Hi everyone, thanks for the advice. I have several cuttings sitting in soil or water. After 2 weeks, a few have rotted, most look like they're doing nothing, but one has sprouted a very small growth near the base! I'm very pleased, but want to ensure I do the right thing so this survives. I haven't watered since planting the cuttings. The soil is still slightly moist, and I've misted the cutting a couple times. Is there anything I should be doing at this point to ensure the cutting properly roots? Shall I just let it be? Currently the cuttings are in a room that is warm, receives a lot of light but the cuttings are not in direct light. They are enclosed in a plastic canopy to increase humidity. The one cutting that has new growth was the "main stem" of the plant, with a good healthy white root that was trimmed to remove any signs of rot.

Well I went with removing the wood siding and replacing with hardiplank. My reasons were the wood siding would eventually probably need repair in other areas too and then I'd have to re-paint that and by that time the whole house would probably need re-painting to match the patch. The other reason was how often the house would need re-painting. The Hardiplank doesn't need re-painting nearly as often as wood does in my area. The sun is brutal on the wood. I changed the siding 3 years ago and re-painted the whole house including the garage. I didn't change the siding on the garage as it was in good shape and is detached (still wood siding). The garage needs re-painting again, but the hardie siding still looks freshly painted. On if the painter can replace the rotting wood depends on the painter and his skills.

We had a similar situation where a concrete pad for a set of steps was poured against the front wall of the house, to above the concrete foundation level and above the sill plate that sat on it. There was originally flashing to keep water away from the join but over the years it corroded away and the water rotted out the sill plate. That and a couple of other pieces of bad design rotted out the entire corner of the house, which we had to have rebuilt. While you might keep an eye on the flashing and caulking, how about future occupants of your house? Will the knowledge that this must be done get passed on, or lost? Caulk is not a long term solution. One possibility for a long term solution might be to remove the concrete steps entirely, while keeping the patio, and build wood steps from the patio up to the doors.

Let's lay subtleties aside and see if we can make headway in answering your questions about the rotted siding on your house. It's important you understand noone can tell from the pictures what's behind the rotted siding. For that matter,one could only be certain after removing the siding if they were standing in front of the damage. That precludes even the best of carpenters making an accurate estimate of repair. Let's assume for a minute one of these experienced individuals threw reason in the wind and gave you an exact figure of $1,241.12 material,labor and repainting. 99.9% of the individuals you have look at it will disaggree on one or more points. I said $500 is close to a fair price for someoone tearing into it far enough to make an accurate list of material on time required for repair. Even at that point different carpenters will charge different as result of several considerations. You asked "How can i fix the problem once and for all?" Handymac suggested material for one way and can give you a couple more. Another carpenter will likly have even other ideas,maybe better,maybe not. Personally,I am happy to discuss a client's suggestions and desires as long as they are his own but I have turned down more than one job only because client wanted third party methods used. I feel safe in saying everone thinks $500 will not be enough IF PROPER MATERIAL IS USED ACCORDING TO GOOD PRATICES. Unless you plan doing this yourself,you need to be asking around your town for the name of a reputable repair carpenter,not if the one you have is the one to use. Optionaly.let the guy do it,$500 is a bargin.