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dadiOH[_3_]

wrote:
On Friday, January 22, 2010 10:30:21 AM UTC-5, HerHusband wrote:

Since others are answering a nearly three year old post, I will too.
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I have installed several prehung exterior steel entry doors over the
last few years, and virtually all of them have minor leaks somewhere
around the bottom. The first was the entry door to our garage,
which has now rotted and will need replacing this summer. Obviously,
I don't want any other doors to rot like the first one, or worse yet
cause structural damage to the buildings.

I've tried to follow the best building practices I can, wrapping the
wall felt into the door opening, applying flashing tape around the
opening (bottom, sides, then top), caulking with high quality PL
polyurethane caulking, etc. The exterior door frame is completely
sealed and there's no possible way water is coming in around the
exterior of the frame.

As far as I can tell, the water comes in somewhere around the door
sill at the bottom. I'm not positive, but I think the water runs
down the sides of the door against the weatherstripping then along
the crack between the metal sill and the the wood jambs.

Exactly so. The side jambs are butted against and stapled to the ends of
the threshold/sill. By doing that, the manufacturers have guaranteed that
the jambs are doomed to rot sooner or later.

The way I've fixed mine is...

1. Cut out the rot at the bottom of the jamb

2. Get rid of the staples

3. Take up the aluminum threshold

4. Lay a bed of mortar so as to fill the underside of the threshold and put
it back

5. Fill the gap where the rotted part of the jamb was at the ends of the
threshold with mortar, contouring it the same as the threshold. (My walls
are concerte block; if wood. you'd need a barrier)

5. Fill the missing part of the jamb - the part that was rotted and cut
out - with Bondo. Leave about 1/4" gap above the threshold. If there had
been a gap in the first pace there wouldn't have been any rot.

--

dadiOH
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