Quote:
Originally Posted by Acres per Second
Me too: Sill-replacement isn't rocket science, but big jacks are needed. (And flashing isn't just for roofs).
Flashing wasn't used on a new walkway alongside the house. That walkway rotted through dangerously in less than ten years—AND rotted our sill. The replacement PT walkway still looks super after 15 years— except:
PT (pressure-treated) wood will definitely rot: Three boards on the replacement PT walkway were covered by a very heavy stainless-steel grid. The underside was not regularly swept of the hemlock needles that would collect there, so extended sogginess after each rain eventually rotted those three boards.
(On my check-list for next Spring). 
I opted for a PT sill once it had been determined that the missing flashing caused the rot AND that carpenter ants have appeared here.
(There was scant difference in materials-cost anyway).  |
Do not get me wrong there is absolutely nothing wrong with using PT as a sill, that it is standard sill plate in modern construction. Keeping the bugs away is the idea and it sounds like you took care of the water issue as well which is the main concern that then causes the bugs.
I can assure you that BIG jacks are NOT needed to replace a sill or rim joist in all cases. Just depends on how you perform the work, the biggest tool in the trailer is not always needed. And you are correct about the flashing, every horizontal or sloped plane on the exterior of a home that is not pitched requires flashing, as well as any vertical surface meeting a slope or horizontal, and no caulking is not flashing.