[Queequeg152]

im in the process of replacing a very small amount of siding; less than 300 square feet, and im sorta stuck on whether or not to install a water table type trim piece to protect the osb that the siding will be fastened to. essentially im just worried that the very bottom edge of the osb sheathing will in some way get wet from splashing rain and fail far before the hardie products need to be replaced.

ascetically, i really dislike the idea of a trim piece at the bottom, that will then have to butt into a brick veneer...only the front door area of this home is siding, the rest is brick veneer. but this part of the house does tend to get alot of rain splash giving that the walls surround a paved atrium.

this is the sort of system i was thinking of.

http://inspectapedia.com/BestPractices/Wall_Flashing.htm

my gut definatly tells me not to do this, but i thought i would defer to the more experienced folk? anyway thanks in advance, i appreciate any input you can offer.

 

[Tom Struble]

how far from grade is it?Hardie can get wet,as long as it can dry out it should be ok

 

[Queequeg152]

yea i should have added that...
the top of the finished slab is about 6" above the atrium's slab.

im no so worried about the hardie getting super wet, as much as the rain splashing off the cement and working its way into the very bottom edge of the osb and damaging it. the osb is about 1/8" off of the houses slab.
is it absurd to worry about that?

 

[Tom Struble]

no but either way hardie or trim as long as your house wrap hangs past the sheathing onto the foundation either will work the same,i personally wouldn't recommended you try to ''seal'' the lower edge of sheathing with tape or anything,but you may want to apply some oilbased primer to the bottom edge

code now is no closer then 8'' to grade,not much you can do about that

 

[Queequeg152]

i honestly was not aware house wrap was supposed to go over the foundation, can you tell im a completely new at this? haha... anyway when the house wrap overhangs, whats to stop the stuff from showing under the lap siding? if i were to overhang the house wrap 2-4 inches as im now reading. i would still have like an inch or so showing... even if i were to push the bottom edge of the first lap an inch or so over the osb. is there something im missing? ill have to keep reading. edit: spelling, grammar etc.

 

[Tom Struble]

well any siding or trim should overhang the foundation 3/4-1''min

just cut the wrap so you can't see it,but make sure that it overlaps onto the foundation

even if you decide on the water table make sure there is wrap underneath it,when you install the metal flashing just cut a slit an inch or so higher the slip the flashing under it,this way you maintain drainage continuity

 

[joecaption]

Sure would be much easer with a picture.
Hardee will fail if it's installed within 2" of a soild surface. Just read the Hardee install instrutions.
Not a geat siding to be using in the conditions your decribing.
A simple fix would be to install a piece of trim coil bent a 1/2 on the bottom and ran up the wall 6" then a layer of Storm and Ice Shield Install your Tyvex next over that. Install a piece of 1 X 6 vinyl lumber at the bottom of the wall, then a piece of Z moulding over that, a kick out strip of pressure treated lattic or better yet vinyl lattice then start your siding from there.
Doing all this will protect the sheathing and the siding.

Is there no gutters over this area?

 

[Tom Struble]

it's 6'' above grade,i never recommend capping the sheathing at the bottom

 

[Gary in WA]

Q152: http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-attach-photo-post-20532/


and: http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-resize-photos-post-them-here-110722/

Gary

 

[Queequeg152]

Sure would be much easer with a picture.
Hardee will fail if it's installed within 2" of a soild surface. Just read the Hardee install instrutions.
Not a geat siding to be using in the conditions your decribing.
A simple fix would be to install a piece of trim coil bent a 1/2 on the bottom and ran up the wall 6" then a layer of Storm and Ice Shield Install your Tyvex next over that. Install a piece of 1 X 6 vinyl lumber at the bottom of the wall, then a piece of Z moulding over that, a kick out strip of pressure treated lattic or better yet vinyl lattice then start your siding from there.
Doing all this will protect the sheathing and the siding.

Is there no gutters over this area?

there will be new gutters after im finished. however even with the old gutters ive observed dust and dirt splattered against the old siding in that area in the bottom foot or so when it rains like crazy, which it often does here in Houston. that's led me to worry about water rotting the bottom of the OSB WAAAAY before i would normally have to worry about the replacing the supposedly superior hardie siding.

but i was un aware that the house wrap was supposed to overhang as tom struble pointed out. i had previously assumed it would just be trimed flush to the bottom of the sheathing. i assume that extra bit of wrap would be more than enough to protect the osb? im not 100% against the water table trim, but id like to avoid it if its not necessary.

ive been reading a bit, and some of the manufacturers recommend caulking the overlaping portion of the house wrap to the foundation, i think ill attempt this, hopefully without making a mess.

i cant get a picture, as im at the office, but i can generate a sketch dwg on my lunch break if you guys like.

 

[joecaption]

The picture you posted may not be the way your wall is. The reason I say this is the picture shows the sheathing installed wrong.
It the bottom plate should have been set so it was even with the outside of the foundation and the sheathing is run past the the foundation at least an inch to stop air and water from getting in that area.
If yours was done right like I suggested the siding would not cover up the bottom of the sheathing. That's why I suggest adding the flashing at the bottom of the sheathing to prevent it from wicking up moisture from splash back.

 

[Tom Struble]

i wouldn't caulk or seal the housewrap to the foundation in any way,you can caulk the sill plate to the slab but i prefer to leave the bottom open to give any moisture that could possibly get under the wrap a open route to daylight

the problem is not necessarily things intermediate wetness,the problem comes from not being able to dry out

 

[Queequeg152]

i wouldn't caulk or seal the housewrap to the foundation in any way,you can caulk the sill plate to the slab but i prefer to leave the bottom open to give any moisture that could possibly get under the wrap a open route to daylight

the problem is not necessarily things intermediate wetness,the problem comes from not being able to dry out

that's a good point, but doesn't house wrap 'breath' so to speak, wouldn't that let moisture out over a period of time? on the other hand any water getting into the wall behind the wrap would have no where to go...
anyway from what i read(tyvek installation guidelines), it sounds like caulking or taping the wrap to the foundation is an attempt to "maximize air leakage reduction", not deal with water.
i think ill leave the caulking out like you suggest.