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Ahwatukee Living’s Ask the Experts« Are you an advocate? | Index | The Art of Negotiation » Homeowner Frustrated With Door LeaksDear John, Dear Jay, Water leakage is a common problem with sliding door thresholds. Sometimes water intrusion is severe, staining carpets and causing dryrot at the subfloor, baseboards, and sometimes even the wall framing. Caulking is the first line of defense, but unfortunately, this does not always alleviate the problem. Your idea to add flashing is a good one, but even this is not always effective. There is, however, a failsafe method of correction, but it is intrusive, costly, and only recommended where all other methods have failed. This repair involves installation of a sheet metal drain pan beneath the door threshold. The pan must be ordered from a sheet metal shop and fabricated to fit the doorway for which it is intended. Three sides of the pan should have a raised edge, about 3/4 of an inch high. The fourth side should face toward the exterior of the building, with a downward sloping flange to promote drainage. To install this pan, the entire door assembly must be removed -- a process that entails surgery at the exterior wall. Once the doorframe is extricated, the pan can be set in place with copious applications of high quality exterior caulk. The door assembly is then reinstalled, with the threshold inserted into the pan, again with generous applications of exterior caulk. When done properly, this method has been a foolproof means of preventing water intrusion. If all sliding doors were initially installed in this manner, such leakage could be prevented at minimal cost: an ounce of prevention during construction; a pound of cure when leakage occurs. Inspectors in the House Posted on August 5, 2004 |
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Comments
"SureSill" (search web) sells a PVC drain pan assembly which is cut and glued to size. Easier than sheet metal and also provides drainage channels under the base of the sill to ensure water gets down and out.
I've installed one and believe will do the job - a second installation is underway. If necessary, the side jams can be cut about 8" above the bottom and the piece removed to allow access to the rough opening without removing the whole door frame. You will cut into the casing trim inside and outside about 3/4" and you may need to stick a hacksaw blade behind the trim and cut any nails connecting it to the 8" piece of door jam you want to remove. The cuts can be beveled up (or perhaps you would say outwards from the door jam) toward the wall framing on each side to provide more joint surface when you reglue (polyurethane or epoxy). To ease the gluing, glue and screw a 1/4" piece of wood a little narrower than the jam onto the back of the remaining installed jam above the cut but projecting down past the cut a couple inches; screw from the front, drill the jam for the screws (a little large to allow the screws to grab your 1/4" wood and pull it tight against the back of the jam) and counter sink the heads. You'll have to fill and finish the screw holes and joint nicely. Be sure to wipe all the glue off when when you initially screw/glue on the the 1/4" backer pieces - you really don't want to have to chisel off hardened glue if you come back and finish installing the bottom jam pieces later.
It's still a lot of work; but it will save ripping out the whole door and re-installing it, and limit your finishing to a careful patch and paint job.
Posted by Rufus on October 17 at 7:56PM
Frustrated With Door & Window Leaks?
My thanks to Rufus for using and mentioning our product. SureSill is glad to help with window and door installation issues.
I would still add that in addition to drainable sill pan, proper head flashing and jamb flashing is needed for adequate installation.
SureSill sill pan is designed to fit any rough opening (up to 16'), with a recessed slope underneath the entire door or a window (i.e. entire rough opening) for directional drainage to the outside of the building.
Please contact us via our website www.suresill.com
Mishko Teodorovich, Suresill, Ltd.
Posted by Mishko Teodorovich on November 20 at 1:30PM
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