help with siding repair plan

My house has plywood siding. It's that reverse board and batten look stuff in 4x8 sheets. One of the problems it has is that on an addition it was run all the way down to the ground. Unsurprisingly, the siding wicked water over the years and is rotting and falling apart along the ground line.

I've dug out the dirt and cleared away the foundation in these areas. Now I need to repair it. I could replace every siding panel, but that would be a lot of work and expense. What I was thinking instead was to cut off the bottom 12" of the siding with my circ saw. Then stick some z-flashing up there, nail it in through the siding panels, and then stick a piece of 5/8" 1x12 hardiboard (or equivalent) under the flashing.

Does this sound like a reasonable plan? Should I be caulking any of these joints? I was thinking it at least makes sense to try and caulk along the back bottom of the hardiboard where it meets the slab so that space is as closed up as possible. This way I replace the rotten stuff, and put back in place something that won't rot.

Thanks for considering my plan.

Oh, to cut the siding off I figured I'd nail a 2x4 to the wall to act as a guide for my circ saw. Other ideas welcome.

Reply to
thomasstruth
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I had the same problem. A builder cut the bottom 2' off as you are describing. He then installed metal drip, like they install over window and then cut pieces of siding to fit below. It looks good and is working out great. Good luck, let me know if you would like me to send you a picture of the repair.

Reply to
jimmyDahGeek

The plan is okay. Does the wall framing go right to ground along with the siding? Your framing might need some attention. Is the insulation wet?

R
Reply to
RicodJour

Hi, I am just curious where in world do they build a house like that? And local code permits it?

Reply to
Tony Hwang

Just about. The siding overlaps the foundation by just a tiny bit, but the sill plate is probably only a quarter-inch higher. So yes, there may be some framing issues. If there are I'll deal with them once I can see them.

Reply to
thomasstruth

No idea if code permitted it. I'm in Urbana, IL. Part of the problem is that the addition was built on an old carport slab. The slab was not elevated like the house's foundation, but they didn't do anything to build it up. It's idiotic to say the least

Another question: for the z-flashing, should it be a 5/8" deep z- flashing, like the siding? Or does it need to be a little deeper so it hangs out a little bit?

Reply to
thomasstruth

No, you need to rethink your plan. Hardiboard wicks water also and cannot be installed within 4" of ground or any horizontal surface. Think PVC lumber instead. But there again PVC is 3/4" and your existing paneling is probably narrower than that. As far as I can find they do not make z-flashing to fit over 3/4" boards so you will have to find someone with a metal brake to custom bend you some z- flashing.

KC

Reply to
KC

wrote

Yes, it will work. You just need to create that gap above the water area. The same fellows who vinyl sided my house did a 'patch job' down the street much like this. They did it with a contrasting vinyl and matched the upper trim work discretely to it and it looks very very nice. Done almost 10 years ago and looks like new.

Reply to
cshenk

on 5/8/2009 1:38 AM (ET) snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote the following:

It should have a PT plate if nothing else. Even a doubled PT plate would be better.

Reply to
willshak

That would be great but I seriously doubt that's what I'll find.

Reply to
thomasstruth

Interesting. I didn't realize hardiboard would wick water. There's no way I can get 4" above the ground with anything unless I dig out half my backyard (right now there are areas where it's about 1" at best).

I had considered PVC but didn't find any that was 5/8" as you suspected. If I went with 3/4" PVC could I just caulk where it meets the siding instead of using a flashing? Also, I presume the hardiboard would last a lot longer than the plywood siding did, right?

Reply to
thomasstruth

the other idea i'd had was to use a piece of pressure treated lumber, although I don't think I can get that in anything narrower than

1" (e.g a 1x12).
Reply to
thomasstruth

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote: (snip)

My sympathies. When I was house-shopping a few years back, I had to pass on an otherwise-interesting house because it had one corner like that, where Previous Owner had graded one corner of yard higher than the siding, and there was obvious water intrusion inside. Life is too short, etc. Drove by there six months later, and the folks that bought it had trenched the back yard, and put a retaining wall several feet back from the wall, to expose a few inches of foundation and dry things out. Still looked awful dicey in case of heavy rain, but at least it was dry most of the time.

About the only suggestion I can offer, short of removing the bottom 2 feet of the framed wall and replacing with concrete block, is to remove the lower foot of siding, replace with as thick a flashing material as you can find, sealed to the slab in some manner. Not a correct fix, and it will leak when the seal fails, but better than having wet wood. Or trench the area and put in a retaining wall. put in a drain to a low spot, fill trench with gravel, and dress it up with some potted shrubs.

-- aem sends....

Reply to
aemeijers

So you mean to remove the lower 12" of siding, then put in some kind of metal that is 12" tall, bonded to the foundation, then to cover it with new siding?

I just looked it up and Azek makes a 5/8" trim piece as wide as wide as 15" so that may be my best option for a replacement.

Reply to
thomasstruth

Everything wicks water, including brick and concrete. Some substances just wick it better. ;-)

Code here requires six inches of exposed foundation between the soil and the siding to fight water wicking and make termite infestations more obvious.

Reply to
SteveBell

I wouldn't cover the metal with anything but paint, assuming you can get paint to stick to it. If you do, you are back to wicking water. They sell flashing in colors, hopefully they have one that will look tolerable with the color scheme of your house. Not at all sure how you would get anything close to a water-tight durable bond with the foundation edge- Steve Bell has a whole lot more recent hands-on experience with the various goops out there. I would assume lay down a bead of waterproof construction adhesive or roofing tar, and press the lower edge of the flashing onto that, and then stake it with metal stakes to hold it tight against the foundation. Don't put any nail holes in the exposed part of the flashing- nail the top edge through the 'new' bottom edge of the siding where you cut it off, or through any trim board you add (with Z-flashing between the trim and siding, of course.) Idea is to not have any cracks that gravity or wind will drive water into. You may or may not want to dress up the bottom edge of the siding with a trim board- only you can judge what looks right. Just make it so at least six inches of flashing shows above the dirt.

If and when I get around to reskinning my deck, the method above is what I plan to do with the part of the siding that Idiot Previous Owner nailed the ledger boards directly to. Gee, wonder why it rotted out. I'll cut the siding straight across, seal the cut edge, shove flashing up under there as far as I can, and run it down below sill plate level. I'll lag-bolt the new ledger boards into the joist ends through the flashing, using some sort of water-resistant standoff bushing that I have yet to find or invent (maybe drill out some hockey pucks or something). That should give me a good path for water on the deck to drain, and leave wall dry.

-- aem sends...

Reply to
aemeijers

Versatex and Azek both sell sheet goods in various thicknesses.

R
Reply to
RicodJour

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