Pergola
When you have the tools, the skills, and own a home, you occasionally get pulled into home improvement projects. When you also have a wife that knows that you have the tools and the skills, you often get pulled into home improvement projects. Add to that the discovery of termite damage, and the home improvement project becomes an exigency.
This is what happened recently, when I discovered old terrestrial termite damage under the window in the front of my house. Fortunately, the damage was mostly isolated to the cripple studs under the sill; so, it was not a load bearing or structural issue. Even more fortunately, the termites seem to have vacated long ago. I found no evidence of active infestation throughout the entire project.
So why did this happen in the first place? When it comes to terrestrial termites, there is one element that must be present: dirt. Unlike other species of termites, terrestrial termites must maintain access to the soil. Apparently, the previous owner (who the neighbors inform me was not exactly the brightest bulb) had the soil piled right up to the wood, as opposed to leaving it well below (six inches) the top of the slab. In fact, I found old plant roots inside the walls, along with some abandoned mud tubes.
This window was also prone to getting really wet in the winter, when we get those heavy rain storms blowing in from the southeast, directly into the window. Plus, although the way the trim was configured around the window looks better, it is not the best configuration for keeping out water.
Design decisions, even on a home improvement project like this, can have a lot of subtle decisions that make a big difference in the long run. There were other aesthetic and functional reasons for changing the window to a door, like making the living room look larger and making the fireplace feel more centered in the room, but it also eliminates the primary problem spot below the window sill. Even the pergola has its secondary function of serving as a weather break during those winter storms, by blocking the brunt of the rain being blown in.
