Pre-construction termite protection for new builds and renovations

Because the ground under a house is easy to reach only while it is being built. Once the slab is poured and the walls are plastered, getting to the soil beneath means drilling and breaking out, at a cost. Treating during construction puts a barrier between the soil and the structure while the site is still open, which limits the risk of termites getting into door frames, kitchen cabinets and timber floors later. Done alongside the contractor, the work usually costs far less and disturbs far less than drilling the slab and lifting floors after the family has moved in.

In Ho Chi Minh City many residential developments stand on land that used to be farmland, orchards or riverbank, so termites may be in the soil before work starts. Formwork timber, bamboo piles and tree roots left under the slab are food that draws them.

Termites do not eat concrete or brick, but they can pass through expansion joints, fine cracks and the openings left for service pipes to reach anything that contains cellulose. Protection is therefore more than one treated layer under the floor. The points to cover are:

• The ground-floor slab, and every place where water pipes, drains and electrical conduit pass through it.
• The footings, the outer walls in contact with soil, and planters built against a wall.
• Door frames, vents, timber staircases, timber floors and the boards laid under them.
• Kitchen and built-in cabinets, timber wall panelling, ceiling frames and ceiling boards that contain paper.
• Rooms that hold documents, books or a home library, where there is a lot of paper and cardboard.

The work follows the build in five stages, and UpClean's own pest-control technicians carry out the treatment at each one. The most important moment comes after the ground has been compacted and before the ground-floor slab is poured, so contact us as soon as you have a construction programme.

A termite trench is a strip of soil around the footings and outer walls that is dug out and treated, to block termites coming in from outside. Its size and the way it is formed are proposed by the technicians to suit the design of each building.

With little effect on the programme, provided the dates are fixed at the start. Each treatment usually takes a short time, and UpClean gives notice so that the contractor can arrange other work around it. One contact at UpClean agrees the timing, the scope and the site conditions with the owner, the contractor and the technicians. In practice:

• UpClean takes the programme from the contractor and fixes the hold points: after the ground is compacted, before the slab is poured, after the outer walls are built and before timber is fitted.
• The contractor makes sure the area to be treated is clean and dry, with no scrap timber or roots left in it.
• After the ground has been treated, the contractor avoids disturbing the soil before the concrete is poured, as the technicians instruct.
• Any design change that affects a treated area, such as an extra drain chamber or a pipe moved to a new position, is reported so that the treatment can be made good.
• The Up specialist, the UpClean staff member present at each hold point, photographs each stage, checks it against the plan drawing and sends it to the owner and the contractor at the same time.

Each treatment is carried out under site controls, and sensitive features nearby are protected when we know about them in advance. The products have a valid registration number in Vietnam and are on the permitted list, and UpClean's technicians apply them as the label and the regulations require. UpClean has declared its eligibility to provide pest-control services as required by regulation; the declaration and product information are available on request.

During a treatment the area is cordoned off and the contractor's workers leave it for as long as the technicians ask. If there is a well, a fish pond or a vegetable garden near the site, tell us beforehand so that the plan includes suitable protection for it. At each stage the Up specialist checks the warning signs, the cordon and the collection of empty product packaging before the area goes back to the contractor.

Yes, two national standards apply directly. TCVN 7958:2017 covers termite prevention for new buildings and TCVN 8268:2017 covers buildings already in use. According to the Ministry of Construction's standards portal, TCVN 7958:2017 is in force and replaces the 2008 edition.

TCVN 7958:2017 deals with surveying for termites, designing the protection, and measures such as a termite trench around the foundations, a barrier layer under the floor slab and the treatment of timber. How it is applied to a particular house is proposed by UpClean's technicians. UpClean does not take the place of the building's engineer in design.

Yes, but by a different method from a house under construction. In a finished house UpClean's technicians usually form a barrier around the base of the outside walls, drill small holes in the floor or at the base of the inside walls to put product into the ground beneath, and may add bait stations. This involves a re-entry time, meaning a period when the treated area is not used, and some disturbance to the finishes, so it is agreed in writing beforehand.

If the house already shows mud tubes or damaged timber, have the active termites dealt with first through our termite control service and consider the long-term barrier afterwards. The same applies to a building plot, above all one with a termite mound, old tree stumps or a neighbouring house that has had termites: have it checked before work starts. If active termites are found, the technicians treat them first and the foundation protection follows with the build.

You receive the Up Report, UpClean's written and photographic record of the work. The treated layer under the slab and around the foundations is completely covered once the house is finished, so this file is the only basis for later inspection, warranty and additions. It contains a floor plan marked with the treated areas, dated and timed photos of each stage, the approved plan and quote, the warranty terms and a proposed inspection schedule. If you sell, let or renovate the house, you can pass the file to the other party.

UpClean does not publish a price list for this work. The review of your drawings and the site survey are free. The all-inclusive quote that follows is in writing, itemises each part of the work and has nothing added unless you agree in writing. The cost depends on:

• The area of ground-floor slab that needs a barrier layer.
• The length of footings and perimeter wall that needs a termite trench.
• The quantity of timber, door frames and floorboards to treat before fitting.
• The stage of the build: from the start, or added once the house is finished.
• The number of inspections after handover and the warranty terms that go with them.

UpClean surveys townhouses, villas, offices and shophouses in An Khanh ward (Sala, Thu Thiem, Thao Dien), Binh Trung, Cat Lai, Phu My Hung (Tan My and Tan Hung wards), Thanh My Tay (Binh Thanh), former Districts 1, 3 and 4, former Phu Nhuan and Nha Be commune. The city replaced its districts with wards in July 2025, but people still use the district names, so we do too. Sites in Districts 5, 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12, Go Vap, Tan Binh, Tan Phu and former District 9 are also surveyed, with the date confirmed when you book. Factories and warehouses are taken on after a separate survey. To start, send the drawings and the construction programme to 0773 521 104 on WhatsApp or Zalo.

Termite control

For a house or plot with termites that are already active, which are treated first.

Guide: termites in Saigon houses

The signs, what treatment involves and what to ask before you sign.

Move-in and post-construction cleaning

For cleaning the new house before you move in, once the build is handed over.

Our pest control page

For cockroaches, mosquitoes or rodents once the house is lived in.