Are factory-built homes vulnerable to termites?
Steel does not feed termites. That removes the largest part of the risk and not all of it, and the difference matters.
Are factory-built homes vulnerable to termites?
The structural frame is powder-coated galvanised steel, which termites cannot consume, so the primary structural risk is removed. Protection is still required, because a building contains non-structural timber and because termites travel to reach it. Barriers, penetration treatment and inspection access remain part of the design.
Termites cause more damage to Australian homes each year than fire, and almost all of it is to timber structure.
A steel structural frame changes that equation at the root.
What steel removes
Termites eat cellulose. Steel offers none, so a steel frame is not a food source and cannot be structurally consumed.
That removes the failure most homeowners actually fear: the discovery that a load-bearing member has been eaten out from the inside while looking perfectly sound on the surface.
The frame here is powder-coated galvanised steel, chosen for the loads of transport and craneage as set out in [why the frame is over-engineered](/blog/the-steel-frame-and-why-it-is-over-engineered). The termite resistance is a consequence of that choice rather than the reason for it, and it is a real one.
What steel does not remove
A building is not only its frame.
**Non-structural timber.** Door jambs, skirting, architraves, some joinery, and the substrate under some finishes. Termites will take these, and while the damage is not structural it is disruptive and expensive to repair in a finished dwelling.
**Contents.** Skirting is one thing. A built-in wardrobe or a stored item is another.
**The path.** Termites do not need to eat the steel. They need to get past it, and they will build mud tubes over any material to reach what they want.
So a steel frame changes the consequence of an infestation. It does not remove the need to prevent one.
What protection still involves
**A physical or chemical barrier at the perimeter,** installed as part of the groundworks. This is the primary line and it is built before the structure arrives.
**Penetration treatment.** Every service entering the building through the slab is a potential entry path, and each is treated. These are the points inspectors check first, and they are decided during [groundworks and foundations](/blog/groundworks-and-foundations-for-modular).
**Inspection access.** The perimeter has to remain visible so activity can be seen. This is a design and landscaping decision as much as a construction one.
**Ground clearance and drainage.** Termites want moisture. A building with good drainage and clear ground around it is a considerably harder target than one with damp soil banked against it.
The part owners get wrong afterwards
Most protection is defeated by what happens after handover.
Garden beds built up against the wall, covering the inspection zone. A deck or a path added later that bridges the barrier. A leaking tap or an air conditioning outlet keeping one patch of ground permanently wet. Timber stored against the building.
None of those are construction defects and all of them create the conditions. The [maintenance case](/blog/maintenance-and-whole-of-life-costs) for a building held long term includes keeping the perimeter clear and inspected.
Inspection is still required
A steel frame does not remove the recommendation for regular professional inspection, and it does not remove the requirement where a warranty or a system depends on it.
What it does is change what an inspection is looking for and what it means when something is found. Activity in a timber-framed house is a structural question. Activity in a steel-framed house is a finishes question.
That is a materially better position to be in, particularly for accommodation held for decades where a structural repair means taking a dwelling out of service.
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MADEmodular / MADEbetter.
MADEmodular / MADEbetter.