Waterproofing joint between sheathing and concrete retaining wall

5 years ago

I'm buying a house with a walkout basement. At the walkout section, there's an exposed concrete retaining wall. This means there's a section where a woodframed wall meets the retaining wall at an inside corner. My inspector noted that there's about a 3/8-1/2" gap between the J channel for the vinyl siding and the retaining wall and that you can see the edge of the OSB sheathing along that gap. This seemed to him (and me) like a potential area for water damage and rot.

But I can't figure out an obvious way to seal this area. Flashing? Flashing tape? Sealant?

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Comment (1)

PRO
Rosemont Design
5 years ago
Hi Jon-Paul,

Based on your photo and description, we would suggest bending a 6” strip of aluminum brake metal flashing to form a 90 degree angle, and running it vertically up the joint between the sheathing and retaining wall. On the sheathing face, you would need to lap a 6” strip of flexible flashing 3” over the brake metal, and seal it back to the weather barrier. At the retaining wall face, a bead of caulking should seal the joint between the brake metal and concrete. This same method should be applied to the top of wall, creating a brake metal cap to positively lap over the vertical brake metal flashing by at least 3”. Vertical and horizontal legs of the cap should be positively shingle lapped back to the weather barrier with flexible flashing.

Hope this helps!
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