Water getting in uPVC door

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When we had carpet down there was a dark circle that would appear now & then on the hall (dark) carpet.
We took this up to reveal the boards & the boards in that point were dry, however around the door the carpet & underlay were damp & the griprods there were total black.

We've had a lot of work going on there so initially thought water on the floor was from the rads being off or the door being open in rain but it turns out water is somehow getting in. The concrete step on the inside is constantly wet/damp although the floorboards that run up to them are overall not.

I've taken photos so you can hopefully see something that I can't & either way short of having a new door & frame installed can you advise us of what we should be doing with this?

Photo 11-12-2015, 10 03 44 p.m..jpg

Photo 16-12-2015, 8 04 38 p.m..jpg


Where the base of the frame meets the step inside:
Photo 20-12-2015, 6 04 08 p.m..jpg

I replaced the black door seal earlier in the year but this white seal has also gone & i'm not sure what this one is or how you replace this one...
Photo 19-12-2015, 5 42 50 p.m..jpg

Photo 19-12-2015, 5 43 02 p.m..jpg


Then some shots from the outside...
Photo 20-12-2015, 12 06 05 p.m. (1).jpg

You will have to excuse the copper slug tape. Unsightly i know but it seems to have kept the slugs away...
Photo 20-12-2015, 12 06 19 p.m. (1).jpg

Photo 20-12-2015, 12 06 11 p.m..jpg



As you open the door water can collect in the frame & this is to run in to those 2 holes - before it's said, these don't appear to be blocked at all & let water out through that drain point.
My wife was looking at the door yesterday as it was hammering it down & said it appeared to be coming in as the base of the frame met the step on the inside.
 
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First thing you need to do is peel that tape away, clean the PVC and hoover any loose dust off the stone cill and seal it. Drainage holes are clear and work so that's good, also good is the drip strip along the bottom of the door. Next thing I would do is waterproof the stone cill with something like Thomsons waterseal as its a solid lump and when wet it will just soak through under the door anyway regardless of there being a good silicone seal
 
First thing you need to do is peel that tape away, clean the PVC and hoover any loose dust off the stone cill and seal it. Drainage holes are clear and work so that's good, also good is the drip strip along the bottom of the door. Next thing I would do is waterproof the stone cill with something like Thomsons waterseal as its a solid lump and when wet it will just soak through under the door anyway regardless of there being a good silicone seal

Peel the tape away - i assume you mean that copper slug tape.
Don't take this the wrong way but i can't see how that could possibly be contributing? If it was wrapped right in to the joint then yeah but as it is then surely not? I'm not being hard headed & sure i'll remove it & try, but i'm just putting it to you that this would surely be unrelated?

Drip strip along the bottom of the door - that's got to be that strip underneath the copper tape, correct? If so i wasn't sure if that looked to be in good order or not.

At what side would you silicone seal? Both sides (so inside as step meets door frame AND outside - i assume on top of that white strip i just mentioned) or only on the inside?

Finally what sort of seal would you use & since it's likely going to be going on a surface that will be at least damp & as clean as can be but probably not the cleanest .... can it go on to such a surface? Any certain sealant or will any old exterior silicone sealant be enough?



Sorry for the questioning but by me asking more it'll hopefully stop me from making a mistake, buying the wrong thing, doing jobs twice etc :) Been there & done that so i'm just wanting to make sure i'm on the right page.
 
As I said, peel the tape away, it'll allow you to get a better seal, I wasn't suggesting the tape was the cause, remove that old silicone seal that has clearly shrunk and pulled away from the stone cill/step, this is the area that's more than likely allowing water in under the door frame into the inside, hoover any dust up because silicone will not stick to dusty surfaces, apply a thick bead of silicone a long the bottom of the frame.

The drip strip is the bit of plastic screwed to the door sash itself, that helps keep the rain from sitting in the threshold, any that does get in there the drainage holes should cope with, you've already said the drainage works so it won't be water dripping OVER the threshold
 
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When you tested the drainage did you pour water straight down the holes or did you fill up the threshold?
If screws are overtighted on the inner part of the threshold profile, water will build up and seep over the top and inside.

