Rotted Sills - 18th Century House - NO Basement
Hi, I have just purchased an 18th century Federal Style house with no basement under most of the house. I am concerned about what is under the house and how to deal with possible rot and sill problems. Has anyone tackled this? Does anyone know what it is under the house? The old pine floor boards are a little warped in the downstairs rooms and one floor has sunk in one corner. Thanks, Chris
Hi Chris,
Did you hire or could you still hire a home inspector to help you identify what you have there. If there is a crawl space under the pine flooring, I would not be suprised to find that there is no vapor barrier (6 mil plastic) which would help protect the floor joists unde your pine floorboards. The sunken corner may be some settlement from a downspout (put an extension on all your downspouts to take the water away from your foundation. It is also wise to have a termite exam on a house this age with so much tasty wood.
Window sills are a different issue, please elaborate.
Hope this helps.
Hi,again,
I was referring to the sills around the bottom of the house, not window sills. I can't tell the condition of the sills because the previous owner put vinyl siding on the house and it comes down to far. No, I did not have an inspection....other than what I did. This was a Foreclosure sale. I think something is broken under the slanted floor...it is REALLY slanted. Thanks, Chris