Expert: Dave Johnson - 12/30/2008

Question
My house was built about 10 years ago, on a slab foundation in Houston, TX. The back of the house, is hardiplank siding.  Over the years moisure has gotten in,at floor level, especially around the back door, enough to cause the baseboard to expand and mold to form under the vinyl floor in the kitchen by the back door.  Due to hurricane Ike, I had some other damage and as a result, I had to remove the sheetrock around the back door and along the wall on either side of the door.  Based on the amount of dead bugs and rusted bolts (that hold the framing to the foundation), I know water has gotten in there.  My "handyman" felt under the bottom row of siding and said that there is no "flashing" along that bottom edge of the house.  So that is why water and bugs have gotten in.  How do we go about fixing this problem without damaging the siding.  Can we seal it somehow from the inside of the wall before the new sheetrock goes on?


Answer

Hi Alene,
If the moisture is entering from under the bottom plate (sill) you probably won't be able to effectively stop it from the inside.

Is the sheathing under the siding also wet/rotted?
Is the bottom plate pressure treated?

If this is the case you'll need to remove the siding and take care of that as well.

You can try taking care of it from inside, but if that fails after the rest is finished, you'll be back where you started.

Best of luck,

Dave