Looks like it's coming underneath though, silicone has shrunk
 
Thanks crank.
That drip strip is actually loose. I tried gorilla gluing it to the door but i couldn't get a decent enough connection on it. It comes loose on the left side as you look at it & can stop the door from shutting properly. But it's generally in place.

Regards the drainage - to be honest i haven't actually tested it other than i have seen water dripping out of the drain point at the front.

If i remember right (i'll look again tomorrow as it's nearly bed time) the screws are actually quite tight & with water being in there (probably from when the previous owner didn't bother to renew the black rubber seal & water constantly got in) the screws are also rusted.

Although my wife was watching it yesterday under heavy rain & said it was certainly getting in at the bottom there.



And with the silicone - any old exterior silicone sealant do? For example, i just googled "exterior silicone sealant" ... http://www.screwfix.com/p/dow-corni...ml/40004#product_additional_details_container that stuff?
 
Thanks. I had a look at the stuff I linked. It said for wood & aluminium (even though its exterior silicone low mod neut cure.

Obviously i'd be applying to stone & plastic.
Would it still be up to the job?

Strange how it's advertised as for upvc but then says wood/aluminium.
 
Well i poured water in to the tray & the drain holes work fine. Spat it right out the front. I spilled a bit, that's why the internal step looks really wet.

Anyway that screw isn't as tight as i thought. It must be the one at work i'm thinking of, but it is pretty rusted..
Photo 21-12-2015, 7 19 06 p.m..jpg


Also that white strip - what am i searching for in order to replace it? I think it's like some self adhesive strip, unlike the black one which i had to poke in to a recess channel... (the white strip with a black smudge on it)

Photo 21-12-2015, 7 19 19 p.m..jpg
 
The white stuff is aftermarket stuff designed really for a wooden door, it probably isn't actually doing a whole lot on a PVC door, shows there's been water ingress or draught problems in the past
 
With the warmer drier day yesterday i sealed it up. Knifed out all the sealant on the outside, gave the step a good wire brushing down, cleaned up everything with white spirits, allowed to dry & then got busy with the sealant.
For good measure i also cleaned up on the inside & sealed that side also.

It put some good amount of rain down through the night & when i woke up in the morning & looked, it appeared to be dry. Maybe it was just dark ......
......because when i got home tonight the step on the inside was wet still.

I've had a look outside & i can't see where water could possibly be getting in because i've sealed right from end to end & up a little.

Photo 26-01-2016, 6 51 35 pm.jpg


As you can see though, it appears pretty much dry in the middle. It's the ends, specifically the right end that is wet.



I did have a thought - could it be that the step is acting like a sponge & is just so saturated (on the outside) that it's allowing water to pass through it, underneath the PVC door & seal i applied yesterday & it's showing like this on the inside?
But then i thought - the middle bit being dry would surely rule out that as a possibility?

I didn't apply any water seal to the step because i ran out of time.

With this & the window (see building forum for that episode) i'm just so P'd off with the whole thing :(
 
could it be that the step is acting like a sponge & is just so saturated
Yes that plus the previous gaps in the sealant were the most obvious causes.

Waterseal as someone mentioned may well do the job. Personally I would be thinking of a black bitumen paint then once its dried assuming black dosent match the house maybe go over it with a hard wearing floor paint.
 
On that note though ...

Without going knocking the door of everyone up & down the street, i don't imagine too many others would have this issue?

Also, is a strip of DPC a reasonable 'solution' (i use that term very loosely due to the bodge nature of this question). Somhow sticking down a strip of DPC on the internal step so that any damp doesn't get to the underlay/carpet.
 
Maybe put some sealant along the top of the drip cill(screwed on type). I had water running down the door and behind the drip cill, then running into the casement frame. Some how this was finding its way inside.
 
This drip cill -

Is it that strip of 'stuck on' plastic on the face of the door that you can shift side to side?

If so then this has come loose. I tried sticking it on with some gorilla glue but that was no good. It was proving awkward to stick on. It's just one side that doesn't seem to want to stick.
 

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