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
