Temporary siding fix question

[twinge]

I'm not sure, but I think our house has the original siding put on it from 40ish years ago (we bought a foreclosure so finding out about the house involves detective work).  Our inspector said he thought it could be the original siding though didn't commit.   Anyway, it's this pressed fiber stuff and we can't find any replacement boards near us.  I was scraping the peeling paint off of parts and priming and was reminded that the bottom board in the back of the house is rotted. We're planning on replacing all the siding in  maybe 2 years, so I don't want to spend a ton on a temporary fix if it isn't necessary.

This is what I've done so far: I pulled off everything that easily crumbled with my hands.  I *thought* I would be able to replace the whole board,  but then we couldn't find replacement boards.  So in the meantime I put that Killz primer over all the exposed parts that didn't easily crumble off.  I just made an uneducated guess that this would be better than leaving it bare while I figured this out.  We get a lot of rain.  The rotted out parts include one section that is about 5 inches long and 2 inches high and another section that is about 2 feet long and mainly just varying heights of crumbling--all less than 3 inches and the 1x4 board that is attached to it has at least a few inches long segment that was rotted also.

Any suggestions on what to do now?
My web perusing suggests I should replace the board, but I haven't been able to find a replacement board.  I'm just looking for something that will be a temporary fix that keeps moisture out and stops the spread of rot until we're ready to replace all the siding.

My fix-it skills are so-so: I'm good with my hands and have an intuitive of how to work with materials, but no formal knowledge on things like moisture/structural soundness.  I know I could make something that VISUALLY approximated the bottom board but not whether it would serve its function of keeping out moisture and stopping rot. While this house was a foreclosure, we live in an expensive neighborhood and it's worth about 450K (we paid 380K) so I can't be too careless or makeshift with it. So let me know if you think I should get a handyperson to fix this too...  Thanks!

[tooqk4u22]

A picture would make easier to understand and provide some guidance, but figuring out a temporary or not so temporary fix shouldn't be too difficult. 

Separately please be sure that you are using a respirator mask as the paint you are scraping likely is lead based and the board might contain asbestos given the age.

[twinge]

Separately please be sure that you are using a respirator mask as the paint you are scraping likely is lead based and the board might contain asbestos given the age.

Egads, thanks for the reminder! I totally wasn't thinking of this.  I forget to use the respirator when I'm outside because I don't have that "feel" like I'm being exposed to anything--but that's such a ridiculously false intuition.  We did have our exterior paint tested for lead when we had a door replaced and it didn't contain lead, but I didn't even consider what might be in the siding.

I'll post a picture soon to give more help.  I checked it again and actually even more of the board crumbles when I exert even the slightest pressure, so I'll wait until I know the full situation to photograph the damage.  Part of me is thinking that maybe we should just go ahead and replace all the siding because the more I look at it the more I see peeling paint etc. and it's going to be a big job to even temporarily do all the needed touch ups.  The reason I was waiting is that we essentially need to do the siding, gutters and roof (and were thinking if we needed all that done we might as well put new windows in too--since they are the original ones) and we only have about 18K currently earmarked for all this work. And I was thinking it would be cheaper if we bundled it all together.  I don't know--this is our first time owning a house.  Oh and we need a new heat pump too...sigh.  I preferred being a renter!

[tooqk4u22]

If you are paying a contractor (sounds like it based on your budget) then it will definitely be cheaper as it will make a big enough job to get a good amount of competition from contractors to get the the best quotes - especially in this economy.  Check references and prior work.  If your doing it yourself then maybe not as much savings - either way get quotes because for some of these large jobs there may not be a huge difference in the cost to do it yourself and your cost because the larger contractors can buy cheaper.   

Plus there is a stacking element to windows and siding - so it will look and function better as well.  If the house is old I would also plan on putting some insulation foam board on the house as well. 

If you are going to do it anyway and have the money set aside already then it may be best to just do it now.  Two years from now the economy may be humming and contractors might be busier which will drive up costs and make it harder to find a good contractor.   

[twinge]

Thanks--and, yes, we are planning on hiring a contractor.  The job is way beyond our skills and time (we both work full-time, 2 young kids) at this point in our lives.  Do you know if there's any reason to do roof/gutters before or after or together with siding/windows?

[tooqk4u22]

Not really, there is a bit of the stacking element and could make for a bit cleaner end product but generally roof and gutters go together more so as the gutter is attached to the fascia board and that only needs to be replaced if it is damaged. But likewise if your roof is failing or you plan on doing this soon anyway it adds to the job making it more competive. A job like that with siding, windows, roof, and gutters is good work for a crew especially going into the slow season. 

You will need to be tough because and work em because they won't automatically give it away, especially those that good and busy.

[apstone]

When are you going to hire this contractor?  2 years when you replace the siding?  Depends, of course, on your budget.  When the company I work for builds/renos a house, and it is new roof/siding/windows, the roof is the first done.  Then windows, then siding, then gutters.

As another poster said, the gutters are only attached to the fascia, which is independent of the roof itself.  The fascia is usually replaced as part of the trim of the siding, along with the soffit.  Gutters are pretty much the last part of the project.

In terms of cost, it will probably be cheaper to do everything at once, but that is a lot to bite off at once.  hope that made sense

[twinge]

Yeah, and I'm trying to figure out if we're going to stay or not...If we're going to move we might just fix it up "good enough" and let the price reflect that more work needs to be done.  It seems to me that we could pour cash into fixing up the house and then sell it and have to pay a greater percentage in fees.  Also, I worry about what I might find if we rip off the siding. No obvious leaks or anything, but you never can tell. 

But if it doesn't turn out we're moving (out of state--for work), if I shifted some of our savings patterns around, we could afford to pay cash for it all next spring. This past year I've been  maxing out both mine and my husband's 401ks, on top of my work's 10% contribution AND maxing Roth IRA along with lots of 529 plan contributions --both to make us "feel poor"and to harvest some tax advantages--so we have very tight cash flow.  I could ease up on this and improve our cash flow to add enough to our savings to pay for all the fixes at once.

The one thing I wondered about contractors is the process of getting the best people for all of those things--seems like those who could do siding/windows very well may not be those who do roofing well.