You are better off fixing it. rip off the siding, replace it with
cedar sidng and step flash your chimney.

phil


wrote:
The wood siding on my chimney touches the shingles where it meets the
roof. You can see from the picture at
http://home.comcast.net/~niel3507/siding.jpg that when it rains, the
siding wicks up moisture, causing some peeling and rotting. The corner
pieces of the chimney box, which seem to be 1x2s and 1x4s, are also
rotting upward. However, once those corner pieces rot up enough, water
stops wicking and the rotting stops. The flashing under everything is
keeping water from leaking. When I took the picture, it hadn't
rained for two weeks, and the siding was not mushy.
I know if this were siding touching the ground, I would be open for
termites. But this is 35 feet in the air. Plus, the siding is not new
(I bought the 18-year-old house last year). I'm pretty sure it's
as old as the house.
What will happen if I do nothing?