Replies

1. 
   Dallas | Aug 07, 1999 07:14am | #1

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   Paul, the termites are going to love you. However, just read about a termite sheild that is supposed to be 100% effective and do better than chemical treatment. Don't know about yhour application tho. To make it more interesting for you I can't remember which magazine it was, only that it was the last month or current one. check the library. good luck,.,

2. 
   Guest_ | Aug 07, 1999 07:21am | #2

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   Dallas , was it that stainless steel mesh ? I think it was in JLC . Think it was an Austrailian product , maybe Mark Cadioli knows something about it . Chuck

3. 
   sysop_ | Aug 17, 1999 08:55pm | #3

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   topic revividus

4. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 1999 02:30am | #4

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   We had to contend with a similar situation where our house was set so low to the ground that the lowest course of siding was touching the ground and actually below ground in some places where the previous owners apparently had been adding mulch to the flower beds around the foundation. The surrounding ground was practically flat, so we couldn't just remove a few inches of soil all around the house without simply creating a depression like a mini moat.

   We removed the siding (which was part of the remodel plan anyway), and also dug down about two or three feet all around the house, so what we had was about two feet of the concrete foundation exposed, then the rim joist, then the plywood sheathing from there up.

   I stripped off the lowest two feet of sheathing and replaced it with pressure-treated plywood. Then I "sheathed" over the concrete foundation and rim joist and partway up onto the PT plywood using 3x5 concrete backer boards, using a thick layer of thinset mortar on the concrete and gobs of construction adhesive higher up. I then taped the joints and troweled a parge layer of mortar onto it all, followed by a coat of UGL waterproofing paint, mainly for appearance sake. Then backfilled to the original grade.

   From the outside it looks like the concrete foundation now extends about a foot above grade before the new siding starts, and I think the whole treatment is sound enough to withstand any reasonable amount of flooding from the outside.

   Our house was already about 40 years old, so I wasn't worried about settling that might open up new cracks anywhere, and the fiberglass stuff in the backerboard should prevent any cracks in the new layer.

   So that's what I would suggest you consider. Replace or cover up the existing plywood with PT plywood, then skin the whole area with concrete backerboard. Depending on how much threat you think there is from moisture, a layer of plastic or rubberized fabric somewhere in there might be a good idea, plus some asphalt goo slathered on the outside.

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 1999 07:35am | #5

   *Thanks

1. 
   Guest_ | Aug 18, 1999 07:38am | #7

   *We have a product here called " Termi-mesh " which is stainless mesh that acts as a physical barrier to termites, however it would not work in the situation described above. If I had tp protect against termites in a situation like that I'd use a reticulated system for poison control along with yearly inspections.regardsmark

5. 
   Paul_F_Miller | Aug 18, 1999 07:38am | #6

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   I'm putting in a patio using paver bricks in the back of my house and I need to raise the grade up 28" from existing. The problem is that it covers the foundation and 10" of plywood. I am look for ideas to seal the plywood so that I can back fill
   up to finish grade. It has to be water and insect
   poof. I was thinking in the lines of the rubber roll roofing that they use of roofs and valleys. The patio at the house is under a 8' overhang