Termites or ???????????

   / Termites or ??????????? #1  

Xfaxman

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Guthrie, OK
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Toolcat 5610 G - Bobcat V417 - TORO+Loader
This is the hinge side of the wood framed walk in door of the Garage. I knocked the dirt off of the front edge, then went and got the camera.

What is doing this?
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The arrow points to the door frame in the closeup pictures

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   / Termites or ??????????? #2  
Looks like termites to me.
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #3  
sorry to be the bearer of bad news but it's termites.......you can see the mud tunnels they make in your pic's.......termites bodies dry out so they can't take exposure to outside thats why they make the mud tunnels.....they live in the ground and travel up to feed on the wood.......if you happen to see one when you break open the mud tunnel it will look like a white ant if it's the subterranean ones except instead of a wasp like waist it will be segmented.......Jack
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #4  
You can buy a chemical online called "Demon" or "Cyper" that claims to have a 10 year residual for termites.
Mix with mineral spirits for wood treatment, water for ground treatment.
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #5  
I'm not convinced yet that it is termites. All the termite damage I have seen has looked like swiss cheese- mostly holes with thin strips of wood between the hollow areas. I had a west facing door frame rot in a similar manner (from the bottom outside edge). Peck on the rest of the doorframe with a hammer and see if there are any other hollow areas that resemble tunnels.
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #6  
Don't much matter.... it's a wood boring insect.
I would replace with pt and inspect the rest of the building...

If that's the only damage then it could be ants. Carpenter ants eat rotten wood. If you see them...you're good.
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #8  
That isn't termites. I have a door that is rotting at the bottom like that. I don't know if its from improper installation (lack of drainage) or what.
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #9  
Water gets in the end grain and moves up the board.
 
   / Termites or ??????????? #10  
Looks like water/rot damage to me...a gap should be left between sill and end of wood, then caulked.
 
 
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