Rotten Siding - Part 2

You want the water hitting the side of your house to drain completely down and drip onto the ground. Your cedar board creates a dam that hold the water back and will quickly rot out more it covers up.

You should use a long lasting silicone caulk on top of the cedar so the water drains off onto the groud and doesn't go into the notch. Also caulk the crack under the cedar AFTER you have made sure no water ever gets behind the cedar.

If the top of the added strip were sloped, water - rain or condensation - would be less likely to collect there, then work its way down the joint between old and new wood. If the added strip is painted on all six surfaces, it will be less likely to take in moisture. If the siding now does not touch the concrete curb, the framing is directly exposed to to weather. It would be helpful if there were a strip of flashing to direct moisture out of the wall - or a strip of flexible material to close the gap.

IMO, this repair is destined to fail for the same reason the previous siding did. You have wood in direct contact with the concrete that is on the ground. Water on top of the concrete during every rain will cause this to rot over time. This is a classic failure mode with wood siding, where often the edges are not primed and left in direct contact with a wet surface. Wood should end at least a 1/2" above the horizontal concrete surface and be primed and painted. I would also not use wood for this application to begin with. One of the new solid vinyl products is the way to go.

Thanks to everyone who contributed. I think I'm using advice from just about everyone from this and the last post.

Thnaks again

Jim