I had a handyman replace an exterior door to my deck. It now appears that (1) he installed it incorrectly, and (2) there may be a problem with the door itself.
In the attached picture, you can see light streaming past the seal in the lower left corner of the door. I checked, and the threshold appears to be level, and the frame seems to be plumb. Can this be corrected by shimming, or do I need to completely reinstall the door?
As for the leak, obvioiusly, water will get past where the light comes through. But water also gets in through the opposite, right hand side of the door. It appears to be getting past the adjustable threshold. Any advise on how to correct this?
Replies
It appears that the door has no weatherstripping or is not in contact with it if that much light is coming through near the latch.
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Thanks for the response.
There is weatherstripping along the entire jamb. The door makes contact starting about 18 inches up from the floor and all rest of the way to the top.
Edited 8/5/2009 7:17 pm ET by kmsbc
see of the hinges are in the mortise and screws are tight. Did he give you the little wedged shaped pad that goes there?
Thanks for the response.
Yes; the hinge screws are all tight.
No; there was no wedge provided.
Edited 8/5/2009 7:17 pm ET by kmsbc
Wouldn't surprise me one bit if the door is warped.
First remedy is tighten the flap inside the jamb strike, you can often bend it out with a flat screwdriver, if it is slotted. If not a needle nose pliers will do it.
If that don't give enough "close before latch" action, the strike may need to be moved, plug the old screwholes and remortice slightly, and rescrew.
If THAT isn't it, use a reliable straight edge and check the door for bow or warp...if its warped, you need a new door or lots of monkeyng with alternative weather strips and tweaking hinges.
I got six doors that exhibit the same issues.
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Edited 8/1/2009 4:16 pm ET by Sphere
What's the rest of the reveal (gap) around the door look like? Does it shut properly?
Another overall pic and some of that jamb would help.
-d
Thanks for the response
The reveal on the strike side is 3/16 at the top and 5/16 at the bottom.
The hinge side is runs between 1/16 and 1/8, top to bottom
The top is 1/8 on the lock side; 3/16 middle; 1/8 on the hinge side
The door shuts properly -- no rubbing or dragging. It does not swing on its own.
I've attached several more pictures.
Edited 8/5/2009 7:18 pm ET by kmsbc
How long has that been installed? Its seems that there is no shims in the door and with uneven reveals all around the door youll have problems. It looks like the bottom of the door jamb needs to come into the room so you get a seal on the entire door jamb.
Sorry but it looks like a sloppy job from here.
Them Jeld-wen doors are famous for having things go six different ways. I put in probably 150 over a 3 month period.
Head and threshold are almost never the same, and the hinge mortises are in and out. Really looks like to me the jam is twisted in the first picturre.
Danno7x;
Thanks for the reply.
The door has been in for about 2 years.
There were shims at the top, bottom, and middle of the strike jam; I took them out while I am trying to reallign the jams.
Would you recommend pulling the door completely out to install flashing in the bottom?
Edited 8/8/2009 10:07 pm ET by kmsbc
Starting over fresh sounds like a good idea. Use a pan or lots of silicone, silicone is what was done for a long time before the pan idea caught on and I think its fine. I would say you have alignment issues though. Check the walls for plumb, not inside the opening but the wall in and out.
Of course you could have a warped door put a long straightedge on the face of the door to check. Even if it is warped you could adjust the wall to account for how you need the jambs to sit to seal at the bottom. Shiming out the top or removing some of the plywood on the bottom of the wall so the jamb comes into the room and seals against the door. Just some silly ideas, good luck.
Thanks!
Looks to me that the jamb is racked. Possible fix is to move the jamb leg out at the bottom or in at the top or split the difference with the opposite jamb leg. Your version of plumb might be off - you know how those cheap levels and poor eyesight work.<G>
Water under the threshold - No pan? No caulk?
Sometimes hinge mortises are set too far out and the door makes poor contact with the weatherstripping. Same thing with the strike. If, when you close the door firmly, the safety pin also goes into the strike, the strike is set too far out.
Thanks for the response.
Understand about the cheap level. Good excuse for the wife so I can buy myself a better one.
No; no pan. That is why I am seriously considering reinstalling the door.
I'll give a try to tapping the top and bottoms to rack the jam.
Thanks again.
Ralph has got it right.
Go outside and close the door..you probably are not making contact with the weatherstripping.
If you get enough water in there it will drip inside of the sweep on the bottom of the door and run inside the sweep untill it drips out the other end (hinge side)
Adjust the door like ralph said and both problems should be corrected
Thanks for the reply.
I'm going to give it a try.
That'sa fuzzy photo of a small part of the door. Gotta see all of it to know what exactly, but looks like the knob side and it is not closed tight to the weatherstripping to me.
I also see a lot of doors with the thresh cut longer than the head piece so that it is not possible to install perfectly plumb jambs. That can also cause some of this.
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Thanks for the reply.
I measured the widths; 36 1/16 at both top and bottom
Sorry for the poor picture quality. I've attached others.
"It appears to be getting past the adjustable threshold. "
over it or under it?
Like noted by someone already, no pan flashing is evident. Are we seeing finished flooring or is that subfloor?
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Thanks for the response.
Definately under the adjustment. I pulled up the adjustment after a recent rain, and it had water all under it.
You are correct; there is no pan flashing. That is the main reason I'm seriously considering reinstalling the entire unit.
That is the laminate flooring, which was installed 2 years after the original door.
Edited 8/5/2009 7:17 pm ET by kmsbc
Please don't do that without resizing, it's really annoying on a lap top or for them that have dial up.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
"If Brains was lard, you couldn't grease much of a pan"
Jed Clampitt
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My apologies. Carry on.
-d
door track and molding drains
There are two half inch holes under the track. You can see them when you lift up the track. They are at each end of the sill molding. They are supposed to drain through slots on the outer edge. Since the material is vinyl, the small passage can be squeezed closed during installation or even when sitting in stock for a long time.
Some installers like to put a trim molding along the outside of the base sill. This will not work. The molding will block the drains.
To solve the problem a 3/16" drill bit can be used to clear the slot and open the space to the 1/2" drain holes that are provided by the manufacturer for draining.
If desired I can post a couple of photos. I am sure happy with the fix as the rain was going to ruin our new red oak flooring.