Novice question - vinyl siding clearance to ground with new patio
#1
07-15-12, 11:26 AM
Novice question - vinyl siding clearance to ground with new patio
Hello. I have beginner's questions about vinyl siding I hope someone will help me with. Hopefully the photos appear successfully in the posting. I have a small townhouse courtyard in which I'm pouring a concrete patio to resolve settling and drainage issues. The vinyl siding here starts about 3-4 inches about the ground. I've read you must keep a gap between the top of the new concrete and the bottom of vinyl siding, but I need to pour concrete to about the bottom of the siding (or just over at one point) to solve the drainage issue.
Since siding is installed starting at the bottom, is it even possible to raise the bottom of the siding by replacing that piece with something else, something shorter? What kind of solution should I be looking at? I saw one post in this forum mentioning using a J-Channel and flashing but I don't know enough about siding to know if this is an approach I should be looking into further.
Is this something, being a novice, I should leave to a professional to do? And if a professional, would a typical siding company do small jobs like this, or would I need more of a handyman?
Thank you.
Since siding is installed starting at the bottom, is it even possible to raise the bottom of the siding by replacing that piece with something else, something shorter? What kind of solution should I be looking at? I saw one post in this forum mentioning using a J-Channel and flashing but I don't know enough about siding to know if this is an approach I should be looking into further.
Is this something, being a novice, I should leave to a professional to do? And if a professional, would a typical siding company do small jobs like this, or would I need more of a handyman?
Thank you.
#2
07-15-12, 11:58 AM
Group Moderator
I don't think the issue at this point is the siding. I would look at what is behind the siding.Often the wood structure of the house starts about where the siding starts. The gap between siding and the ground/concrete that you mention is for the benefit of the wood, not the siding. Simply moving the siding up may not really be an option.
I would look at the grading and what you can do to get the ground sloping properly away from the house and not simply adding concrete on top. Unfortunately, this will probable be more work and it looks like the walkway may have to go.
When considering the problem find the bottom of your hoses wood framing & sheeting and work down from there. The structure of the house is fixed, difficult & expensive to move and expensive to repair if it rots. The grading around the house is easily modified by comparison.
I would look at the grading and what you can do to get the ground sloping properly away from the house and not simply adding concrete on top. Unfortunately, this will probable be more work and it looks like the walkway may have to go.
When considering the problem find the bottom of your hoses wood framing & sheeting and work down from there. The structure of the house is fixed, difficult & expensive to move and expensive to repair if it rots. The grading around the house is easily modified by comparison.
#3
07-15-12, 12:21 PM
Group Moderator
I strongly agree with Pilot Dane...
Gutters and downspouts that are extended away from the house, along with better grading will help with any drainage problems. Adding concrete isn't the best solution in this case. If the sidewalk is blocking drainage because the grade was too high in the first place, then it should be removed, and the grade improved FIRST.
Gutters and downspouts that are extended away from the house, along with better grading will help with any drainage problems. Adding concrete isn't the best solution in this case. If the sidewalk is blocking drainage because the grade was too high in the first place, then it should be removed, and the grade improved FIRST.
