# Draft From Under Door Sill?



## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

So I have noticed with the North winds that there seems to be a draft coming from under the sill of my front door. I can feel it coming from betwen the trim and the tile. Thus the ceramic tile by the front door is always freezing cold. Any ideas on how to fix this?


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## Leah Frances (Jan 13, 2008)

caulk.


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

Where? Inside or outside? I have vinyl siding. Should I remove the piece of trim from the bottom of the door and put caulking in there?


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

Maybe expanding foam - probably one that does not expand so much?


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## rredogg (Dec 27, 2005)

Leah is right with suggesting caulk. Weather may not permit application at this time but when there is a warm spell, do it. The caulk is applied under the door-sill from the outside. If you are familiar with "backer rod" but that under the sill first, on the outside and then apply your caulk. 
Just to check for that air leak put a lighted match or candle near the bottom of the door on the inside to see if that is your problem.


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## Big Bob (Jul 27, 2007)

why is this happeneing?

Proper practice is to apply thick bead of caulking on the sub floor under where the threshold sits. Thus your problem should not happen.

Reallity is, the carpenter dryfits the prehung door.. to be sure i fits ok in the rough opening... they might play with it a bit to get it plum and be sure it will fit in the right position... then they get lazy... instead of pulling the door out and applying the caulk at the caulk the bottom...and playing with the door again... they shim and set the door. If they feel a little guilty, they might caulk the exterior of the threshold.

Life, and there is so much of it.


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## noahweb (Feb 11, 2010)

the threshold needs to be secured to the foundation with a construction adhesive. Not caulk


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## vsheetz (Sep 28, 2008)

I was taught to use a bed of mortor under the threshold if it was metal with a space under it - so it would have a solid feel when stepped on.


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

Well so do I just run a bead between where the sill and the siding meet? I guess that is the best I can do huh?

Well I guess the lazy contractors are getting what they deserve now with the housing bust. All those years of doing sloppy work... I know there are a few honest ones out there but most will do just about anything to save a buck.


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## Tom Struble (Dec 29, 2008)

yea because you never meet cheap skate homeowners now do you:whistling2:


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

tomstruble said:


> yea because you never meet cheap skate homeowners now do you:whistling2:


This has nothing to do with being cheap... just being lazy. :whistling2: Hell... at least run a bead of caulk before you put the siding up. Its not hard!

What is comes down to is builders being lazy and not being properly educated. Building code and city building inspectors are not enough. Builders need to be educated better and held accountable. People can get sick from sloppy work! (e.g. mold)


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## Big Bob (Jul 27, 2007)

noahweb said:


> the threshold needs to be secured to the foundation with a construction adhesive. Not caulk


agreed! Back in the olden days we used adhesive caulk (phenoseal) sp?
We had it on the truck for our counter top work anyway.


The advent of the good PL products changed that.

PS. ( Lazy carpenters ?) some Pre hung doors want to be bears.
slab or subfloor not level, wall is racked, rough opening to tight and not
square or plum.... after tuning, shiming, adjusting, balancing for 20 minutes to besure the door will fit and operate perfectly.... OK now pull the door out and seal the bottom... and fit it all over again...


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## Big Bob (Jul 27, 2007)

soasquad said:


> So I have noticed with the North winds that there seems to be a draft coming from under the sill of my front door. I can feel it coming from betwen the trim and the tile. Thus the ceramic tile by the front door is always freezing cold. Any ideas on how to fix this?


OOps,

Let us besure we are talking about the same area. Nomenclature: to name it, is to know it... many terms appear to be regionalized.

Can OP post a picture and point to area of concern?

Is the air infiltration coming from under a threshold on a prehung door with intregral threshold? In older construction door sill refers to the area under
the door opening (top front edge sloped) upon which threshold is installed.

Let's just be sure we are on the same page.


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

I'll post pictures when my wife gets home with the camera here in the next hour. :thumbsup:


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

Here are the pictures. On the interior picture this is where the draft is coming from. On exterior the red shows the gap where I think it is coming from. The siding is Vinyl. House is only 2 years old


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## Thurman (Feb 9, 2009)

Let's Damn the lazy builder, and Damn the lazy homeowner--but the problem is still there! The pictures-IMO-tell the story. IMHO: the door's threshold was not properly weather-_seal_ed to the home's framing_ sill_. As posted, this should have been done with the door/door frame installation. That was yesterday. So, what you have now, at this time of the year is a draft _which can be addressed at this time_, and proper repair(s) can/should be done later. Caulking applied where the aluminum threshold meets the siding, and where the flooring meets the threshold will suffice to prevent _most_ of the draft at this time. My real concern would be water infiltration at the outside problem area. Whether a slab floor or conventional construction, there is some wood under the threshold which could rot. Clean the joints, caulk now, proper repair when weather permits. David


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

What do you suggest I do as a proper repair?


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## tpolk (Nov 7, 2009)

looks to me between bottom of door and sills threhold. if you lay a piece of paper on the door threshold ( note book paper thin) then close the door on it does the paper pull out easy or some resistance? if paper is loose and you have an adjustable sill you can adjust the threshold to where there is resistance to the paper but it does not tear


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## soasquad (Jan 9, 2010)

Yep plenty of resistance. The other reason I know why it is between the threshold and floor is because the there is a draft between the wood trim and the floor to the left and the right of the door (approx. 2 feet on each side).


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## Big Bob (Jul 27, 2007)

soasquad said:


> What do you suggest I do as a proper repair?


OP thanks for pictures:

I assume this house is built on a concrete slab.

*"PROPER REPAIR?" *

you may get as many asnwers as there are posters on this fourm.

SO:
short of pulling the door out and applying heavy continuos beads of 
Construction adhesive... slab to underside of threshold. (something I would never consider at this point) 

IF goal is to stop the cold air with tearing up and out as little as possible
....understand all places this cold air could be coming from and start with easiest solutions for you until you are satisfied. If foam was not installed 
properly between door jambs and framing members... these areas might also contribute to the cold air entry point at the inside. ( if you seal the threshold to the slab at the outside and you still have cold air coming in... condider pulling the interior casing and apply spray foam.)

*Know you need to get to where the threshold meets the slab atleast at the outside edge.* This could require remove & reset of siding trim viewed from your photo. You have tile grout at the inside that could be problematic to remove and replace thus not worth risking if other solutions are satifactory. 

1. decide if you feel you can remove and rest the siding / trim under the threshold on the outside. Removal should allow best possible access to the area.

If no... a. wait for it to warm up a bit..or b. use heatgun or hairdryer to warm the area so that it is flexable enough to bend to allow proper inspection and possble repair attempts. ( Do not over heat.. you risk discoloring and warping siding) 

If you can get at the area... options might be: foam as advised by others
(be careful this can get messy and hard to clean) OR stuff crack with, backer rod..fiberglass (use thin blade)... and / or adhesive caulk...
( it might be difficult to get a thin enough bead of Construction adhesive
in the crack).. Your call...

I really hope you get lucky and this is a quick fix for you. Let us know!


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