Repairs
Exterior Doors and the Water You Cannot See
A door that looks fine can be letting water into the wall every time it rains sideways.
Exterior doors are one of the most common entry points for water in a Florida house, and the damage is almost always inside the wall rather than visible on the surface.
Why doors leak
- Failed threshold seal. The strip under the door hardens and cracks with UV and heat, and then the gap under it takes wind-driven rain.
- Missing or failed flashing. The pan flashing under the door and the head flashing above it are what actually keep water out. If they were skipped at installation — and on a lot of houses they were — the caulk is doing a job it was never designed for.
- Caulk as the only defence. Caulk is a secondary seal. When it is the primary one, it fails and the wall takes water.
- Grade and drainage. A patio or walkway that has settled toward the door, or a downspout discharging near it, puts water where it should not be.
What to look for
- Staining or discoloration on the wall below or beside the door, inside or out.
- Soft or springy flooring at the threshold.
- Peeling paint on the interior wall near the door.
- A musty smell that is strongest near the doorway.
- Visible gaps in caulk, or caulk that has hardened and pulled away.
- A door that has begun to stick — frames swell when they take water.
Repair, honestly
Recaulking a leaking door is a two-month fix. Doing it properly means removing the door, inspecting the framing and sheathing behind it, replacing anything that has rotted, installing proper pan flashing, resetting the door correctly, and then caulking as a secondary seal rather than a primary one.
That is more work than most people expect and it is the difference between fixing it and postponing it.
Hurricane season adds a reason
Wind-driven rain finds every weakness in a door installation, and a door that leaks in an ordinary storm will do considerably worse in a tropical system. It is worth checking before the season rather than after.
Call (863) 633-5499 or request a free estimate and we will look at what is actually behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just recaulk a leaking exterior door?
It buys a couple of months. Caulk is meant to be a secondary seal — if it is the only thing keeping water out, the flashing underneath was missed or has failed, and that is what needs addressing.
How do I know if water is getting into the wall?
Staining or peeling paint near the door inside or out, soft flooring at the threshold, a musty smell strongest at the doorway, or a door that has started sticking because the frame has swelled.
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