# Leaking door threshold



## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

You most likely need to replace the gasket along the bottom of the door slab. Take the door off, by pulling the pins in the hinges, and post a picture of what that gasket looks like.

Now also if you take a piece of paper and lay it on the threshold, how hard is it to pull out from under the door? If it is really easy, you need to adjust those four screws, to raise that piece on the threshold, until it is high enough to make it snug.

Also can you post a picture farther back, showing the outside entry. BTW, did this happen when we had the storms over the weekend to early Monday afternoon? If you have never had rain infiltration issues before, the driving force of the rain was probably enough, to cause it to find gaps between the gasket on the bottom and the threshold.

You can get the replacement gaskets for the bottom at any Ace Hardware, Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's Hardware, in the same aisle as the rest of the weatherstripping.


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Also what is with those hinges at the deck, right below the door entry for?


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## MaineLL (Jun 23, 2013)

The hinges are THE way that steps are attached in our area. It allows for movement due to frost.

This is an ongoing issue. Every time it rains, basically from day 1. 

Is there another type of method to deal with this besides new door bottom and adjusting the threshold? That will work today, but it won't work in January without readjusting as the foundation moves because of frost. And readjust in April and June. (There is enough movement that I may have to put a latch plate on that has a longer hole.)


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

If the seal is still in good shape but there's a gap that style threshold can be adjusted by just turn the screws in. I can see 4 of them in the picture.
Go easy when adjusting so you do not go to far.
If you do just back off the screw and tap the strip back down with a rubber mallet or a block of wood and a hammer. (note I said tap, not beat it down!)
Installing a door wrong is one of the most commonly done jobs by DIY's and home owners.
By far I've seen more done wrong then right.
There was supposed to be at least flashing under the door, better would be a sill seal.

http://jamsill.com/
http://www.bing.com/images/search?q...C101F79567D23464B984E616DC8&selectedIndex=176

Not sure why you have a piece of unsealed wood sitting under the threshold, that's going to be an issue at some point.
It would have been better to have used a piece of PVC lumber.
That piece needs to be up tight against the bottom of that threshold so it can not twist. If it can move at all, it cracks the seals on the outside edges.
Just a blob of silicone under the threshold is useless and will just tend to hold in any water that gets in.


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## MaineLL (Jun 23, 2013)

I understand how to adjust the adjust the threshold. I'm asking if there is some other insert that can go there that would be more effective that something that will need constant adjustment through the winter due to movement from the foundation.

The door was fully ice and water shielded when it was installed by a contractor. The unsealed wood is pressure treated wood that I have not yet painted.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Going to need to address the foundation issues if you want a permanent fix.
Sure sounds like a stone foundation that has no footing and was not set below the frost line. 
Would be interesting to see what condition the sill beam is in.
Just a guess but often times I've seen insect or moisture damage in that area, or old repairs where to short a patch was done.
Which causes uneven lifting when the foundation does shift.


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## djlandkpl (Jan 29, 2013)

What about a storm door that is slightly longer than the bottom of the aluminum threshold.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Very few doors are truly watertight. Any residential entry door exposed to the weather also needs a storm door.


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## MaineLL (Jun 23, 2013)

Sometimes I don't like the answers 

I was trying to avoid the storm door as the landing is only about 20 or so inches deep. I prefer around 48 inches or so for safety reasons. I hate stepping back to the lower step to get the door completely open.

No stone foundation is going to be completely without movement from frost in Maine. This corner also borders a driveway and is circa 1900. 

As an aside, I have done 30k in foundation repairs on three buildings in the last 10 years. Suspect this section may be on the agenda next. Need to replace a slate roof first, though.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Fifty years ago thresholds were actually made similar to this one that would seal and then some idiot decided to make a better one.
http://www.amazon.com/M-D-Building-Products-10116-Threshold/dp/B000BR7HW6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_3


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## gregzoll (Dec 25, 2006)

Fairview said:


> Fifty years ago thresholds were actually made similar to this one that would seal and then some idiot decided to make a better one.
> http://www.amazon.com/M-D-Building-Products-10116-Threshold/dp/B000BR7HW6/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_3


The adjustable ones were due to inconsistencies in the bottom plate that the door sat on, and too many home owners rushing the job.

I had to pull out our door on the Monday, after I had my wife help me that previous Sat. put in our back door. It was so far out of whack, there was a 3/4" gap towards the bottom, where it met the threshold. She thought that it was fine, to have it that way.

Now it is sitting right, and no problems. The adjustable thresholds if too high, will tear up that bottom gasket.


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