Water Protection?

[Clay_Taylor]

Hey all, sorry if this is a tad off topic, but its as close as i can find..
I have a garage/shed sorta building in my back yard, and one wall is starting to rot at the bottom where it meets the grass. I've looked closer and have found that the rot has started to show on the inside and the whole section is starting to lose strength. This is worse because there is a large window just above it, making up the whole side of the building, minus the foot and a half or so at the bottom, where the rotting wood is. Now my question is, when i tear everything out and relace it, what measures can i take to prevent this from happening again? Much thanks for any advice out there, i'm kinda new to this whole home improvement stuff, and would appreciate any bit of knowledge possible, thanks much.

[kactuskid]

Your walls need to maintain a minimum distance of 6-8 inches above ground level. This is very important so moisture doesn't wick up into the wall. Building soffits around the roof will also keep the rain away from the sides, and installing gutters is even better.

Build the walls with an exterior grade product and make sure you prime and paint all edges, or better yet don't build it with wood siding, just install 2" dow board over the studs and then install vinyl siding over the dow board, that way there's nothing to rot except the sill plate and as long as it's 6 inches above ground you should be fine.