I would love it if someone could help me.
I have a 50s rambler with a 3x4x4 crawl space where my well used to be prior to me getting city water in the 70s.
Over that crawl space, I have my side door into my kitchen.

I'm getting water leaking under that door, into the crawl space. And it's since rotted the piece of wood to the point where it needs to be replaced.

Any ideas on how to replace? And can you do this without remove the door?

And once I get it replaced, what do I need to do to ensure it doesn't leak again.

Any help would be great.

Jason

 

I imagine that the crawl space is cement? And that you step out the door onto this cement foundation with a crawl space inside? It sounds to me like you need a flashing installed where this slab meets the house. You would need to remove the siding around it, install a flashing (with sealant underneath it) then put the siding back on. If you step down onto this slab, that shoudl be fairly easy to do. But if your door sill sits right on top of the slab, then you might only be able to put a flashing on each side of the door, and have to caulk around the sill. You probably have water sitting on this slab and running back toward the house. Just a guess.

 

The crawl space is really the stairs up onto that side of the house.
Right now, I have a small wood deck over the top of it.

So do you think that I need to remove as much of the rotted stuff then add flashing to direct water away from that area?

Also, where the crawl space meets the house, there's a gap there that's wood. No idea why it was never concrete. ANd thats where I'm having the issue, I think...

Thoughts?

 

>>So do you think that I need to remove as much of the rotted stuff then add flashing
>>to direct water away from that area?

yes, it sounds like you may have to dismantle the deck and then install a wide flashing over the steps to cover that rotton wooden part. It's very common to see rot like that when cement is poured up against a house.

 

So does that mean that I need to replace what I can get at and cover the rest with flashing?

So I'd be leaving some rotten wood where the concrete meets the wood?

Sorry for being so dense on this issue, but I want to know what I'm getting into before I start.

Also, thanks so much for all the help. This site rocks. And I appreciate all the help from all the smart/experienced people out there!!!

Jason

 

OK, went to the store and bought 2 kinds of flashing. One is aluminum and one is a sticky asphalt flexible kind.

But before I rip the door out, I'm not sure how I put the flashing on. The directions on the sticky stuff, is very confusing...

Any help out there?

j

 

It depends how rotton it is, but you are right- you obviously can't replace the stuff behind the cement without doing some serious demolition. So just replace what you can/want to.

Aluminum flashing really shouldn't be in contact with cement- the alkali in the cement will eat up the aluminum in time. Galvanized flashings hold up better. Perhaps that's what you have- its also shiny, but harder to bend than aluminum. Test fit your flashings to make sure you have them cut to the right length and that they fit. Run a gigantic bead of polyurethane caulking in your favorite color along the cement. The flashing should get pushed down into the sealant, then get tacked to the sheathing that you have exposed by removing some siding. Use only enough nails to hold it in place. Your rubber flashing tape will get adhered directly to the sheathing and over the top of the flashing. If possible, any tarpaper that's already on the house (if any) should go over the top of your flashing tape. Then your siding can go back on.

 

Well I got a sider friend of mine coming over tonite to look at the situation.
I got galvanized and sticky asphalt flashing. I got lots of liqued nails and caulk.

I guess we'll see what happens...

j