Dry Rot at Bottom of Front of House

[bmuir1616]

Just got down from the roof. The front of the house faces north and is also shaded by some large trees. It gets no sun. The bottom of the board and batten exterior plywood (30 years old) in several places has some dry rot about 4 inches up the exterior wall. The rest of the panels are in fine shape.
Here's how I plan on fixing it:
1. Powerwash the entire face of the second floor front of the house to remove any mildew and dirt.
2. Remove any dry rot in the five places it is happening and treat the exposed edges with Minwax Wood Hardener.
3. Repaint the front of the house.
4. Apply 1x6 trim (primed on all six sides before it is installed) to the bottom edge of the front of the house (tall enough to cover the dry rotted segments) matching the trim at the top of the house and caulk the top and bottom edges of this trim piece.
5. Paint that trim to match the top trim (dark brown).

Will this work? Any other ideas?

Thanks for the help.

Bill

[iceman61]

If your house foundation is on piers, you should also check out the condition of your rim joists & the end of your floor joists where they nailed into the rim joist. If there is rot/decay there, now is the time to catch it & fix it. Sometimes rot/decay on the outside goes much deeper than just on the outside. I have encountered this of a few houses.

[Mr__Bill]

I would add a water board to the bottom of the siding.

Cut the bottom off the siding to get rid of any rotten wood, check the studs and sill for rot. If none is found then prime and paint the cut edge of the siding. Replace any house wrap or building paper that is damaged. Slid some formed flashing (Z shaped) under the siding, the flashing should extend out to cover the bottom of the battens and using a polyurethane caulk, caulk the joint between the siding and flashing. Put a large bead of caulk where the bottom edge of the water board is going to be. There should be a flashing that extends down the foundation and under the siding, put the caulk on this to seal the joint between it and the water board. Using primed ceder that is a thick as the siding and batten for the water board put a bead of the caulk on the top of the board and slid it under the lip of the flashing and nail it in place and nail the bottom of the old siding. Go back and put another bead of caulk where the siding and flashing meet.

If you find that the rot extends further than just the siding you may wish to get a contractor to do the work, as this becomes a major job.

Remember too, there is no such thing as dry rot! It's rot that has dried out for lack of moisture. Find a way to keep thing dry. Divert water, make sure the siding is not too close to the ground and that plantings are not too close to the house. Even the north side does get some sun in the summer but more importantly it needs some air circulation.

Good Luck

Bill, on the left coast