When you see a puddle of water inside an exterior door, your mind jumps to the likely culprit: the new puppy, an angry (old) cat, messy kids, wet boots. While the threshold is usually the point of failure, the water cleanup and restoration team might need to fix three areas: the threshold, the floor and the door itself.
Door thresholds are a necessary part of any exterior door– the metal barrier between the bottom of the door and the door frame. Made of aluminum, brass, bronze or stainless steel, they can get bent and damaged over time. Whether your door is sagging or bowed, or just not making proper contact with the weatherstrip to seal out air and water, this allows moisture to seep into your home.
The fixes can be as simple as an adjustment with a screwdriver, a replacement of a seal , or a complete rework of the entire system. Even more important is understanding the origin of the excess water to avoid future problems.
While traditional hardwood floors will suffer the most, even concrete floors will degrade from water damage. Look for stains, warping, and soft spots. The solution could be as simple as a professional cleaning to a total replacement of the entire area near the door. Let the our team investigate the spaces near the door, including the nearby baseboards.
Perhaps your puddle entered through a weakness in the door itself. Wood exterior doors have to put up with a lot of abuse from the elements. If they’re not properly sealed when they’re installed, the wood will eventually rot and create small openings to the elements.
Thankfully, a door can often be repaired without replacing the entire door. Using a quality exterior-grade caulk for a bead of sealant between the sill and the door frame at the bottom can protect from additional damage. However, if the damage is more severe and extends into the core of the door, the affected area will have to be cut away and replaced.
While our technicians are planning how to fix the door, they will also be looking for the original cause of the problem. You might have a drainage issue from overflowing gutters near your entryway, or an improperly installed storm door. They will create a solid entryway for the future, eliminating any moisture issues.
French doors, sliding glass doors and doggy doors inset into a traditional door are all weak spots on your home’s exterior. When you see a puddle after a rainy day, investigate further. If you think the water inside the house intruded from a failure of the door systems, call Sierra Restoration to begin your water damage cleanup and repairs before the floors and walls get worse.
Since 2010, they have provided our neighbors in Cache Valley with quality property restoration and reconstruction services. Sierra Restoration restores dreams– one home at a time with value, quality, and timeliness.
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If this is an emergency, please call (435) 563-4007 for 24/7 service.
