Degraded stucco and wood siding
this is a crosspost from r/HomeMaintenance.
Hi,
I bought a house at the beginning of April, about a month and a half ago. When I got it inspected, there was snow outside which covered the bottom part of the exterior walls. now that the snow has melted I have been having a carpenter ant problem, which I know is caused by a moisture problem. (I put out bait traps and diotomaceous earth, and the ants have tapered off now). So I took a look outside to see where they were getting in and discovered that the air conditioner is sitting on a rotting wood pallet which is up against the side of the house. I moved it and removed the wood pallet, and discovered this:
Edit: link to images in case they don't work: https://imgur.com/a/9JPTxel
the metal grid that the stucco attaches to is rusted, and the wood underneath is soft and brittle, clearly moisture damaged. Some people I spoke to thought the wood was siding rather than structural but nobody has actually gone in to take a closer look. This house is over 100 years old and doesn't appear to have any structural issues. It regularily gets water in the basement but that seems to seep up from the floor rather than down through the walls. There is no musty smell inside.
So here is my dilemma. I got quotes from three different contractors who all told me different things. I want to fix it properly but I have no idea who is right or if any of them are.
One person quoted me 3000$ maximum and said they would have to take off the damaged stucco, replace the damaged wood (he thought it was siding), and then re-stucco it.
One person quoted me 1500$ and said he wouldn't have to replace the wood, but he would dig out around the foundation and put in a piece of metal over the corner where the largest crack is to prevent it from re-forming in the future, as well as re-stuccoing. He also said he would use a fiberglass base for durability.
One person said he would re-stucco, but that I should get a framer to fix the wood. He did not give me a quote yet but I imagine I would have to get a separate quote from a framer in that scenario.
So... who is right? I don't have unlimited money but I do want to fix this properly so it doesn't worsen over time. Do any of you know anything about how I can do that?
