Hi All,

I closed on my first duplex this week and started working on one of the units today. One unit is already rented and the second is vacant. While doing the inspection I was one of the baseboards was damaged(falling a part) so I told the inspector about it. He sad it was water damage from the window above it. Told me that it was not a big issue. So first thing today I siliconed all the windows of the house. Fixing any gaps. Then I addressed my attention to the baseboard. Got a small drill bit and started drilling every foot to figure out is the damage is just under the window. Almost the hole baseboard was bad, so I decided to pull it of and replace it. Once I pulled it off I figured out that it is not water damage from the window. Everything was dry not even a drop of water and we had a lot of rain the last few days. To my untrained I this looks like termite damage. So instead of installing a new board I left the wall open and will call a termite inspector to check both units. I think the last owner know about the problem and probably got somebody to spry it but never exchanged the board just over paint it. The damage is mainly on the baseboard and not on the studs. It looks like the studs have not been touched.

I'm attaching some pictures, please confirm that this is termite damage not water?

I'm debating should I do an termite inspection? Or just get some king of termite killer and spray the area, then install a new board?

Is there a way to see if the termites are still in the wood? Are they visible to the human eye ? How big are they? like an ant or something smaller?

I'm very disappointed with the inspector that did the inspection, he should have told me about the issue or un-leased recommend a terminate inspection.

I'm every good with tools and should not be a problem for me to install the baseboard back and paint but want to make sure to fix the problem not cover it. At the same time want to save money. Any recommendations are welcomed.

Thanks for the help