Rotten plywood under siding

thisolddump · 05-08-2006, 03:45 PM

My house was built in the early 80's, and the person who built it did some things VERY WRONG, at least from what I can tell. What I do know is that the plywood under our current "siding" is pretty rotten and I need to replace everything. What Im looking for is a link to some good reference material I can use to help guide me when I replace all of the plywood, siding and possibly adding a weatherproof insulation barrier under the siding as well. Book and websites recommendations...PLEASE HELP!

lxdollarsxl · 05-08-2006, 06:12 PM

Well 26 years ago i dont think there was such a thing as house wrap, and some siding etc that ive replaced, had a type of roofing paper between the ply sheathing and vinyl. Its more common these days for OSB sheathing on outer walls covered by a house wrap, most good building supply companies carry it in stock, they will explain to you how to go through the stages of repair but its pretty basic, and you shouldnt have any problems if your going to tackle it yourself - but myself I would get in someone who does remodels, they would be far quicker, and most will save you money and a lot of time.

thisolddump · 05-11-2006, 05:46 PM

How would going through a contractor save me money.

redline · 05-11-2006, 06:43 PM

Have you removed the siding and seen the rotten plywood?

What type of siding do you have? vinyl or aluminum

Will you be replacing the siding?

billinak · 05-11-2006, 07:27 PM

It resulted from an old window in the shower that leaked and rotted out all of the ship-lap and even the studs. The wood was actually gone in some places. I cut it out square, fixed the studs, put on new plywood (3/4 inch to match the thickness of the ship-lap), covered it with Tyvek and put the wood shingles back on. Only took a weekend, and most of that time was spent preparing the shingles to put back up.

thisolddump · 05-11-2006, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redline

Have you removed the siding and seen the rotten plywood?

What type of siding do you have? vinyl or aluminum

Will you be replacing the siding?

Actually its like a treated wood paneling, and not really siding in the traditional sense. Im not exactly Mr. Home Improvement so Im appologize if my terminology isnt up to snuff. Anyway, underneath it I can see the plywood just completely rotted away in some spots and Im sure the water damage extends to at least part of the frame.

The largest problem areas are in the front of the house below the second story deck that rotted away and sucked in water over the course of 5 or 10 years. Nasty stuff I tell you. I got the house and property (10.5 acres) for a steal though.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 05-11-2006, 08:48 PM

Whenever we come across any moisture or water damage, the first thing we look for is:

Point 1.) Why? Where did it come from..before we start replacing anything.
We had a job a few years ago, where there was moisture damage on the exterior knee wall of the basement in a 2 story house about 20 years old. The exterior sheathing was like mush. There was additional bubbling of new paint all over the siding of the house. Eventually we determined that the problem eminated from the roof. The Homeowner needed a new roof. There were serious flaws in the original roof installation. Some times, you really have to look...to find where the problem actually started and make sure you have the right starting point. The previous homeowner had replaced a door above that knee wall area. You guessed it, the new door that he had put in was now rotted also, because he didn't fix the real problem.

Point 2.) Where there's water damage there is usually termite and/or carpenter ant problems...sometimes serious. They love moisture. Make sure you check into this on your property.

Bottom Line: Don't 'replace' and 'repair' and 'seal up' your property until you are certain that you found the actual area of the problem and no pests munching on the structure of your home.

Glasshousebltr · 05-11-2006, 08:49 PM

If most the damage is under a deck I'll bet the deck ledger isn't flashed.

Bob

thisolddump · 05-12-2006, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glasshousebltr

If most the damage is under a deck I'll bet the deck ledger isn't flashed.

Bob

Actually the deck ledger was flashed, but he built the deck by just running the floor joists outside the house and then nailing ply wood around all sides of it, effectively creating a box thatc over the course of 20 or so years, started to rot and suck in moisture. That moisture ate threw a few of the exterior parts of the floor joists and leaked drew water behind the siding.