Gulf Construction Online - Masa aims to protect massive investment

Makkah & Madinah

Masa aims to protect massive investment

01 December 2004

Saudi-based pest control specialist Masa, which is celebrating its silver anniversary next year, remains upbeat following the recent announcement of mega construction projects in the kingdom.

“The launch of the SR35 billion ($9.33 billion) development plan by Crown Prince Abdullah to make the holy city of Makkah ‘The City Of All Cities’ has encouraged us a lot and we are eyeing to get many projects for termite treatment and pest control services. This new announcement will further strengthen our business by offering us the possibility of participating in several more projects in the near future,” says Mousaied S Shieshakly, owner and general manager of Masa Establishment.Recently, the company has also bagged a SR708,000 contract from Dallah Group for the supply of fogging and ULV (ultra low volume) machines both car-mounted and hand carried to be used in its Makkah and Madinah project.
“The construction of new housing and buildings has increased the demand for the termite control treatment and related pest control services,” says Shieshakly. “The increase of the Saudi population by 720,000 each year has created an incremental demand for around 125,000 new housing units. According to the Saudi Economic Review, the population of the kingdom is forecasted to reach 29.02 million by 2010 – suggesting an absolute increment of 7.01 million in the 2000-2010 period.
“The boom in the markets of Makkah and Madinah has allowed Masa to acquire valuable projects for pest and termite control in both the cities.”
Masa’s branches in Makkah and Madinah were established a long time ago with an aim of offering professional pest control services in the holy cities and to help maintain a pest-free environment.
Being a very important religious destination for Muslims, millions of pilgrims from around the world arrive at Makkah and Madinah for the Haj and Umrah pilgrimages. The mammoth influx of people has made it important to control pests, which emerge from food wastages and other related resources, by the proper use of pesticides.
Masa has been offering professional pest control services in every sector and over the years we have built a long list of clients which includes: Al Subaie Group, Hira Hospital, Al Aqsa Hotel, Arabian Technical Contractor, Rashied Abetong (all in Makkah); and Arab World Investment Group, Abdullah Al Khodairi and Sons, Al Mansourya Establishment, El Maimani Group, Central Madinah Development project, Sulaiman Al Rajhi, Al Harbi Trading and Contracting Company, Al Dhahry Group (all in Madinah).
“These are all our major clients to whom we have extended our pest control and termite services in their various projects. Our participation in pest control activities in both private and government sectors are satisfactory,” he says.
Established in 1980, Masa Establishment for Pest Extermination Services is the leading pest management firm in Saudi Arabia and has 11 branches in the kingdom. Masa’s research and development division is now focusing on the implementation of an ‘Integrated Termite Control’ programme in fute.
“This programme, aimed at achieving structural protection, will be a formalised, organised and systematic approach for the protection of structures from attack by subterranean termites and will help us identify the ideal methods for the environment and physical conditions,” he says.

Termite control
“Termite control treatment has become an important aspect of the construction industry in Saudi Arabia, where many pioneer construction engineers strongly recommend a pre- or post-construction treatment as a precautionary measure to protect the building from any future damages caused by the presence of termites in the soil,” says Shieshakly.
“There has been an alarming increase of problems while dealing with damages from termites in many building and homes as it was not confined to soft timber but also spread to non-wood materials such as: metals, plastics, plaster and concrete, leather, rubber and linoleum. Underground cables have been stripped of rubber and plastic coverings, exposing conducting wires and resulting in short circuits. Cases of underground water seepage due to pest attack on pipes have also become common. In all these cases, corrosion of metal, concrete and other materials from varying attack of elements or climatic changes was found favouring the penetration of termites.
“Aboveground cables, particularly when fastened to untreated timbers, are likewise vulnerable to termite attack. While the largest economic losses are accounted to termite damage on timbers and wood products, substantial losses in monetary value are also caused when termites consume papers – particularly when valuable and important archived documents are lost.
Termite control is an important element in building construction and maintenance for the protection of the wood and other materials and the structure, and is now incorporating conventional soil treatment methods and non-chemical, environmentally safe, easy to use methods,” he adds.
Shieshakly continues: “There are different methods of control. Subterranean termites can only infest structures by tunnelling in through the soil and therefore controlling them is possible by blocking the tunnel entry points. As termites cannot penetrate concrete, to gain access to wooden components supported on a concrete foundation, they have three options:
• They can tunnel through wood in contact with soil;
• They can build exposed shelter tubes up foundation walls; or
• They can build hidden shelter tubes through a crack, concrete joint, or hollow void space.
“If the entry is through wood, which is in contact with soil, it can be identified and eliminated. Similarly, exposed shelter tubes can be identified by inspection, scraped away, and clearance improved by lowering the grade or making structural alterations.
“The most difficult cases involve hidden shelter tubes through foundation cracks. Hidden shelter tubes in cracks are what make termites such a nightmare for the homeowner, a headache for the pest control operator, and a challenge to the researcher. By understanding the types of foundation cracks, the location of cracks, and the cause of cracks termite control efforts can be focused where they are most likely to block termite traffic through these entry points.”

