Old timber, hidden spacesSubfloors and roof voids, room for termites and rodents both.
The local picture
Character homes, hidden spaces.
Mayfield grew up around the old steelworks, and its streets, Maitland Road, Hanbury, Crebert, Ingall, are lined with the Federation weatherboards, brick cottages and workers' homes that make the suburb what it is. Beautiful housing, and a lot of it a century old.
Those homes come with raised timber subfloors, deep roof voids and wall cavities, plenty of room for rats and mice to nest, and plenty of aged, sometimes-damp timber for termites to work through unseen. Established gardens grown up against the walls only make it easier for them.
It's not a reason to worry, it's a reason to check. On homes this age, a regular termite inspection and a handle on the rodents is simply part of looking after the place.