to get that taken care of as soon as you close, before you move in. Preparing for a fumigation while you live in your home is decidedly more bothersome. The article linked here can also help you prioritize termite related work.
Ideally, the findings in your report should be complete, concise and have a detailed description of the work necessary to address the finding. Each finding should outline one specific issue at a time. If you’re reading a report and the finding or the recommendation needs clarification, be sure to call the inspection company to ask for clarification.
Occasionally, at the request of the homeowner or at the inspectors discretion, your finding may have a “secondary recommendation”. These recommendations are offered if the inspector believes that a less invasive treatment will get satisfactory control or the homeowner is requesting a substandard treatment method (for budgeting or convenience reasons). Think of the primary recommendation as the gold standard and secondary recommendation as “it will do”.
For the most part, people tend to concern themselves with Section 1 items because of the immediacy associated with the idea that an infestation is active. While it is important, I often suggest that reading the Section 2 items first as these findings can often be things that need to be addressed before treatment work should be contracted. For example, sewage and plumbing leaks in subareas should be addressed before treating for surface fungus or subterranean treatments. The moisture is what likely contributed to the fungus and until you remedy the cause, it will be hard to get control of the consequence.
A note on the recommendations made by Innova Termite & Pest Control specifically: The recommendation made by the inspectors is their professional opinion of how a treatment or repair needs to be done in order to appropriately remedy the condition. Our inspectors are highly experienced and take great care in offering the most appropriate method of remediation with the expectation that the repair or treatment offered is the least invasive of the options available. Our inspectors will not rebid work based on the recommendations of “others” or “certify” work done by others if completed in a manner the inspector does not consider in line with their recommendation.
We hope this explanation of inspection reports will help you (and/or your clients) feel confident abut using these reports to make decisions regarding their homes. IF for any reason you have questions about a report, please do not hesitate to call us to discuss!