Any idea how to stop water getting in my door? (With pic)

[Ebenezer]

Everytime it rains heavy and the wind blows towards the door the water flows into our kitchen. The problem is that the drip bar at the bottom doesn't cover the entire length and if it did the door wouldn't open/shut as it would hit the frame. But this gap means that water gets beyond the weather strip and runs inside.

Here's a pic:

The gap behind the black weather strip is effectively inside and any water here just runs into the kitchen.


I can't really think of any permenant solution to it also the house is listed so new PVC doors are a no and I don't want to be changing the whole door!

Any ideas?

 

[Feltwell]

It's difficult to tell from that 1 picture but it looks like your existing threshold is set too far forward and is possibly even fitted the wrong way round as well. That black strip would usually be under the door itself, and the raised lip would butt up to the outside of the door if I'm right, under the wooden drip bar on the door. A picture of the threshold with the door open might help.

A normal threshold is fitted so it's almost completely under the door - so looking at the one on the link below, only the lip is on the outside, sitting under your door's drip bar. The black flexible seal is under your door. The area in front of the back flexible seal drains to the outside if any water gets in there.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/classic-threshold-draught-rain-excluder-gold-anodised-914mm/24178#

You definitely don't need a new door, especially not horrid UPVC, listed house or not!

 

[middi]

Hi
The way to overcome your problem is to make sure that the existing door lower lip overhangs the lower cill by half the door thickness with a sealing bead (aluminium) fitted agaist the inner lip of the cill and protruding above the cill height by at least 6 mm. A draught excluder can then be fitted against the lower lip of the door.
the way to achieve this is to remove door and splice off from the lower part half of it's thickness at the corect height to clear the cill allowing for an alum drip/seal. Having removed half of the door thickness the lower cill width has to be increased by the amount removed from the lower half of the door by glueing and planting agaist this inner cill face.
If the lower part of the door already clears (or already raised above) the cill level then it is simply a case of ' planting' an appropriate wooden 'half' wooden strip at the bottom of the door with alum drip/seal etc..
For a lower seal to fitted ( against the lower door lip face ) an appropriate groove needs to be machined for the appropriate seal.
Please note, the already existing wooden drip bead planted against the existing door is only there to disperse " most " of the rain but not to create a seal between the lower half of the door and cill.
Your existing " front " door set up is notorious for internal water leaks, IF, it was a back door one could easily arrange it so rhe door opened outward, as it should.
I hope it is not too confusing, and good luck.
Middi

 

[Penners]

Your existing " front " door set up is notorious for internal water leaks, IF, it was a back door one could easily arrange it so rhe door opened outward, as it should.

I entirely agree. The door setup is completely wrong - the door should open outwards and should be set much farther towards the camera. At present, it looks as though the drip groove under the rain deflector bar causes the drips to land on the threshold, from where they can migrate inwards.

If the door was rehung to open outwards, its outside face should be flush with the outside edge of the threshold, so that the rain deflector projects well outside the threshold, with its drip groove clear of the threshold. Rehanging the door like this would also enable you to have a full-width rain deflector.

This modified setup will also enable you to have a rebate on the threshold, against which the door will close and which will act as a further rain barrier.

 

[Feltwell]

But surely the frame is designed for an inward opening door? Unless I guess the curved piece that the door presently butts against has been planted on later.

Hence why I thought the existing threshold had been fitted the wrong way round.

 

[malcolm]

Looks like someone has gunked a new door sill in there without all that much knowledge of what door sills should look like.

Generally everything where rain can hit or settle should have a slope to drop the rain back outside. Any rain stopper should be as close to the door as possible for an inward opening door, or behind the door for an outward opening door.

 

[Penners]

But surely the frame is designed for an inward opening door?

That depends on how the frame is constructed. If the closing butts are planted on, then it's relatively easy to prise them off (probably breaking them in the process!), rehang the door in its new position flush with the front of the frame, then plant on new butts behind it.

If the butts are integral - i.e. rebated into the frame, then it may be that a new frame is needed, although it may be possible to uninstall the existing frame and reinstall it the other way around.

From the look of the photo, a lot of old gunky paint is probably going to have to come off the door frame before Ebenezer can discover whether the butts are loose or integral.

 

[DJH]

Apart from the metal strip on the ground what strikes me is that the weatherstrip on the door is cut at the wrong angle and it should close into the door frame, in other words the frame should have a slot cut into it to accommodate the weatherstrip when the door is shut.

Doug

 

[88v8]

I have an inward opening door with a drip bar. Tomorrow, I'll post some pics.

The root problem with yours is the drip bar. And that ridiculous bit of aluminium is not the solution.

A demaine.

Ivor

 

[88v8]

So here's our inward opening door.
It's very waterproof, and has to be, as the gutterless thatched roof pours water onto the terrace just outside.



Here's the threshold. Oak, fastened with brass screws onto a bed of non-setting sealant. The top face is slightly weathered. Coated with teak oil.
The door just skates above it.



I can't get at the front face of the bottom of the door, so the draught seal is stuck on the back of the threshold, I just avoid trampling on it.
http://affixit.co.uk/industrial-tapes-expanding-foam-tape-c-2_57

The drip bar has to continue across the whole width of the door.
At each side it tucks under the side stop, which is slant-cut to fit.
The door seal continues under the stop so it seals against the drip.



It seems you need to remake the drip bar so it goes all the way across, and cut the side stops to suit. Then the water, and any accompanying amphibians, will stay out. Can't exactly suggest from your pic what needs to be done about the threshold, but hopefully it need not involve aluminium.

I mention amphibians because yesterday evening OH found a youthful frog in the loo. alas the camera batteries were flat.
After some discussion, we decided its legs were inadequate for dinner, so it was released back to the wild. The joys of Period living.

Ivor

 

[middi]

Nice pics Ivor, and it does demonstrate how the drip bar and the door shuts should have been constructed from the beginning with the correct sloping angles.
In order to modify the door problem in question a new drip bar needs to be fitted to the existing door and the door shuts modified in order to accept the drip bar swinging action. Of course it is A valid and alternative way to solve the problem. The existing set up of door, frame, cill and shuts need to be evaluated in deciding the best solution to the problem.

Middi

 

[Ebenezer]

Thanks Ivor for taking the time to take those photos, that's completely answered my problem! Very nice door too. I know a local carpenter who should be able to make me a new drip bar and hopefully I can do the rest myself.

Never had amphibians get in before just the usual nice and creepy crawlies!

Thanks everyone for your help.