Exterior - Siding Question (photos attached)

[myekl]

I recently purchased a new home and the inspector mentioned I should have some covering placed on the underside of a section of my exterior. That is vague I know, so I have attached some photos showing the exterior I am speaking of, and the underside which is exposed without any covering. I believe I was told to cover it with a 'j-strip' or something along those lines. Any ideas?

Thanks,

-Mike

[pushkins]

Technically speaking there is nothing specifically made or normally used in that location on siding work. One of the biggest reasons is to allow any moisture to escape, that papery stuff you see is housewrap/Tyvek a water proof covering that stops moisture going inwards past it while allowing air outwards through it.
You could use a piece of aluminum bent at 90 degrees with the small leg pushed up between the sheathing and housewrap (make sure the housewrap is over the aluminum) and use a couple of screws to attach it to the underside of the firebox. The small leg will need to be small because there is what's called a "starter strip" at the very bottom of the siding that holds the bottom of the first piece in place.

I just re looked at your first picture, it looks as though the first row of siding is not locked into the starter strip the whole length.

[myekl]

Thanks for the info. I guess my next question is: is this a pressing issue? If there is no piece of siding specifically designed for this, is that because it is OK to leave it as is?

[pushkins]

I can't see any reason why you would need to add anything else, just make sure that bottom piece of siding is locked into the starter strip.
The starter strip is nailed all the way across and the first piece of siding locks into it, that is standard siding practice.