Pre-construction termite protection in District 2 — new builds and renovations in Thao Dien and Sala

Since 1 July 2025 the city has been divided into wards, smaller local units, instead of districts. Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 turned District 2 into An Khanh, Binh Trung and Cat Lai wards, with the old An Phu split between the first two. People still say District 2, so we do too; a project or street name is enough to find the site.

From our office at 72 Nguyen Co Thach, in Sala, we survey drawings and sites in all three wards, 07:00 to 20:00 daily; the time is confirmed once the technicians have been scheduled.

An Khanh ward

The former Thao Dien, Thu Thiem, An Loi Dong and An Khanh wards with part of An Phu: garden villas on Nguyen Van Huong and Quoc Huong, Thao Dien's gated compounds, Saroma villas and SariTown townhouses in Sala, and shophouse rows in Sala and Thu Thiem.

Binh Trung ward

The former Binh Trung Dong and Binh Trung Tay wards and the rest of An Phu, on the eastern side of Mai Chi Tho and Song Hanh: townhouses and terraced villas at Lakeview City and Palm City, and The Global City's SOHO townhouses.

Cat Lai ward

The former Thanh My Loi and Cat Lai wards, beside the river, with neighbourhoods of townhouses and garden homes.

Termites do not eat concrete or brick. They come up from the soil through expansion joints, hairline cracks and pipe openings, looking for cellulose: door frames, kitchen cabinets, timber floors. Once the slab is down, the soil beneath can be reached only by drilling, so a barrier laid while the site is open usually costs and disturbs much less than drilling floors after the family has moved in.

District 2 gives termites what they need. According to Tuoi Tre (June 2025), Thao Dien, Quoc Huong and Nguyen Van Huong streets lie low and drain through an old system; heavy rain on a high tide can leave 0.15–0.3 m of water standing for an hour or two, so yards, garages and basements are often damp. The rainy season runs from May to November, with relative humidity averaging about 79.5% (city government portal). University of Florida (UF/IFAS) material says the Asian subterranean termite needs moist soil, forages through mud tubes and can set up secondary nests inside a building.

Much of the city's housing stands on former farmland, orchard or riverbank, so termites may be in the ground before work begins; formwork timber, bamboo piles or roots left under the slab then feed them.

The plan for each address comes from UpClean's technicians, once they have seen the drawings and the site.

Rebuilding or renovating a Thao Dien garden villa

Grounds here usually hold mature trees, a lawn, a pool and outdoor timber, so the survey takes in garden and boundary walls too. Stumps and rotten wood are cleared first. Where a floor is broken out, relaid or raised, the soil is treated before new concrete goes down, and the trench follows the footings and perimeter walls.

Villas and townhouses in Sala, The Global City, Lakeview City, Palm City

Newer buildings, but still with timber floors, kitchen cabinets and timber-clad stairs. In a house handed over and about to be fitted out, door frames, floorboards, panelling and built-in cabinets are treated before installation and the pipe openings through the slab rechecked.

Shophouses in Sala, Thu Thiem, The Global City

Shop below, home above. When the ground floor is broken out and relaid, the soil is treated before the concrete is poured; stockrooms and document stores, full of paper and cardboard, are listed for protection.

The stage that matters most falls between compacting the ground and pouring the ground-floor slab, so get in touch as soon as a construction programme exists.

The plan refers to two Vietnamese national standards, TCVN 7958:2017 for new buildings and TCVN 8268:2017 for buildings in use; the Ministry of Construction's standards portal lists TCVN 7958:2017 as in force, replacing the 2008 edition. Our technicians propose how it applies to your house; design remains the job of the building's engineer.

One UpClean contact agrees dates, scope and site conditions with you, the contractor and the technicians. Fixed at the start, the dates barely change the programme: each treatment is usually short and announced beforehand.

Estates and gated villa compounds in District 2 mostly set rules for contractors: advance registration, a declaration of the equipment and products brought in, and fixed working hours. We send the name and photo of your Up specialist and the technicians' details for the management office or the gate; inside a compound the team follows the guards' directions on parking and routes.

• The contractor hands over each area clean and dry, leaves treated ground alone until the pour, and reports any change that touches it, such as an extra drain chamber.
• While the technicians work, the area is cordoned off and site workers stay out; your Up specialist checks the signs, the cordon and the collection of empty packaging before handing it back.
• Products carry a valid registration number in Vietnam and are used as the label and the regulations require. At the survey, point out the trees, lawn or pool you want kept and any well, fish pond or vegetable garden near the works, so that the plan protects them.

There is no price list, and we would rather not quote a figure before reading the drawings: a terraced townhouse and a villa with a garden and a boundary wall differ in slab area and trench length. Drawings are reviewed and the site surveyed free of charge; the itemised, all-inclusive quote then comes in writing, and nothing is added unless you agree in writing. It is built from:

• The ground-floor slab area to be given a barrier layer.
• The length of footings and perimeter wall to be trenched.
• The timber, door frames and floorboards treated before fitting.
• The starting point: a new build, or a house already finished.
• The inspections after handover and the warranty terms; period and scope depend on the plan and are written into the quote.

A finished house can still be protected, by another method: usually a treated barrier along the foot of the outside walls, small holes drilled through the floor or the foot of the inside walls to reach the soil, and sometimes bait stations. It needs a re-entry time, a period when the treated area stays unused, and it marks the finishes, so drilling positions are agreed in writing first. Active termites, shown by mud tubes or damaged timber, are dealt with before any long-term barrier.

Everything under the slab and round the foundations is out of sight once the house is complete, so the Up Report, our written and photographic record, is what later inspections, warranty and additions rest on: a floor plan showing the treated areas, dated and timed photos of each stage, the approved plan and quote, the warranty terms and a suggested inspection schedule. Tell us before you pave more of the yard, build a planter or dig a new pipe run, in case the barrier is cut.

Nearly 6,000 foreign residents of 102 nationalities live in Thao Dien, according to Tuoi Tre (2020), and an owner may be following the build from abroad: photos of each stage reach you and the contractor together, and the walk-through can be on a video call. The file can be handed on if you sell, let or renovate.

In English

The enquiry, the plan, the quote, the date confirmations and the Up Report can all be in English. For an English speaker on site, tell us when booking; if that proves impossible, you hear in advance and we support by phone or message.

Payment

Paid after the walk-through, by bank transfer or cash; larger jobs may need a deposit, which the quote states. VAT invoices are issued on request, to individuals and companies.

To book

Send floor plans, foundation drawings and the programme to 0968 726 135 on WhatsApp or Zalo; your contractor may send them for you.

Termite control in District 2

For a house or plot where termites are already active; they are treated first.