Vertical Siding Rot Question ?

Hello:

Thinking of purchasing a 25 yr old split level house in the Boston area.

It's unusual around here as I've never seen it before, but the siding on the house is comprised of relatively smooth vertical wood strips. Maybe 10 feet long. Probably tongue-in-groove, but not sure.

Anyway, the bottom of the siding ends about a foot or so from the ground, which is fine.

But, they added a horizontal board to pretty the ends up, which, of course, collects water, and caused several of these vertical boards to stay moist, and begin to "rot" at the bottoms. Perhaps for about 2 inches, or so, upwards.

Would be a shame to have to replace an entire, long, vertical board because of a few inches bad at the bottom.

Is there something anyone can suggest on how to address a problem like this ?

Suggestions would be very appreciated.

Thanks, Bob

Short of replacing the boards, you first need to address how to prevent future rot. Could be as simple as removing the base trim board, improving drainage and dry-ability of the board ends. Could also just shorten the boards just enough to remove the rot. Or, more radically, cut off the bottom foot or so of the siding, replacing boards below, and inserting copper or galvanized "S" flashing at the new joint. I have also used Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty to repair small amounts of rot, once the soft wood is carefully removed then treated with that green copper solution, called Copper Green, I think. Cheapest of all, just spray/dip/brush on copper preservative solution on all rotted areas, and wait till nice weather to do step two. Rot tends to concentrate on sawn end grain, as that was part of the water conduit in the original tree, then it will work up into the wood boards, so key area to treat is the bottom end of the boards, to prevent further rot for now..