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How to seal door and frame sill?

Hi Experts,

I have been noticing some water damage on my west facing laundry door from the recent pours.
Last night a bit of water leaked inside to the floor as well.

i am thinking of ways to seal the door and probably to add a metal cover to the door sill.
Can you guide me to the right ones ?

I initially thought of fitting an awning but our external walls are hebel,so not too confident to hand anything on it.

Thank you so much

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JacobZ

Hi @anitassn,

That's a bit of a tricky one because the door opens inwards and the existing timber sill has a lip that should be doing a lot of the work keeping the water out. Because the door closes over this lip, the gap under the door is fairly large.

There are more effective bottom door seals such as this Raven RP4 Door Bottom Clear 926mm that could be an option. It's fairly likely the door would need to be trimmed and the lip on the existing sill would need to be taken into account, but if we could make this work, it would do a better job of keeping the water out.

The next thought I had is, is there any slope on the door sill?

Ideally, it would slope down away from the door so any water that gets on the sill hits the raised timber strip and runs down away from the door.

If not, then cutting out and reinstalling the sill with slope away from the door could also play a part in a more effective solution.

Allow me to tag @Nailbag, @AlanM52 and @Dave-1 to see if they have any ideas.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

anitassn

Thank you so much Jacob, there a slight slope away from the door. I noticed that the water seeps through the tiny hole in the door jab as circled below. I will aim to get the door seals replaced like you suggested. Do you think I should get the side door seals replaced with a thicker material too ?

Thanks

Anita

AlanM52

Hi @anitassn,

This may work.

Threshold seal.

As the door is closed the rubber lip of the weatherstip needs to just clear the threshold rib and when fully closed the weathestrip is pushed down and hopefully mates on the left side of the peak of the threshold rib. Does that make any sense?

Before we discuss and further let's wait opinions on the viability of that solution.

Cheers

anitassn

Hi Alan,

does that go on top of the existing wooden door sill or onto the door?

Nailbag

Hi @anitassn

The issue is that there is a stopper missing from the lower part of the door frame. This stopper presses against the weather shield as it closes and pushes it down so the rubber rests on the door sill and sealing the underside of the door from the weather.

I doubt you will be able to buy a replacement so you will need to purchase and need weather shield. Having said that a large screw head should also work.,

Nailbag

Screenshot 2025-06-28 at 9.37.11 pm.png

Dave-1

Good Evening @anitassn

Looking at your photos I cant see if there is a little side plastic washer on the edge of the right hand side of your door (from outside) I have one on my door downstairs. So when the door closes, the metal flap slides under the screwed in washer and forces it downwards giving the weatherproof flap a decent seal.

Raven RP3 Door Bottom Clear 920mm shows a video in the pictures that has a sloping bar instead of the washer that does the same job.

Does your weather flap have one and does it give enough of a downward force for it to touch the sill when the door is closed?

Dave

anitassn

Hi @Dave-1 @Nailbag ,

I can see a stopper on the right side of the door. I don’t see water gushing from the bottom part of the door. But I do see bit of water leaking through the side of the door frame ( a slight vertical cut as shown in previous post). Can it be that the water is coming through the sides ?

AlanM52

Hi @Nailbag,

There is one on the other side.

Cheers

AlanM52

Hi @anitassn,

Glued to the door sill Anita.

Please note I have done this once before and it worked, hopefully it will work for you but - maybe not?

https://www.clarkrubber.com.au/products/33529-garage-door-threshold-seal

Trim the strip so it is a snug fit between the jambs.

Caution: That stuff is tough I used a chisel.

Apply double sided tape to the ends.

Remove the stopper.

From the outside with the door closed lift the door weather strip and slide in the seal srtip.

From here on it's a fiddle, adjust the seal strip so that when the weather strip is pushed down (with a finger) the lip of the rubber door strip mates on the outside of the seal ridge.

Open the door and replace the stopper.

Slowly close the door and check that the lip of the door rubber strip clears the seal strip ridge.

If it fouls repeat the procedure.

When positioned press down on the ends of the seal strip we don't want that to move and mark both sides with a pencil.

Clean the door sill and the bottom of the seal strip ready for glueing with something like building adhesive.

Don't forget to replace the stopper.

Hope it works for you if not try this.

1680134321-21692-15582-garage-door-seal-system-arrows-web.jpg

Cheers

JacobZ

Hi @anitassn,

It's likely worth replacing the seals on the inside of the door jamb as there is a fairly decent-sized gap at the bottom. You should be able to use this Black Self-Adhesive Door Seal. Make sure you install it tight down on the sill so the door compresses it along the full height of the jamb.

It would also be worthwhile to seal the bottom edge of the door jamb along with some No More Gaps Exterior Gap Filler, as it seems like where the water could be getting into to be coming out of the cut on the inside of the jamb. You should do this before replacing the seals on the jamb.

Looking at @Dave-1 and @Nailbag's advice, I think your current door seal could be operating better as it appear like the rubber is not really compressing against the sill.

Is there a gap here, or am I seeing things?

If there is a gap, then that rubber stopper should be moved down and possibly the seal itself should be moved down.

If the gap is not consistent along the full length of the seal, it would also be worth adding a similar thing to the opposite side of the door. You could use a screw and something like this Goliath 38 x 25mm Rubber Door Stop to make your own.

Let me know what you think and if you have further thoughts, please share.

Jacob

Nailbag

Thanks mate and it’s the correct side too 🤦‍♂️

Nailbag

Hi @anitassn

There is some excellent advice being provided by my fellow braintrusts here. The issue for us is to actually establish whats going on as photos don't always explain the situation clearly.

My concern is if the weatherproofing is not done correctly, then you're going to have long term issues with the door and frame rotting out. So, if you're not feeling confident on resolving this problem, then don't hesitate in getting a decent local handy-person to resolve it. Watching how others repair things first hand is a great way to learn and this shouldn't be an expensive.

Nailbag

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