Leaking Front Door

[m1nkeh]

Hi,

We've recently moved into a property (Feb), and noticed with some of the heavy rain these last few weeks that there is water coming in seemingly "under" the front door...

Now, the front door is wooden and quite elderly.. (it's single glazed i think) so it could be just that the door is old and not up to the job any longer.. But I've been monitoring it for a few days, and on Sunday morning was able to see the issue appear from "no problem" to "serious issue" within a half hour period

I observed that:

• Top, Left and Right sides of the door were not wet
• Top, Left and Right sides of the door frame were also not wet
• Front of door has 'splash marks' on it
• Bottom of door was extremely wet

I can only conclude that when raining, water eventually ends up slashing / splattering on to the door and then runs down and under it. We have a small porch over the front door so it is getting some protection, but it's clearly not enough..

I had a look at the door, and only being really familiar with uPVC stuff (hah, familiar!) noticed that there were seals around the top, left and right sides of the frame.. there isn't anything at the bottom apart from small metal strip, which is clearly doing absolutely zip.

So, i guess the questions from me are:-

1. What do i go an search / ask for at my local DIY superstore in order to add some sort of "seal" to the bottom of the door? Is there a special name for it?
2. Would it be worth contact someone professional to take a look if the door, frame, both?! have actually failed and need replacing... who would this be.. a carpenter?

Can provide pictures if necessary... in fact i will when i get home.

Ty,

Chris.

 

[JohnD]

Unless you live in a submarine, doors are not expected to be waterproof. You can add a weatherbar to help keep out rain. Observe the outside doorstep and paving and ensure it does not slope towards the house.

if it has a protective porch, I expect the water is spilling out of the guttering. Have a look on a rainy day, or squirt a hose up there.

If you are lucky it will just be leaf blockage so you can scoop it out.

Otherwise, post some pics.

 

[m1nkeh]

Unless you live in a submarine, doors are not expected to be waterproof. You can add a weatherbar to help keep out rain. Observe the outside doorstep and paving and ensure it does not slope towards the house.

if it has a protective porch, I expect the water is spilling out of the guttering. Have a look on a rainy day, or squirt a hose up there.

If you are lucky it will just be leaf blockage so you can scoop it out.

Otherwise, post some pics.

Ah yes, i did take a look the other day at that and it's a bit drippy from the guttering, but nothing over the top (or so i thought).. The first time this happened i just assumed that it was due to heavy rain, but since it has happened loads of times... and perhaps you're right it's the guttering. I will get it looked at though.

I appreciate what you are saying re: not being watertight, but i'm having to put a towel down at the moment and all the plaster is getting soaked which is something that has never happened anywhere i've lived previously

I'll take a look at weather bar, and i'm happy that the outside step doesn't slope towards the door, i checked that was my first thought.

Will stick some pictures up as requested, Ty.