Rotted garage siding….replace with cement board?
I’m having trouble with the T-111 siding on my garage. It’s rotting where it contacts the slab. The sides and rear overhang the slab, so the only trouble spot is in the front wher the slab extends beyond the siding and roof. I’ve been trying to think of ways to repair and correct the problem.
Originally, I was thinking of ways to shore up one section of the wall, cut back the framing and siding, and pour a 1′ cement wall. Then reframe onto that. It’s a lot of work to get it to the way I wish it had been built in the first place.
My other idea…much less work…is to cut back the siding above the rot and leave the framing. The bottom plate is a PT 2×4 which has stood up to the moisture, so the framing is solid. Then replace the lower foot or so with cement backer board and use mortor to finish it.
The cement board option is much less of a project…and therefore likely to get done sooner, but is it a sound idea? Are there any better options I haven’t thought of? Thanks
Replies
I've gotta solve the same problem as I re-side the front of my slab-on-grade garage.
I'm planning on using L-shaped galvanized flashing to span the lower 4-6 inches of the sheathing and hold the siding up 2 or 3 inches from the bottom. Lead flashing would be even better.
Greetings
You might want to cap the end of the gutter and run a downspout down and into that bed for irrigation, rather than have it pour out the end and splash on your works. Flashing and sealing siding all sides and especially the bottom and holding it up off the slab is also a good idea.
Treated plywood instead
Cement board would be okay - but it will absorb moisture and could spall in freezing temps.
You could use some 1/2" treated plywood instead of the durarock.
Might be a little stronger and you could paint it to match your siding.
And Calvin is right about needing to get the water away from the building.
Terry
Why don't you pull the full length strip of T-111, on the side of the door, and replace it with pressure treated T-111. Replace the wood corner boards with a synthetic material.
Why not just cut a couple of inches off the bottom all the way around and install azek or pvc trim board on the bottom with a flashing on top of that and behind the siding. Solves the rot and will likely dress up the whole thing as well.
You only need to get the end of the siding up about 2" above the slab and it'll stop deteriorating (as much as T1-11 ever stops). I'd cut it off at that level, paint/seal the end well, then use my "handyman's secret weapon" (thinset) to create a fillet below the siding, to protect the sill. You could tack a piece of tin to the sill first, to separate it from the mortar.
But I've done pretty much the same thing you propose with the cement board before, and that worked well too. Again, use tin or rubber or at least tarpaper behind it to keep it from direct contact with the framing.
Dan, could you describe the process of creating a fillet with thinset? Sorry, I'm just not familiar with that term>.
Basically you just create a roughly triangular blob of mortar between the slab and the vertical face of the sill plate. This will keep water on the slab from running up against the plate.