If there was an imported beverage containing a fatal concentration of poison resulting in death, we may have four blame-options. We may blame: the store that sold the beverage, the person who drank the beverage, medical doctors who did not think it was their duty to warn the public, and the government for not banning the beverage. In this scenario, most of the blame should fall on the careless doctors – hence this warning.

I am issuing a RED ALERT WARNING that contractors are typically using timber that has not been treated for termites in the roofs of houses they build. All parties will likely dispute this. Contractors will likely claim they purchased termite-treated timber from hardware stores. Hardware store merchants will likely claim that they sell termite-treated timber to all contractors who request it. The Government will likely claim that all the houses they built used only termite treated timber. The facts follow.

THE FACTS.

In Barbados, I have not found: (a) any recently built house that used termite-treated timber, and (b) termite-treated timber in any of the major hardware stores.

Timber is sold with a stamp explaining the: (i) species, (ii) grade, (iii) treatment, and (iv) certifying body. A common structural timber specified in Barbados is Southern Yellow Pine (SYP) of Grade No.1 that is Kiln Dried (KD) to up to 19% moisture content and Pressure Treated (PT) against termites. The stamp for this timber may read: SYP No.1, KD19, PT.

Examining this stamp in recent roof rafters and major hardware stores reveals Heat Treated (HT) instead of Pressure Treated (PT). Heat treatment is used to improve the durability of timber, but offers little protection against termites. Further, the process of heating: (i) makes the timber more brittle, (ii) reduces the timber’s strength by up to 50% and (iii) makes nails and screws easier to pull out. For those reasons, Heat Treated (HT) pine is not recommended for structural uses – especially in hurricane-prone regions.

THE CONTAGION.

I do not know when the replacement of Pressure Treated timber with Heat Treated started, but I have been warning about contractors using timber not treated for termites in roofs for several years – without any response. What is known is that the replacement appears to be complete in Barbados and several Eastern Caribbean countries, and I do not know how far the contagion has spread across the Caribbean.

Having had over 12 deployments to Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, the only logical explanation I can offer for their poor building methods is that Haiti is deliberately kept vulnerable to earthquakes. The foreseen effect of replacing Pressure Treated timber with Heat Treated timber in the Caribbean is to keep Caribbean countries vulnerable to hurricanes.

THE BENEFICIARIES.

The main beneficiaries of this vulnerability are merchants who supply timber to replace roofs after each major storm. While contractors also benefit, I believe that they sincerely thought that they were purchasing termite-treated timber. I also believe that merchants sincerely thought that heat treated timber also protected against termites – which is what their managers confidently but wrongly explained to me.

The solution to this madness should be addressed at three levels: (i) the Government should restrict the use of heat treated timber to non-structural uses, (ii) hardware stores should properly label their non-pressure treated timber as not treated for termites, and (iii) contractors should only purchase pressure treated timber for structural uses.

SAVE YOURSELF.

The stealth introduction of Heat Treated (HT) timber into Barbados will certainly affect homeowners, who may find themselves homeless and injured after the next tropical storm. Therefore, they should start preparing now. It is to them whom I shall address directly for the remainder of this Red Alert.

If your rafters are unpainted (which is normal in houses with ceilings), look for the stamp. If it reads: SYP No.1, KD19, PT, you are fortunate. If it reads: SYP No.2 or No.3, then you should be very angry with your contractor who likely purchased non-structural timber on purpose.

MAKING WRONG THINGS RIGHT.

If it reads SYP No.1, KD19, HT, then you have termite delight. You should inform your contractor that you want the pressure-treated timber, which you already paid for, installed before the start of the 2025 hurricane season. You should allow the contractor and the hardware store to decide how they will make their wrong things right – at their own cost.

If you do not see any work started by February 2025, you should write both of them explaining that you will hold them both liable for: (i) any damage to your timbers from termites, (ii) any damage to your roof from tropical storms or hurricanes, and (iii) any damage to the contents of your house as a result of damage to your roof from termites or wind storms.