I purchased a home and have come across a problem. The house is situated on a sloped lot and the chimney base is at the bottom of the slope and juts out from the house. Unfortunately. only a portion of the lower wall is poured concrete so there is a concrete/wood seam. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem but grade is only about 2″ below the sill plate and because of the slope of the lot snow and/or water piles up against this seam. In the winter and during very heavy rainfalls water does seep in. Short term this is inconvenient as I am in the process of finishing the basement, long term it will damage the sill plate and the wall above it. I don’t really care what any solution looks like (the area in question is underneath of a deck) I just need a long term solution. Is there something I can cover the plywood sheating with (like a stucco, for instance) that will bond with the concrete and provide a waterproof seal? Currently the wall is covered with vinyl siding; my idea is to remove that and put a mesh up and then apply some kind of a stucco covering that will hopefully bond with the concrete around.
Any other suggestions? Any suggestions on a product that might do what I am looking for?
Thanks for the help.
Replies
Would you be able to post a picture of this? I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what you are describing. Normally two different things like a concrete / wood connection would be flashed to repel the water. Dissimilar things move at a different rate and anything that can't take the movement is bound to fail. If you have water entry because of a grade problem, then proper flashing with grading and drainage is the way to go. This assumes I'm somehow understanding. Best of luck.
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From what I understand of your description of the problem it would seem that you need to reduce the ground level, grade, in this area and provide a way to drain away any water that may accumulate there, It is normal practice to keep the grade level no higher than about eight inches below the top of the foundation or slab. Once you get the grade at the proper level keep digging to slope the grade such that all water will drain away.
Maybe you could use some of the dirt to build a berm to redirect water flowing from the upper area of your lot to around the protruding chimney base. Just keep this berm at least 3-4 ft away from the house and base.
I don't think that your bottom plate will be the location of moisture damage, it should be pressure treated. I would be more concerned about the sheathing and studs that connect to the plate. Can you inspect them from the inside?
It is always better to correct the cause of a problem rather than trying to come up with fixes to allow you to live with the problem. Have fun digging under that deck. A hoe might be handy.
I agree with your assessment (fixing the cause of the problem) but I don't have a lot of choices in that area. I can lower grade at best 2 or 3" which I don't think will be enough. As far as existing damage. I can fully inspect and, thus far, there is no interior damage on the walls and the sheathing (at least from the inside) also looks fine.
Fortunately, the deck isn't built yet, so the digging won't be too bad, but considering how little I can lower grade I think I need to do more about weatherproofing that seam.
Thanks for your help.