Raising a sill plate off a wet concrete house foundation

11 years ago

I have some minor water leak issues with my basement walls that caused the wood sills to rot. I've removed the framing and sills but have not been able to find any advice on how to raise the sill off the wet foundation to prevent future rot.

I will be doing what I can to stop the leaks but I want to make sure that the sill wood stays dry. I'm thinking about putting down concrete boxes with an inch between each box and between the boxes and the wall. Which should be plenty of space for any water to move around and down below the house where it will get pumped out by the sump.

The new wall will be holding up the floor above it but not the house. Currently I have a temporary wall in place.

Does this sound like a sensible plan? Is there anything I should watch out for?

Here's a couple pics of the foundation http://imgur.com/a/RNv7u

Thanks guys!

Comments (2)

User
11 years ago
Code is to use treated lumber. You're overly complicating things that don't need complexity. Fix the active infiltration issue and all you will be left with is capillary action wicking the moisture through the concrete. The active infiltration may require regrading and french drains for a real fix.
brickeyee
11 years ago
Wood within X inches (something less than 18 inches if IRC) of grade (or below grade) in contact with masonry has been required to be pressure treated for many years.

CCA used to be standard, but now use one of the newer pressure treated woods like copper quaternary.

That means all the bottom plates in a basement build out need to be pressure treated (and any wood nailed on the inside of the masonry foundation below grade).
Like the 2x lumber behind the electric panel.

I do not think anyone has realized that most cable staples are not all that corrosion resistant. Like the ones within X inches of the panel.
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