Exterior base under siding


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Old 07-15-18, 08:59 PM
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Exterior base under siding

This may be a dumb question, so apologies in advance. We have a basement and my house was built in 2013, just fyi if it matters. I noticed today at the base of my house on the outside, under the siding, I can see what looks like part of an exposed 2x4 in a few different spots. There seems to be some concrete plaster as well.

This could be completely normal. I'm just paranoid as I only ever thought this should be concrete exposed there. Risk of water or critter damage, etc. I'm just curious if I should be concerned at all... Thanks in advance!
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:19 PM
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I'd assume it's there for the framing and or siding. I'm paranoid since I never noticed it before and it is exposed wood, so I'd be concerned about exposure to rain, snow, critters, etc. Can't post a picture from my phone but if it'd help I'll get it on my laptop.

Any thoughts are welcome as I'm just not very well versed in this area. Thank you!
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:22 PM
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No idea what you are referring to without a photo of it. Only thing I can think of is that maybe they had to use 2x4 strapping on part of the exposed foundation in order to put siding on it because you can't usually nail the sIding directly to concrete. Not enough details to know.
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:26 PM
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Old 07-15-18, 09:28 PM
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What image? Use the paper clip icon to attach and upload....
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:36 PM
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Sorry the files are all too big. I'll try to get a better one tomorrow from my laptop, but are you able to see it from the link I posted?
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:42 PM
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Yes, just saw it. That's certainly unusual. Parging over or around wood is not a standard practice... it's no surprise it didn't stick and is flaking off. Probably too late to go back to the builder, but yeah, I would say this could be a potential problem.
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:44 PM
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Thanks for the info, this is better to know before something goes wrong. The builder is actually quite good about being responsive and has been in the area about 25 years. If that's a dead end though, any advice on what type of professional to contact to check this out?
 
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Old 07-15-18, 09:53 PM
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Well, I don't know what is behind your siding, so it's hard to say without knowing how big of a kerfuffle it's going to be.

#1, wood on cement should be treated.
#2, fasteners in treated wood must be rated for treated wood contact or they corrode. They can in some instances be completely eaten up.
#3, the Parging doesn't stick to wood because they are dissimilar materials. Wood absorbs moisture and expands.

At a minimum, I imagine the wood strapping needs to be removed or it will continue to be a problem. If you can see one piece, there are probably more you can't see... 16" or 24" on center. Removing a piece of siding would tell you more.

A good stucco guy or possibly EIFS would be needed to do the repairs.
 
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Old 07-16-18, 03:20 AM
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Do you have access to the other side of that wall to see how it's constructed? I'm assuming there is a masonry wall [block or poured concrete] on each side of the 2x4 but why is the 2x4 there?
 
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Old 07-16-18, 06:02 AM
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No access to the other side, but before I had my basement finished .. you are correct it was poured concrete.

I too wonder the same thing. It does sound like it's strapping for the siding. But it doesn't seem that it should be exposed.

I'm paranoid by nature, so any issues that may arise I would assume wouldn't be structural to the house since it's not framing but only for siding, right?

The house in only 4.5 years old so I'm going to contact the builder and the siding guy just to get their thoughts.

Thank you both for your help!
 
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Old 07-16-18, 06:09 AM
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Right. The 2x4s should have been cut off slightly above where the siding ends... they should not have just been covered up with concrete because that is what creates the problem.
 
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Old 07-16-18, 07:00 AM
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Thank you both for the help. Truly appreciated.
 
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Old 07-16-18, 07:50 AM
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I did speak to the siding guy this morning. He said it's absolutely fine. What they do is use nailers cause they don't want to take the wall too low, so they use treated lumber. He said we'd never have to worry about it. My paranoia might have me seal it with some water sealer every year maybe...

I'm inclined to trust him as our builder and all the subs are local to our community and have been responsive and even fixed things outside of our warranty.

But just wanted to run it by you guys to see if that sounds about right 😁
 
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Old 07-16-18, 08:40 AM
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If the poured foundation is behind that 1x4 [I assume it's a 1x and not a 2x] I'd be inclined to cut and remove that portion of the wood and fill that area in with mortar.
 
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Old 07-16-18, 08:52 AM
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Got it. I'll call someone to take a look. Thank you both very much
 
 

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