Diagnosing a water leak through exterior door
#1
02-08-14, 03:59 PM
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Diagnosing a water leak through exterior door
I'm trying to figure out the source of a water leak (from heavy rain) through an exterior door.
I put in this door earlier this summer, and we just had our first batch of heavy rain. Luckily, I haven't put in baseboards inside yet, so I am able to see that the framing is wet at the bottom left corner of the door.
My guess is that the water is leaking through small gaps between the stucco and the door frame/brickmold. This makes me wonder if I did something wrong when I installed the door (which came purehung, with a frame and brickmold).
How I installed the door:
-I chiseled the stucco around the door opening
-I put flashing in
-I inserted the door into the opening.
-I patched the stucco around the door frame.
-The picture shows the door frame and the stucco as it is currently. I haven't gotten around to painting it yet.
Now, I can't remember whether or not I caulked between the brickmold and the flashing; (I don't think I did.) Was I supposed to?
I put in this door earlier this summer, and we just had our first batch of heavy rain. Luckily, I haven't put in baseboards inside yet, so I am able to see that the framing is wet at the bottom left corner of the door.
My guess is that the water is leaking through small gaps between the stucco and the door frame/brickmold. This makes me wonder if I did something wrong when I installed the door (which came purehung, with a frame and brickmold).
How I installed the door:
-I chiseled the stucco around the door opening
-I put flashing in
-I inserted the door into the opening.
-I patched the stucco around the door frame.
-The picture shows the door frame and the stucco as it is currently. I haven't gotten around to painting it yet.
Now, I can't remember whether or not I caulked between the brickmold and the flashing; (I don't think I did.) Was I supposed to?
#2
02-08-14, 04:09 PM
Group Moderator
Did you use a sill pan flashing? Or did you caulk the rough sill before you installed the door, and then set the door into the sealant? No storm door obviously. Is the threshold adjustable and is the threshold to door bottom seal tight? Are there foam pads installed on each end of the threshold to seal the bottom left and right corners of the threshold? And lastly, is the door plumb? When you open the door about 1 1/2" so that it is just open a crack, is the gap between the door and jamb perfectly straight?
Is this leak related to the big crack above an exterior door that you asked about earlier?
At any rate, the concrete and stucco aren't 100% water tight, as water can be absorbed into concrete. If the door isn't caulked to the stucco and the stucco isn't painted, it's hard to say what the source of the leak is. There are so many possibilities.
First guess would be that you didn't caulk under the door AS you were installing it. Caulking after it's installed is too late to do much good.
Is this leak related to the big crack above an exterior door that you asked about earlier?
At any rate, the concrete and stucco aren't 100% water tight, as water can be absorbed into concrete. If the door isn't caulked to the stucco and the stucco isn't painted, it's hard to say what the source of the leak is. There are so many possibilities.
First guess would be that you didn't caulk under the door AS you were installing it. Caulking after it's installed is too late to do much good.
#3
02-08-14, 08:48 PM
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Thanks, sleeper!
I did not use a pre-made sill pan flashing. I just flashed around the entire door opening. And now that I think about it more, I remember that I DID in fact caulk around the door opening (top + 2 sides), and then I set the whole door into the sealant.
The threshold is not adjustable, and I think the threshold-to-door-bottom is sealed. (Earlier today, I taped that area up just in case, and today's rain still got through, so I don't think it's that.) The door is quite plumb, and the door is sealed pretty well to the frame when closed.
Haha. Unfortunately, no. This is a separate problem. They are both new doors that I put in this year though.
I'm increasingly suspecting that this is the case. I cut out a small portion of the drywall inside, and the flashing is wet. (So I don't think the leak originates from the bottom of the door.) Is it really possible that because the stucco is not painted, that water got THROUGH the stucco, slides down the flashing, and drips down onto the floor INSIDE? Today's rain wasn't all that heavy, so that unpainted stucco must be very porous, if that's the case.
Did you use a sill pan flashing? Or did you caulk the rough sill before you installed the door, and then set the door into the sealant?
Is the threshold adjustable and is the threshold to door bottom seal tight? Are there foam pads installed on each end of the threshold to seal the bottom left and right corners of the threshold? And lastly, is the door plumb? When you open the door about 1 1/2" so that it is just open a crack, is the gap between the door and jamb perfectly straight?
Is this leak related to the big crack above an exterior door that you asked about earlier?
At any rate, the concrete and stucco aren't 100% water tight, as water can be absorbed into concrete. If the door isn't caulked to the stucco and the stucco isn't painted, it's hard to say what the source of the leak is. There are so many possibilities.
#4
02-08-14, 08:59 PM
Group Moderator
Some leaks can also come from above and they find their way in at any opening. So maybe check the top of the door, or the sides and see if anything is wet higher up. Is there a z-flashing behind the stucco on the top of the door? Or is the brickmould on top just mortared into the stucco?
Around here, people's doors usually leak when they don't have a storm door. Wind will blow water against the door and a such a large volume of wind blown water will usually find it's way in though the weak point which is where the weatherstrip ends and the door bottom and sill begins.
Is this door installed on grade, or is there a step down when you exit the door?
Around here, people's doors usually leak when they don't have a storm door. Wind will blow water against the door and a such a large volume of wind blown water will usually find it's way in though the weak point which is where the weatherstrip ends and the door bottom and sill begins.
Is this door installed on grade, or is there a step down when you exit the door?
#5
02-08-14, 10:32 PM
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Is there a z-flashing behind the stucco on the top of the door? Or is the brickmould on top just mortared into the stucco?
Is this door installed on grade, or is there a step down when you exit the door?
I took out more drywall. The picture shows the lower-left corner of the door, as soon from the inside. I also cut out some of the flashing since it already got wet. The exterior siding also got wet, but only near the bottom, which makes it seem like the water might originated near the bottom. I'm putting some paper towels to soak up the water at various places, and I'll see which one is wettest.
