Trimming Wood Siding to Avoid Soil

[The Butler]

So my home is built on the side of a hill.  The foundation is slab on grade, and the living area of the house is two to six feet above the top of the siding.  The siding is all at least six inches above the grade.

The previous owner had just laid some railroad ties on the ground to divide the slope, but didn't level the soil in each section.
I'm looking to put in a stepped planter so I could put some plants in to cover the exposed portion of the foundation.  The siding height adjusts by about six inch increments every two feet in width.  I'd like to have level planters about six feet in width.  Can I just trim the wood siding so I get a roughly one foot drop every six feet?  Basically, it would expose about six to twelve inches of foundation that was previously covered by the siding.  I realize it won't be painted like the siding, but are there any issues with waterproofing that I'd need to be worried about?

[zolotiyeruki]

Exposing concrete isn't going to be an issue, but your math might be. :)  6" in 2' is going to be 18" (not 12") in 6'

[Le Poisson]

The only advice I have is to check how high the concrete goes. You may find yourself exposing more than just concrete at the back of the steps.

I would run a chalk line along the path you want to cut, then us a drill to make pilot holes in the siding to be sure there is concrete behind it all the way up. If there is, then go ahead and pull out the skill saw. If not, you may need to adjust either your slope or your height.

After making the cut, I would be very tempted to trim the bottom of the siding with something weatherproof just to be safe. Maybe some siding channel or similar. Not really sure what I would use, so little advice there except to protect the edge of the wood somehow.