Door question...

Grimster74

I've been busy as hell the last couple of weeks so its been a while since I last posted. Anyways, the week of Aug. 21st-25th I layed 800 sq.ft. of solid oak hardwood threw out my house and in the process I noticed the rear door on my house (which the house is only 4.5 years old) was leaking rain water under the seal on the bottom of the door. Okay, so just replace the seal on the bottom of the door. Well, after further inspection of the door I noticed the first 8 inches of framing around the bottom of the door was rotting out, great. So now I have to replaced the entire door assembly.

My current back door is what I 'think' they call a sectional door. Looking out into my back yard the actual door is on the left which swings inn to the right toward the kitchen table. The section to the right of the door is in a fixed position, meaning, it looks like a door but does not open. Since I have to replace this, I was wondering if I should just replace it with a sliding glass door of some sort to prevent to door from opening towards the kitchen table. If someone it sitting at the table and someone tries to walk out on the deck that person either has to ask the person sitting down to slide over a little or just try and squeeze by without disturbing that person.

I know nothing about sliding glass doors as far as how well they seal, how energy efficient they are, etc. What do you guys think I should do? Has anyone had to do something similiar to what I have to do and what decision did you made as to which door you chose and why? Thanks for your help guys and gals.

reeltrouble1

Sliders have problems of there own. I would change the swing of the door if possible so it opens out, there are security hinges available you could use. Just a thought.

The sliders are pretty easy to install as it all comes in a kit, you just have to get the rough opening right then level her up.

RT1

BlueMDPicker

Would a bi-fold on the swinging section allow better clearance?

billbillw

One thought I have is: Is rain water building up (pooling) before it comes in your door? Is there a problem with drainage? If you have water pooling near your door, there are greater problems you need to worry about. Foundation, siding, frame rot, etc.

Grimster74

Billbillw, ponding of water is not an issue, the back door of the house is off the ground, my house is a split-foyer. I can not count on my fingers how many of my neighbors are having the exact same problem.

mrbigbluelight

BlueMDPicker wrote:

Would a bi-fold on the swinging section allow better clearance?

I thought we were talking about doors.

madmax

Grimster74 wrote:

was leaking rain water under the seal on the bottom of the door. Okay, so just replace the seal on the bottom of the door. Well, after further inspection of the door I noticed the first 8 inches of framing around the bottom of the door was rotting out, great. So now I have to replaced the entire door assembly.

I just replaced my back door this week due to leakage/rotting. Didn't see any problem before hand. Never a wet floor, no real signs which readily revealed themselves other than a little carpet discoloration right on the edge. Ripped the door out, the sub floor was rotted, ripped that out and the base under the subfloor was rotted. Easy to fix but it was pretty scary to look at. It was very easy to replace with another like door but if you are unhappy with the style you have then now IS the time.
Good luck!
madmax

faster100

how weird, My front door that actually is on the side of the house.. weird old 40's house... the other day i pulled the door shut.. (it swells after hard rains) and when i came home the bottom 3 -4" of the door was still inside while the door was shut.. it was rotted and just broke off. we have had water coming in under the door alittle but didnt think alot about it because a enclosed porch/florida room and not our living room, well its reall rotted and the bottom is all mush ... a new door and a better seal is in order now..

madmax

Water does nasty things over the course of a few years. I never paid much attention before but I sure am now. Lets see, problems under the door, around the gutter, under the toilet and all around the outside window wood. A little paint would have gone a long way too...
madmax