A house I examined recently was
only 21 years old and worth a halfmillion
dollars, but required over
$60,000 of structural repairs. Almost
90 percent of the sheathing had failed.
Most of the sill, and some of the wall
framing had rotted as well. The
damage had multiple causes, but the
primary problems were:
• framing too close to the ground
• improper sill details
• inadequate sheathing material
Wood at Grade
Wood members placed too close to
the ground become wet from rain
backsplash. As shown in Figures 1 and
2, the siding and sill were virtually
touching the ground in places. Furthermore,
the top of the foundation
projected out beyond the house on
two sides, trapping water against