Blocking entry from exterior
Chemical Barriers: The conventional method is to spray and inject pesticide into the soil around the foundation thus creating a persistent toxic barrier. Because of variations in soil texture and moisture, and restricted access it can be very difficult to achieve a uniform chemical barrier even with extensive drilling of foundations and injection with long rods. Therefore re-treatments are often required.
Physical barriers: The four main types of physical barriers are termite shields, barrier sand, stainless steel mesh barriers, and waterproof membrane barriers. Termite shields have been in use in some parts of the world for decades but the other physical barrier methods have only recently become a focus of research and commercial development. A termite shield is simply a sheet of non-corroding metal with a projecting one-inch lip bent down at a 45-degree angle capping the foundation wall or concrete support piers. Sand barriers consist of sand mixtures in which a majority of the grain sizes are within the range of 1.4 to 2.4 mm. With no more than 30 per cent fines (preferably less than 5 per cent below 1.4 mm.) and no more than 50 per cent in the range of 2.4 to 6.3 mm.
Sand barriers
Sand barriers are most easily installed and most effective when set up as a preventive “pretreatment” during construction, he says.. In some countries, a six-inch layer of barrier sand is used in place of crushed stone as bedding material beneath the slab. However, the barrier sand cannot be placed beneath the footing since the footing must rest on solid undisturbed ground.
“The barrier sand could be used as backfill adjacent to the foundation walls provided that adequate consideration is given to surface drainage. The overhang of eaves, drainage from downspouts, the contour of the surrounding grade and landscape watering practices should be taken into consideration to ensure minimal drainage of surface water into full depth trenches.
“During backfill, the barrier should be compacted at two-foot intervals to prevent settlement later. Care must be taken that compaction does not cause cracking of the wall. A further consideration is the effect that the porous sand barrier might have on heat loss from the basement.
“Unfortunately, termite control efforts are usually not undertaken until after the building is constructed and has become infested. In this case retrofitting is needed. Retrofitted barriers can be installed either in a shallow perimeter layer or in full-depth perimeter trench, which connects to the weeping tile system.
“However, sand barriers should not be installed as half-depth trenches because the porous barrier sand will act as a vertical drain which, if not connected to the drainage system, could lead to water perching against the basement wall and leakage problems. The top of the perimeter sand barrier can either be left uncovered or, in places where people are likely to be walking, it can be covered with flat stones, bricks, block, or poured concrete to form a walkway.

Mesh barriers
“The mesh barrier comprises approximately a 35 mesh metallic material (pores sizes about 0.5 mm.). Recent tests indicate that rubberised asphalt membranes and other bituminous membranes commonly used for waterproofing exterior basement foundation walls are also impenetrable to termites and could therefore be effective termite barriers if properly installed or retro-fitted.
“Two basic types of waterproofing membranes are available, the adhesive peel and stick type (often use for roofing) and the trowel-applied rubberised asphalt type. The adhesive type might be more convenient to apply, especially for limited application to identified cracks. The trowel-applied rubberized asphalt, however, would probably give a superior seal due to its monolithic nature and firmer bonding to concrete surfaces.”

Blocking from interior
There are various ways of repairing cracked foundations. These include filling voids, resurfacing cracked surfaces, grouting or injecting cracks with various materials. These methods can be used from the interior of the basement and therefore do not require exterior excavation.
Many homes are built with hollow concrete blocks. When hollow concrete block foundation walls become cracked, termites can explore throughout the interconnected hollow void space. Although such walls are normally capped with mortar, it is not uncommon to find small gaps in the capping mortar, which the termites may eventually find.
“To physically block such termite entry points, the foundation walls can be drilled and the voids filled with a 3 to 1 sand to cement mixture or with cement grout. With solid poured concrete walls, cracks can be repaired by injection of various patching compounds.
Epoxy injection involves the mixture of two components, which form a quick-drying, strong bonding seal. Polyurethane is used in place of epoxy in wet cracks and reacts with water, foaming to fill the crack – however, the bonding of polyurethane may not be as strong as the epoxy.
“Injectable rubberized crack patching compounds are also newly available. Various joint sealant, polysulphides, polyurethane, silicon, and self-bonding cements mixes are available that can be used to patch cracks. Cracks should be chiselled out to a 0.5-inch depth and 0.75-inch width before patching.
“Injectable bonding materials have some elasticity to resist re-cracking whereas the cement mixes are likely to re-crack if soil heaving or settlement is causing ongoing foundation movement. Contractors who perform such services can be found in the yellow pages under waterproofing and concrete repairs and restoration.”
“These alternative methods are presented mainly to stimulate interest in the commercial sector. It must be emphasized that these alternatives approaches are not yet formally accredited and would not suffice as adequate control procedures in the case of an active infestation at the time of sale of a property,” he concludes.