Replaced a section of sill on my daughter's 1800's built house.

[CalG]

I told her, before she bought it, the house was a shambles, But it came with a farmland surrounding, and she had to have it.

6 feet of 8X8 sill on a mortared rubble foundation. Just a stony crawl space underneath.

Scooped the sill and framing up higher than the window sill with bare hands/ rotted to nothing/

Fortunately the family that sold her the house still farm the area around ..And, operate a saw mill.
Getting full dimension 2X4 and 4X8 hemlock was only a 100 yard carry. ;-)

We had a streak of the most delightful weather! With seasonal temps just returning.

No matter, The sill is replaced on a fresh mortar bed, New framing and sheathing to boot!
Lots of gaps had to be "healed up" with expanding foam, as the the area is also the junction of a long ago addition. Jumps in both height and width. It is amazing what vinyl siding over clapboards will cover!~

All sealed up now, New framing, New windows, redone insulation and vapor barrier.

I'll need to return to trim out the windows inside. I;m not interested in the vinyl siding repair. She will need to call in a specialist for that.

I'm not so satisfied at the "repair and preventing of recurrence, but she is happy, and that IS the bottom line!

After four days, at my age.. I'm beat!

 

[JJT]

I've done similar sill repairs, laminating/stacking pressure treated 2x10's. Caulk and expanding foam are your friends.

 

[woody]

got any pictures

 

[Tinhack]

I remember my first house in Ohio. It was built in the 20s or 30s and it was full dimension wood with plaster interior walls. The second thing I did after a full interior paint was remodel the kitchen. I removed a back door that was in the eating area. The door went nowhere. I guess the steps or stoop was long gone. I had a hard time finding a matching wood for the siding and building up the thickness of the wall. I spent a lot of time and money on that house including a remodeled basement and full replacement of the kitchen cabinets. It was worth it in the end as we sold the house for a nice profit and built a new house out in the country.

 

[nyone]

The vinyl siding repair was going to be the easy part.

I have a old house I totally rebuilt 13yrs ago.. I should have bull dozed it down and curse my self every week still to this day. Il never buy another used house. I want to build new my self...and I dont mean hiring a contractor. I spent so much time and money taking parts of this house down..when a dirt start would have been way easier and not cost much more.

 

[ponytug]

The vinyl siding repair was going to be the easy part.

I have a old house I totally rebuilt 13yrs ago.. I should have bull dozed it down and curse my self every week still to this day. Il never buy another used house. I want to build new my self...and I dont mean hiring a contractor. I spent so much time and money taking parts of this house down..when a dirt start would have been way easier and not cost much more.

Yes, it is hard to look at an existing house and have the fortitude and cash to bulldoze it and start over, but sometimes it really is the best decision.

@CalG Congratulations! That's tough work, in my book, and in my book at least, definitely not one of the glory jobs in home rebuilding, though critically important. I helped a friend rebuild a home from the 1740s(+/-), and the whole house had to be jacked up to get it level, and then rebuild the foundation, and new sills. The carpentry was just an on going challenge as nothing was the same size wood, nor internally square, and we were trying to bring the interior walls to something approximating straight lines. It seemed as if every stick of wood needed four or five dimensional checks before cutting. We did not have the luxury of a nearby mill.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Oaktree]

I have a old house I totally rebuilt 13yrs ago.. I should have bull dozed it down and curse my self every week still to this day. Il never buy another used house. I want to build new my self...and I dont mean hiring a contractor.

Nope. Not me. I love old houses, quirks and all. Both my current and former houses were 1800s vintage. I like to joke that my current house was built before the level and square were invented.
Couldn't give me a new house, or even one made in my lifetime.

I did have to go thru the same routine the OP did on my first house (though not quite as extreme)...sill was totally rotted out on one side. The field stone foundation topped out at just about ground level on that side, along with no gutters you can imagine what shape that was in 90 years later. I used PT wood to replace it, was able to find true 2x4s at a sawmill to replace the bottom couple feet of studs. Was in my late 20s at the time.