Sub-floor ventilation
Air circulation under timber-framed floors. Inadequate ventilation causes timber decay, fungal growth, and termite-friendly conditions.
Homes with raised timber sub-floors (bearer + joist + stumps construction) need cross-ventilation to keep the sub-floor dry. Vents in the external walls allow air to flow under the floor.
Common problems: vents blocked by garden beds, paving laid against the building, internal renovations that have removed cross-flow, or simply too few vents for the floor area.
Inadequate ventilation creates the conditions termites love: dampness, decaying timber. It also leads to fungal decay of bearers and joists. Improving sub-floor ventilation is usually a cheaper fix than dealing with the consequences.
Bearers and joists
The horizontal timber members supporting a raised timber floor. Bearers sit on stumps/piers; joists sit on bearers; floorboards sit on joists.
Conducive conditions
Site or building conditions that attract or sustain timber pests. Things like timber-to-ground contact, blocked vents, dampness, dense vegetation.