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Hey guys, need some advice here on how to approach this.
I have a gable wall in a 1960 ranch style home. It has ~4" thick flag stone exterior with normal 2x4 framing. House is in VA.
I am in the middle of a remodel when I realized my exterior walls had no insulation at all. They are covered by a 3/4" thick plaster/concrete on old gypsum boards. so the wall seemed very strong from inside the house. It wasn't until I pulled a section of it down that I noticed a large amount of rot on the stud. It was completely compromised (like paper at this point). I kept going until I realized the entire wall was like this all but 2 studs were nothing but dust and flakes. most of the bottom plate is gone and some of the top plate as well. The exterior stone was held to the 2x4's with metal clips which are obviously doing nothing. I have since placed in new 2x4's and sistered the ones that were somewhat there for temporary bracing not sure how to tie the exterior stone back in. Here are my questions:
1. How would you even go about replacing this wall and making sure it's properly water proofed etc.? Am I looking at tearing the whole wall down and replacing it (likely with siding this time). At this point I'll be bringing in a professional, but I'm still curious.
2. I noticed the band board in the basement "looked" new. As it turns out when I bought the house there was termite damage that had been remediated. The termite company did the work and you can clearly tell this bandboard was nailed to the existing rotted board in that corner of the house. I pulled it out with just my hands at which from the basement alone you would of seen a rotted sill plate, bottom plate, and band board so it's clearly a cover up. What actions if any do I have to pursue the company that did the cover up?
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I have a gable wall in a 1960 ranch style home. It has ~4" thick flag stone exterior with normal 2x4 framing. House is in VA.
I am in the middle of a remodel when I realized my exterior walls had no insulation at all. They are covered by a 3/4" thick plaster/concrete on old gypsum boards. so the wall seemed very strong from inside the house. It wasn't until I pulled a section of it down that I noticed a large amount of rot on the stud. It was completely compromised (like paper at this point). I kept going until I realized the entire wall was like this all but 2 studs were nothing but dust and flakes. most of the bottom plate is gone and some of the top plate as well. The exterior stone was held to the 2x4's with metal clips which are obviously doing nothing. I have since placed in new 2x4's and sistered the ones that were somewhat there for temporary bracing not sure how to tie the exterior stone back in. Here are my questions:
1. How would you even go about replacing this wall and making sure it's properly water proofed etc.? Am I looking at tearing the whole wall down and replacing it (likely with siding this time). At this point I'll be bringing in a professional, but I'm still curious.
2. I noticed the band board in the basement "looked" new. As it turns out when I bought the house there was termite damage that had been remediated. The termite company did the work and you can clearly tell this bandboard was nailed to the existing rotted board in that corner of the house. I pulled it out with just my hands at which from the basement alone you would of seen a rotted sill plate, bottom plate, and band board so it's clearly a cover up. What actions if any do I have to pursue the company that did the cover up?
