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PinchePoderes t1_j5w2zmo wrote

I’m not a siding guy so I couldn’t say for sure but in general you’d have a siding, moisture barrier, sheathing, framing/insulation, probably another vapor barrier, then sheetrock, so if mice were getting in under your siding I would expect to see some kind of holes in your interior, that’s where I would look and I’d spray foam it. It’s just kind of a lot of layers for them to go through, not to say that they couldn’t but I’ve more commonly seen them get through areas around windows and doors. I have seen where they will come through siding and nest in the walls.

If you have a crawl space with ductwork in it I’d check around there too. If there is a gap between the duct and subfloor they could probably squeeze through the floor register.

Edit: the other pictures with the cracked foundation could be patched with a concrete epoxy or a concrete patch and repair mix like quickcrete. The picture where you can see 2x4 looks like your bottom plate and you could take a sealant like NP1 rated for exterior use to it. I’d try to lay a bead of it between the bottom plate, sheathing, and foundation rather than the siding. The siding probably does need to breath to eliminate moisture but I would also say due to the technique used to install the siding it shouldn’t see much; assuming it was done correctly. Basically it’s overlapped like that so water runs down and off.

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metalmayhem9 OP t1_j5wnf6w wrote

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. As for the last picture, I could not see (perhaps due to a lack of experience) any sheathing around the bottom plate. Is it possible that there is no sheathing or sheathing that degraded over /the years?

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PinchePoderes t1_j5wpqx0 wrote

Absolutely, happy to help.

It’s really hard to tell from the picture, but the only time I’ve not seen sheathing used was on a shed and screened in porch, stuff that doesn’t really matter too much. I would be really surprised if there wasn’t any. I’m not am engineer, so I can’t say for sure, but I was always told the sheathing does provide a bit of rigidity and shear strength to the structure.

Sheathing is typically OSB so it is possible that it was a weak spot that crumbled out or the builder just cut it a bit short, that wouldn’t be a super weird thing to see and probably the most likely. It also depends on how old the house is. I actually don’t know when they first started using OSB or Plywood as sheathing but it could be completely different if its pretty old, I’ve seen a couple houses built circa 1910 that just had boards. If you’re really gentle with the siding, you might be able to pull it back a bit to get a better look.

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metalmayhem9 OP t1_j60f0aj wrote

You were right. A sheathing appears to be there. Also some noticeable gaps between the foundation and the bottom plate. Next up is to lay a bead. Thanks!.

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PinchePoderes t1_j5ws4wn wrote

Could be the sill plate. the sill plate sits on top of the foundation depending on the style. Kinda depends what style the builder did and how old it is. It’s really hard to tell without being able to look at it myself. I would still probably try to peel back some of the siding to get a better look.

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