Raising Door Four Inches

I have a walk-out to a flat roof on the second story of my house that has had a few leaks in the past. I'm having a roofer come and patch around the walk-out door (where the leak originates from). He has suggested that I raise the door about four inches (it's only about two inches now... this'll give me six) but I'm not certain how to go about it. My thought is to cut two inches off the top and two inches off the bottom of the door and add a piece of lumber at the sill. But this is too simplistic, isn't it? Oh... there's a storm door as well but I think I can just leave that alone since it closes on the outside (that is, not flush with the sill) The outside wall is just shingles so there shouldn't be any great impediments to doing something a little more involved... but I don't want this to be a huge undertaking either. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

 

Grouch. Welcome to the forums. Difficult to understand why the door needs to be raised 4". Is there a problem with the threshold? Is it too low? How tall is the door itself? Is there any way you could post a pix of what you are looking at?

 

Hi Larry... thanks for responding. The leaks that we have had are in the area of the door (this based on the position of the water stains in the ceiling below and the condition of the drywall along the wall of the roof - I happened to have the baseboards off as I just installed hardwood so I could see old water damage there as well). The roofer wants us to raise the door so that the roofing materials can be brought up high enough so as to prevent water getting into the house. When we get a lot of rain we can get a couple of inches of water in the low spots and the water almost backs up to the interior wall. This doesn't pose a problem in the warmer seasons but in the winter/early spring thaws it can (and has) been a problem. Ice builds up over time and when the thaw hits, the ice melts (closer to the house first as that will be warmer) and the water doesn't have anywhere to go (I believe this is called an ice dam). With only a two inch clearance at the threshold, the roofing material isn't high enough to prevent water from being pushed up under the flashings and into the house. Raising the threshold allows the roofing material to be brought up higher and prevent the water from being able to get in. I'd love to redo the roof entirely and have a proper slope put in so that this problem is eliminated properly but it'll cost a whole lot more money. Here's a picture of the door as I was preparing for the hardwood installation... best I can do for now as it's late and I have my son sleeping in the room. I'll post something better tomorrow.

Thanks...

 

Better pictures...

 

Well, it looks like time for exploratory surgery. Above the door on the inside, you need to cut away a portion of the sheetrock to determine what size header is up there. Cut straight up from the corners of the door to the ceiling and remove the sheetrock. It looks as if it spans from the beam like thing to past the light switch. The answers you post will set us in motion as to what your options are going to be. IF we are able to modify the header, then, of course, we will have to build up the threshold. That will be fairly straight forward. Let us know on the header.

 

Ugh... the wife isn't going to like this. She was hoping to move back into the bedroom this week-end since I was planning to finally get the odds and ends of our hardwood install done tomorrow or Saturday. Think I can hide the big hole above the door from her?
lol... I'll see what I can do.

 

It won't be a big hole, you just won't have sheetrock on the wall above the door. I guess you could call that a hole. What I am hoping you will find is a 10"+ header, solid from the top of your door frame to the ceiling. If we do, you may be able to cut out part of the header with a reciprocating saw, build up the threshold the same amount and reinstall both doors.

 

Seems the wife isn't too crazy on the idea of raising the entire door frame (I didn't really expect any other response). "Why can't you just cut the door and raise the step?" So... beyond aesthetics, what would I be gaining by raising the whole door rather than doing as she asks? If there really isn't a strong benefit, then how do I go about just raising the threshold?

 

There are certain things in life where you don't stir up the water. Here you have reached your limit, I believe.
Yes, you could take the door and frame out, build up the threshold, cut off the door frame, and reinstall. You will lose 4" of head space, and it will make for a short door, but if it is not a normal means of ingress and egress, and you can be happy with it, then all will be well. I don't think you will successfully be able to cut off your existing door, due to the rails being thin to begin with. If you take 2" off the top and 2" off the bottom, you will have to reset all the hinges once the frame is reinstalled.
Once the old threshold is removed, you will see the dimension of wood necessary to build it up, probably 2x6 pt. Be sure to layer the pieces with adequate silicone to prevent the water infiltration you had to begin with. Of course you will probably want to install a new threshold, available at hardware and big box stores, then relay the side and top jambs on top of it.
Post back.

 

Thanks Larry. I don't think we'll be particularly happy with the end result but it's the quickest and easiest way to get the threshold raised. The door is an eyesore to begin with (I'd love to just put a wall in it's place) so I don't think it matters much how tall it is... we really only use the door to let fresh air in (though I think that's what windows are designed for ).

When you say "layer the pieces with adequate silicone" do you mean in between the 2x6's or the edges of the joined pieces? Assuming you mean the latter, what would I use to join the built up pieces? Screws and/or something like PL400 adhesive? Also, should I use pressure treated wood?