My day.
Hmmm…before I finish painting this last little corner of the house I may as well replace those two corner boards, they look water damaged at the bottom, it’ll only take 30 minutes.
And the Homeowner Gods smile.
Uh-oh, that bottom corner of the sheathing doesn’t look good either. No problem, I’ll just cut that section out and replace it, easy -peasy.
And the Homeowner Gods begin to laugh.
F*)’#. The #*&)’ corner of the sill is rotten?!! ) go$(&)it!! Son of a b#*”($. where’d the hammer land….
And the Homeowner Gods’ laughter grows louder as they congratulate themselves and wonder at the foolish and futile optimism of yet another home owning mortal.
So, I need some advice on repairing this corner. I haven’t pulled the clapboards off the other side of the corner yet but initially it doesn’t look that bad. I’m cutting the sheathing back to solid material. I’ve dug out most of the rotten sill. The rim joist has just a little surface softness but is otherwise solid. My thought is to pull the clapboards off the other side of the corner and see if any repairs there are necessary and emove any affected sheathing. Then cut the sill back a foot or so to between the cable and the sillcock and replace it. When I’m cutting out that corner sill do I need to worry about supporting/jacking the joists from the cellar side? There is no ceiling in the cellar so I can position support right next to the foundation wall. Any tips on repairing this?
Thanks
Thanks
here is a bad photo of the problem corner and photos of the opened corner.
Replies
I can't give you specific answers without a lot more info/pictures. However a few general observations:
1. Find and fix the source of the water
2. Sill plate on foundation appears to be untreated which is a definitel no no and against code. Replacement sections have to be pressure treated.
3. Was there any felt or Housewrap on the sheathing?
4. There may be sections that could be repaired with epoxy rather than replaced but that can only be determined by an experienced carpenter on site.
5. Existing rot has to be dried out and then killed with wood preservative not just covered up.
6. Yes, anything supported by the sill, rim joist, studs has to be supported
This doesn't look too far gone. Mike Guertin has a good article on it. https://www.finehomebuilding.com/2005/07/01/replacing-a-rotten-mudsill
If Mike is on it there's not much to add. But if you don't have enough room on the sill for wedges you can support the joists from the floor using temporary posts.
I was able to cut out the rotten portion, replace it with PT and get it all back together. Also was able to easily repair the copper water pipe the sawzall hit which was supposed to be cutting between the two pipes. Damn sawzall.
If it's any consolation, I've nicked a water pipe or two in my day.