Vinyl siding extending below mudsill

[skeer]

So my house, the siding all the way around extends to the ground. Save the front porch area, but you get the idea.
Anyway it just dawned on me that I have a good 1’ to 20” of space between the mudsill and ground. I kinda want to remove it like ‘normal’ houses are but it’s not like there’s a lack of things to do this time of year.
So I wanted to ask, are there negatives to having your exterior siding doing this.. extending down the foundation/basement wall?

 

[loganb]

Pictures?

 

[skeer]

 

[jack stand]

Generally the siding has a more finished look over a concrete or parged block. That's the only positive (or negative) that I can think of.
Maybe you can count the siding being vulnerable to lawn & trimmer damage as a negative, but that's on the operator.

 

[Yankeefarmer]

Yeah. I think you want to leave some foundation exposed so insects like termites can’t establish a hidden path up the wall beneath the siding. Granted, the backbone of the siding should be tight enough against the sheathing to be a pretty effective barrier, but my house has thin foam against the original shake siding, so I would think there could be “paths.”

 

[skeer]

I do have some black ants that like to expedition into the kitchen occasionally. I cannot trace them back to their source so this might be why.

 

[Bert_]

Siding down to the ground without some kind of transition at the floor level just looks weird. Throws off the proportion of the building.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

Vinyl siding is installed from the bottom up starting with a special starter strip. To remove the bottom portion of your siding, you will need to remove the appropriate amount of siding, the starter strip, and then reposition the starter strip in such a fashion as to retain the right amount of tension with what will then be the new first piece of siding. If you don't get it right, you can expect a wind storm to blow off some of the siding.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Is the foundation concrete or pressure treated?
If pressure treated you can find brick or stone made from expanded foam that looks good and would be easy to install. You would need a drip cap and starter for the old siding.
I've covered concrete with foam over strips of 3/4" plywood and nailed horizontal vinyl siding on old houses. This was for a reno company several decades ago. You could use the same brick or stone veneer as mentioned previously.

 

[PCustoms]

Where is the top of your foundation?

 

[skeer]

Foundation is a concrete blocked, full basement so the top of the block wall is roughly 16-ish inches above grade.

 

[billconner]

I think you're far enough north to not have termite issues.

I do t see much to be gained by removing it. Seems like an appearance question.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I do have some black ants that like to expedition into the kitchen occasionally. I cannot trace them back to their source so this might be why.

Terro syrup packs will take care of them. Just open and place at a pathway they are using without disturbing them. They will go on it and take it back to the nest so they all die. It is like “ant be gone”.