New external door leaking - rain everywhere!

[BlogOnTheTyne]

Just had a new external door fitted to a garage conversion. Rain is leaking/pouring in around the seal - from the top I think - but a lot of it and soaking onto the flooring and walls.

Has it been fitted incorrectly or does it need a canopy over it, outside to redirect the rain?

Haven't yet got carpet down but am afraid they'd be ruined if this is going to be an ongoing problem and make the room unusable.

must have been fitted wrong

Is it wood or plastic?

Who fitted it?

It's wood and the builders - who fitted it - said it's good quality oak. They put a seal around it yesterday. It opens outward. Think the rain is coming through the top (torrential rain here today).

if it is an ordinary door frame, opening outwards will not help, because house doors are usually made to seal when opening in. Shed doors open outwards but are not expected to be weatherproof. It helps to set the frame so the door is flush with the inside face of the wall (London fashion) not the outside.

Some kind of canopy will help.

As a not-too unsightly attempt, you could try a matching hardwood weather bar fixed to the frame to encourage water to drip outside the door and not reach the gap at the top. It needs to be wider than the door.

these weather bars are sold by places that sell doors, they are usually attached to the bottom of doors to prevent water blowing underneath.

I don't know an elegant solution to this.

You will have to make sure the edges of the door, especially the top and bottom, are thoroughly painted or stained as they will be subject to water penetration. The frame might have come with rubber sealing strip.

Oh heck! I'd asked them to make the door open inwards and they said it wasn't possible as the frame was designed to open outwards only. They've got a rubber sealing strip around it but it obviously isn't working.

The door is flush with the outside but has about 4 or 5 inches between the inside of the door and the inside walls.

They said not to pain the door but only oil it as it's such good quality oak.

If it leaks like this in rain, won't it also let out tons and tons of heat from the room, through the gap?

I did ask if they could refit it the other day to make it open inwards, as it'll push out into the face of visitors coming through this door but they were very very not OK with this and said it'd be a whole day's extra work and involve taking out the entire frame then then having to replaster too and they've already done the interior painting of this room - which is of course now stained with rain water.

What should I do now? They're coming back later int hw week next week and the job is a fixed price job. They've been great in other ways really, although a bit inexperienced. Could they claim that the problem with the door is not their job to correct, within the agreed fixed price - or as the room can't be habitable with leaking rain and cold air, can I claim that they haven't done the job satisfactorily?

there are two aspects:

It would be much better to have the door opening inwards. IMO it would also be better to have it aligned with the inside surface of the wall (this is a London style used for wooden house joinery since the great fire of 1666 and I was quite surprised when I moved to other areas that have other styles) which gives better weather protection, and also gives more scope for opening the door wider into the room. It would be better to make the change straight away rather than live unhappily with it for a few years and then change it.

Whose fault it is depends on what the plans showed. It is normal for doors to open into houses, so I don't know why an outward opener has been fitted.

If the plan shows it opening in, it is their fault to fit an outward opener. If the plans showed it opening out, then it is your responsibility, unless a change was requested that you agreed. Are the builders English?

p.s.

when you buy a door frame or liner, it is usually delivered as pieces, and you can assemble the top, sides and bottom to open in or out, though it is not usual to open out. Did you see the frame delivered? They are much more prone to damage if delivered assembled (but easily come apart)

I have never seen an external door opening outwards apart from sheds and my guess for that is so you can stuff it full and push it closed I do not do that

I would get them to re-do it, the walls have been ruined by the rain and will need putting right anyway.

I have an outward opening door when i was young. But the house has a huge porch wide enough to park a mini sideways! (All across the front with a bedroom and living room both having french windows opening outwards too).

Otherwise I can't imagine how you can have a outward opening external door. They usually have a big rimmed seal around the outside isn't it?

I came across this picture of how a doorframe is delivered. You may be able to see that it can be assembled to open in or out at whim, though opening inwards is usual.

I would be reluctant to believe any builder who said that you had bought an outward-opening door or frame and it could only be fitted that way.