Storm door gap at the bottom

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11-23-21, 02:06 PM

Merrimac

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Storm door gap at the bottom

So i recently had a contractor come and install a storm door (36x80 andersen 2500 series) and a front door (feather rivers 36x80 (37.5 x 81.625)

the rough opening of front entry is 40 x 83.

The reason we replaced both doors is because of the draft that was coming in due to our old front door.

and now we have a 2” gap at the bottom of our storm door thats letting leaves in (located in suburban chicago).
we are worried that snow will get in between the storm door and main door once the winter hits.

we are wondering what the best options would be to fix this problem.
the contractor states he cannot lower the storm door anymore due to the lack of space needed for framing around the storm door and that it will interfere with the strength of the framing if we lower it anymore.

his suggestion was to get a door sweep

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11-23-21, 02:14 PM

XSleeper

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Yeah, that happens when a door made for a 2x4 wall with a wall thickness of 4 9/16" is installed in a thicker wall. You've got more jamb and trim in front of the door sill than your sill is wide. So that moves the storm door out beyond the door sill.

This could have been avoided if he would have gotten a prehung door that was the right thickness for your wall.

It's possible that Andersen might have a 2" sill nose extension for your aluminum threshold... which would close up the gap under the sweep. Other than that, yeah you would need another sweep on the inside of the storm door.

Can't tell for sure cuz I can't see the front edge of the sill.

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11-23-21, 02:50 PM

Merrimac

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I plqced a temporary adhesive door sweep but there is still openings in the corners still .

you mentioned that andersen may carry a sill nose extender? Would this be on their website?

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11-23-21, 02:52 PM

XSleeper

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You would probably best put the sweep inside. I will see if I can find something out about the sill nose.

Edit: looks like Home Depot sells a kit. I've found that typically these need to be installed before the door is installed, and before the storm door goes on. It's a little difficult to do afterward.

Here is the link. But this really ought to be something your installer should be taking care of. This is elementary door installation stuff.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Feather-...60DZ/100097884

The sill nose extension is 2" wide, so if your storm door is more than 2" away, it may not be enough to help.

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11-23-21, 03:17 PM

Merrimac

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Thank you!

the contractor is stating that since the door is installed correctly that he no longer has any part in it and would need extra pay to do any additional work (he wanted to charge me $200 to reinstall with more wood at the top to cover the gap at the bottom which he couldve done to begin with.)

i would say its unfinished. Or incorrectly installed.

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11-23-21, 03:19 PM

XSleeper

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If it was installed correctly there wouldn't be a problem with the storm door sweep. And he knows it.

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11-24-21, 12:23 PM

badeyeben

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Maybe you could glue a piece or two of vinyl trim (PVC) under the door. Down on the concrete not on the door. Maybe at least get close enough to fill most of the gap and then the door sweep would handle the rest. You would need to seal around it with silicone caulk to keep weather out.

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