We figured out a plan for sealing up the back wall along the foundation. My dad has a knack for figuring out cost effective building solutions; we are Polish immigrants so being resourceful with limited materials and money is sort of our skill set. It would be too expensive to remove and replace the rotten T1-11, even if we did it just along the lower section- 4 ft x 8 ft sheets run anywhere between $25-$40 depending on quality. We wanted to secure the baseline perimeter with a material that would protect against moisture, rodents and insects but not break my bank. We decided to use Hardi board siding panels, aluminum flashing, and silicone caulk.
Hardie board, developed by James Hardie in the 1980s, is a siding material composed of cement fibers, sand, water, and cellulose wood fibers. It is extremely durable and does not retain moisture so it does not rot or warp. We picked up 12ft long siding panels for $9.08 a piece and 10ft preformed strips of aluminum flashing for $2.88 a piece at Lowes. Honestly, I absolutely hate Lowes and prefer Home Depot but my dad gave me a gift card and there we went.
To reinforce the base of the walls from the inside, we repurposed the planks of T1-11 that were cut out for the windows and nailed them in. Before I insulate the walls, I’ll seal the edges with spray foam to make sure everything is nice and tight.
I decided to wrap the Hardi board around the entire garage to protect against any future damage. Eventually, I will need to dig out all the soil away from the exterior walls and grade it to direct water away from the building, but for now this will temporarily solve my problems and keep the structure secure. There’s a lot to do to get the shop running on the inside and I only have time to shut the shop down for a month before I need to get orders into production, but I’m pretty happy about the progress thus far. Here’s the current before and after…
