The Demand

The Solution

Nothing here is punitive. Nobody is trying to make money. This is what it takes to give Miss Lee back the house she paid Terminix to protect: the floor, and now the framing under it.

Stated clearly, for the record: the family has not accepted the service as complete or satisfactory.

Eight Things. Or One.

1

Remove the entire red oak installation.

The great room and the office. All of it. A partial fix leaves a floor that will never match and will still cup and buckle.

2

Install white oak, matched to the original.

The original floor was white oak. A repair puts back what was there. Unfinished 2 1/4 inch white oak, matched to the rest of the house.

3

Use a new, Hawaii-licensed installer.

Not Makainai Construction. A contractor licensed under HRS Chapter 444, named in writing before work begins.

4

Acclimate the wood before installing it.

Delivered to the house and brought within NWFA moisture tolerance of the subfloor, with readings recorded, before a single board is nailed.

5

Remove and reinstall all 121 feet of baseboard.

So the floor can have the expansion gap it was never given. Cutting around the baseboard is what hid the framing damage and kept the claim the size of a floor.

6

Sand, seal, and finish properly.

Drum sander, not palm sanders. No mill marks, no cross-grain scratches, no putty in the joints. Finish matched to the existing floor.

7

Produce the signed repair contract.

The family has asked for the signed contract between Terminix and its contractor and has not received it. It is her claim.

8

Repair the framing the termites reached, and the joists the saw cut.

The bottom plates, the blocking under the floor, and the corner posts at both ocean corners, found September 29 with Terminix's inspector present. And the joists cut about two inches deep when the flooring was sawn along the baseboards. On November 1, 2026 a Hawaii-licensed general building contractor, J. Powers Construction, LLC, scoped the framing repair: shore the roof, remove the windows, replace the posts, plates, sills and headers, rebuild both window walls to the original dimensions. $63,000.00 plus tax.

9

Or pay what it costs and step back.

Terminix has said its remedy takes the form of a check to Miss Lee. The family accepts that form. The floor was priced by a licensed contractor on September 3: $24,802.61. The framing was priced by a licensed general building contractor on November 1: $63,000.00 plus tax. Two contractors' numbers, nothing of the family's. Terminix approves them and pays by check, and the matter ends.

If Terminix Does Not Perform

The family will file for arbitration with the American Arbitration Association under Section 20 of the Terminix agreement, in Hawaii, seeking specific performance of Section 5 and every remedy Hawaii law allows, and will file complaints with the Regulated Industries Complaints Office, the Office of Consumer Protection, and the Pest Control Board.

The arithmetic: the floor was priced at $24,802.61 by a licensed contractor on September 3, before the walls were opened. The framing was priced at $63,000.00 plus tax by a licensed general building contractor on November 1. Under HRS 480-13 an elder consumer recovers three times actual damages, with a $5,000 floor, plus attorney fees and costs. HRS 480-13.5 adds up to $10,000 per violation. The gap between what Terminix has offered and the exposure is a great deal larger than it was in September.

Doing the job is the cheap option.

Explore the Record

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Miss Lee paid Terminix so that when termites came, someone would fix her house. Termites came. This is what she got.

She would rather just have her house put right.