Decks, Patios, Porches and Docks - Raised Paver Patio Problem

I just had a raised paver patio installed to just below the doorwalls on a new construction home. The contractor layed the stone and sand right up against the bays which are untreated pine. The sand and gravel are also over the last level of the siding. I believe this will cause the wood to rot in time since the sand and gravel become wet with each rain. What should have been done to protect the structure? Is there a fix or will the patio have to be lowered?

John49

Wet sand and stone on untreated wood is a major no no!!! Your contractor or person who installed this patio should have placed a buffer of pressure treated wood or lowered the patio like a 1X6 or taller if needed. Burry it down below the treated sill of your home and sealed it to the home.

The condition you have now can promote termites also rot, dirt or sand should never touch untreated wood.

Hope this helps :)

I think the wolmanized wood will work but I am really concerned about moisture building up underneath the closed bays and fireplace areas. The contractor suggested some vents be added that look like heat registers around these areas.I am concerned that this will allow even more water in.

John

John49,

You've got a mess. The contractor needs to lower the pavers so that the sand and the pavers are below the wood -- the siding, the doors bays -- ALL the wood.

A PT board is going to rot if it's in contact with dirt, sand, etc. -- it'll just take longer to do so.

I agree with the other posters. The contractor did it wrong.
I bought a house last year that has a family room addition on one end. I pointed out to the inspector and owner that the shingles on the new addition were touching the ground and I wanted the shingles cut back some to keep them away from the ground. Since the previous owner had a contract with an exterminator with annual inspections and treatments, they told me everything would be fine.
I decided to go with purchasing the house anyways and cutting the shingles back myself at a later time. After purchasing the house, I had the exterminator come out and inspect the questionable area...and he found noting wrong.
Well, I did the cutting two weeks ago. I first poked underneath the shingles to find the seam between the sill and the concrete, and then went and cut back the shingles to a reasonable distance. While I was cutting these back, I was pulling out termite infested shingles and termites were dropping out of the wall. There was about 10-15 feet of infested shingles....not good!

I have the exterminator coming by tomorrow to clean up after my mess. Hopefully NOW the trouble area can be treated.

I also noticed that by cutting back my shingles, I exposed a slight bit of the sill (bottom of shingles is about even with the sill in some places), but I figure I would rather have to deal with protecting the sill from the weather than by having the walls infested with termites.

Moral to my long story...have the contractor fix his mistake before YOu have to deal with it in the future.

I want to build raised paver steps outside of my back door and will encounter the same problem with exposing the PT Board. I was going to use roofing tar to fully coat the wood, then put Aluminum flashing over the area to further protect it. Do you think that I am setting myself up for problems. I have had mixed comments from folks I have spoken to.

Thx,
Lee