# Water leaking under front door



## cm8567 (Sep 15, 2011)

There is a musty smell around the foyer in my home and I know exactly what it is coming from... Under the front door. We have hardwood floors that run right up against the bottom of the door frame, and there is a little rot on one side from moisture over the years. The smell is getting on my nerves. Want to make sure that I seal it properly (both underneath the door frame and around the outside trim where the brick meets the wood trim) See pics attached. As I seal it, I am also considering replacing the flooring right around the door, and making sure that area is mold/smell free. Any suggestions here? special kind of paint to seal the trim so that water cannot penetrate? Anything else that I can do to remove the odor short of cutting into the floor? When it rains, rain does tend to come up against the door as well, so I want to make sure that this is sealed properly so that I am not running into issues in the future.


----------



## Jackofall1 (Dec 5, 2010)

To help ensure this doesn't continue happening you should put up a storm door. 

If rain is finding its way under your door then I would also say that your threshold is sloping back into the house and it shouldn't be.

Mark


----------



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

How handy are you?


----------



## HomeSealed (Jan 3, 2008)

Based on the pics, that door jamb looks soft/rotted/shot. Depending on budget and your skill level, a full replacement of the door would be one solution...or... if the existing slab is in good shape, you could chop out and replace the bad wood. I'd then recommend wrapping the brickmold and jamb in aluminum, and installing a storm door as mentioned. If you dont replace the door, put a bead of caulk where the threshold meets the ground to prevent any water infiltration at that point. If you do, you can probably just follow the instructions that come with the door. 
...On the wood flooring, it doesn't look as though any replacement is necessary, just some sanding/refinishing once the source of the leak is stopped.


----------



## TrapperL (Jul 23, 2011)

It appears that the seal between the wood jamb and the aluminum threshold has failed. The painter during construction would have caulked that around here- you don't have any. Whoever did the grey caulk at the base of the threshold though really screwed it up as any water that gets under the threshold now has no way to get out. If the jamb is rotted like it looks, the unit needs to be replaced and this time put in a door sill pan and properly installed/caulked/painted. Failure to fix this is going to cause more damage to the hardwood floors. Matching hardwood floors is not fun nor is it cheap.


----------



## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

TrapperL said:


> It appears that the seal between the wood jamb and the aluminum threshold has failed. The painter during construction would have caulked that around here- you don't have any. Whoever did the grey caulk at the base of the threshold though really screwed it up as any water that gets under the threshold now has no way to get out. If the jamb is rotted like it looks, the unit needs to be replaced and this time put in a door sill pan and properly installed/caulked/painted. Failure to fix this is going to cause more damage to the hardwood floors. Matching hardwood floors is not fun nor is it cheap.


+1

This pretty much sums it up. Jambs are shot and draining behind the threshold with no where to go but in.

Thresholds can be sealed if they are 1 piece unit and the sides are sealed if you are worried about wind driven rain. Better to seal them with a bedding bead of caulk into a sill pan flashing.


----------



## cm8567 (Sep 15, 2011)

*Thanks!*

Thanks everyone for your replies. I will keep you in the loop on my progress.


----------

