Weather bars on front doors? Piglet John I hope you are here today!

[RulerLenska]

We've just had a (very expensive) wooden front door made and fitted however there is a gap at the bottom left and right sides and also underneath.

The manufacturer is going to take the door away and "glue" on some more door (they will strip the paint and then repaint it all again).

They tell us that should stop the problems at the sides of the door but they've recommended a weather bar for the bottom.

Just seems such a shame to do something like this on a brand new door.

Any thoughts (please).

If I'd messed up with the measurements, I'd be delighted by their commitment to customer service, if they measured the door or I'd supplied the correct measurements, I'd be laughing at their offer.

Boofy - unfortunately my husband paid them 99% of the cost (grrr) so we don't have the upper hand. I wish he hadn't and we'd been able to get a new door.

• and yes, they measured it!

Can anyone else give me advice. They are coming to remove the door tomorrow and I'm thinking we are doing the wrong thing. Perhaps I should insist on a new door? The door costs a few thousand pounds. Are we being stupid allowing them to try to mend it?

Well I would insist on a new door or otherwise say you want your money back. I'd also want them to show me some of their previous handiwork too to reassure me they have some satisfied customers without these weather bars.

Their mistake and for that amount of money you should ask for a replacement. You are not getting what you paid for.

Regardless of having paid them, they haven't fulfilled their contract: to provide and fit a door to your specification. You do not want a weather bar so shouldn't accept one. State by email that as they measured incorrectly then they are obliged to supply what you requested and you will not accept a repair.

Thank you all. I've sent an email to the above effect.

From my very limited and rusty knowledge of contract law, the remedy for breach of contract is usually damages (money), not specific performance (i.e. replacement of the door with one which meets the agreed specification). It is worth bearing in mind that this is what a court would likely order when deciding what to ask for from the door company, especially as the breach is relatively minor. A weather bar is a good idea unless you have a porch and in the presence of a weather bar I am not sure the longevity or performance of the door would be significantly affected.

By all means ask for a new door as an opening gambit, but maybe be prepared to accept a partial refund as I think you are unlikely to get a better offer even if you were to take it all the way to court. Don't start off by talking about court action either, it will only put their backs up. To be completely clear, I'm not suggesting you take court action, it should be a last resort, just saying that you need to negotiate since you are unlikely to get specific performance at court IMO. I am not a lawyer.

Thanks charleston. The issue is not only with putting a weather bar on the bottom, the door is not tight at the bottom left and right hand sides either.

There is also an issue with the paint. It arrived very badly painted - looked as though dust and debris had been blown on to it while it was drying. The door was taken away and stripped and repainted.

The second paint job also has issues - there is small dent marks in the paint. This has been acknowledged by the manufacturer and he says he will take it away, strip it again and repaint it.

The door doesn't look like a wood door anymore because of the layers of paint. It looks like an aluminium one; there's no visible grain at all.

If the door is exposed to rain, fit a weatherbar. It is to stop rain under the door, nothing to do with the fit. Usually a door is supplied slightly oversize and the carpenter or joiner cuts and planes it so a 2p piece will just slide along the gap all round. This is why the edges, at least, usually need painting after fitting. If it is bought as a set with frame, it can be fitted before delivery.

It is considered fine workmanship to sand a door smooth and paint it so the grain is invisible. Take a look at the most famous door in the world.

Did you have a new frame too?

There must be some reason why you paid thousands of pounds for a door. What is it?

We had a weather bar fitted to our very expensive new wooden front door - all the 100 year old doors have one!

they measured it- and then supplied the wrong size?
they painted badly not once, but twice?
And you paid thousands up-front?

TBH I'd be asking for a full refund as their workmanship is crap and I wouldn't have any faith that their glued on bits would sustain normal use without seriously weakening, which could leave you vulnerable to break-ins. If they repaint the door for a third time you're not going to be able to see how well (or not) they glued the extra bits on.

Substandard goods that do not fulfil contract and are not fit for purpose (ie actually being the right size to fit the door frame)

Now I'm confused. I value PigletJohn's input so I'm surprised to hear that we shouldn't see the grain of the wood.

PJ we do have a new frame - we totally renovated the house which included a new frontage. The door is inward opening.

The reason we paid thousands (6+) was that we had a front door and single garage door made to order/match in wood.

We (my husband!) paid (5k) on delivery in September as he always does. There was no cold draught blowing in then and we didn't (stupidly) notice the flaws in the paintwork at that time.

I'm so confused. I read that weather bars don't stop draughts www.modern-doors.co.uk/blog/weatherproofing-wooden-front-doors/ and I do feel that we have had very bad workmanship from a manufacturer.

the weathbar is to shed the rain.

The top and bottom edges of doors are the most prone to water penetration and rot, and they are most often neglected during repainting because they are (unless you wisely choose lift-off hinges) difficult to get at.

The weatherbar should be fixed using brass or stainless screws from the inside face of the door. That way there will be no drilled holes or screwheads showing on the outside, and the screws will not rust.

you can use a brush/fur/pile draughtstrip on the bottom of the door, it accommodates to the gap. It is possible to use a rebate in the bottom of the door matching a batten on the threshold, but this is not very successful. You might have a waterbar in the threshold to reduce rain blowing under the door.

It is also possible to use phosphor-bronze spring strip on the bottom of the door, but I have not seen any for many years.

So PJ should we be considering their offer to take the door off (again) strip it of paint, glue bits on to the sides to make it fit better, repaint it again and fix a weatherbar?

The door isn't a traditional looking one, it's a modern vertical stip one and as well as everything else I just don't think a weather bar is going to look nice (least of my worries re this door!) (we've had to be rolling up towels etc over the winter to stuff up against the draughts coming blowing in)

IMO a weatherbar on the bottom outside edge of a front door looks perfectly normal. Only if the door is in a deep porch and protected from wind-blown rain would I omit it.

Your door manufacturer might offer a high-tech draught reducer, but if not, get a brush pile one. Ask if they can fit it into the bottom of the door where it will not show. Common ones fit on the inside face of the door which is less elegant. The gap under the door needs to be big enough to accommodate the sagging that will take place. If it is excessive you could ask for the threshold to be built up.

Ask how they managed to make a door and a frame that did not fit each other.

Express disappointment that they intend to rectify the poor fit by adding strips to the door (if it was me, I would prefer to build up the hinge side, which will be looked at less, and will not have people brushing into it and knocking it).

Make a point of running a 2p piece all the way round the door to see if the gap between door and frame is that size, and even. (a 10p piece is the greatest acceptable gap) and do it whenever the supplier is watching you. He will think that somebody who knows about joinery has advised you. He might try to tell you they have left a bigger gap for the thickness of paint, but if the door is already painted, that won't wash.

I would probably accept a rework of the existing door, but I've never paid thousands. At that price you are entitled to a perfect job. Warn them that you expect the door to be perfect when it is returned to you. I imagine they have already lost all the profit on the door by having to come back twice.

The supplier should know, without you having to threaten him, that your next step would be the Small Claims Court.