Hi. I've got an external door that takes direct rain. Water collects on top of the sill in the 1-2mm gap between the sill and the bottom of the door, and then drips into the interior of the room. I've sanded the sill (directly beneath the bottom of the door) so that it slopes slightly - i'd hoped that this would allow the water that splashes up into the gap to run off; but this hasn't worked, and i think it has actually made the problem worse (i.e., because I've now created a slightly larger gap). Any solutions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Welcome to the forums! Does your door have an overhang, or gutters installed over it? It may not be the sill, but the threshold wood not being sealed securely at the edges. Water hitting on a deck close to the door will splash upwardly and will infiltrate under the threshold if it is not sealed really good. How do the "feathers" look (that's the stuff attached to the door to keep out the water and wind).
Larry

 

thanks for the welcome larry. No, there's no overhang above the door (i plan to make one at some point). The seal beneath the sill is good (as far as i can tell). Regardless of where else water may be entering, it is definitely entering between the bottom of the door and the sill. I don't have a feather on the door ... perhaps that's the solution? In regards to the feather: the sill has a 'step' in it (the bit immediately beneath the door is a few millimeters higher than the bit in front of the door), so if i attached a feather to the bottom of the door there would be a gap beneath the feather and the outside bit of the sill - would that be a problem? (and it would look odd). I'm thinking that this must be a common problem for doors (or at least doors that aren't installed correctly) ... i'm wondering if 'good' doors have practically no gap between the bottom of the door and the sill; but that must be very difficult to achieve, and the slightest movement of the house would cause the door to stick. As you can tell, i'm a beginner at all this :-)

 

Hi Chris, your right exterior doors should not have any gap between the door and sill. Weather stripping at the bottom of the door is what should come in contact with the doors sill. Doors should be installed with a sill gaurd that would direct any water that did get in, out to the exterior of the building.

 

thanks door guy, i'll look into weather strips and sill guards.