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.