AboutBill Rodgers Expertise I have years of experience dealing with water infiltration issues associated with windows and doors. I have been a certified EIFS installer and am familiar with all types of stucco and masonry veneers.
I can help you select the best windows and doors for any residence or multifamily building.
Experience I've been a building contractor since 1977. Prior to that time I was the building official for Frederick County Virginia. I'm currently licensed in six states including: Oregon, Arizona, California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Florida. My primary business is solving and correcting water infiltration problems in residential structures.
Education/Credentials Bachelor of Science from the University of Maryland, 1972. I am an accredited instructor for the Installation Masters Institute. I regularly teach window and door installers how to be Certified Master Installers of windows and doors. The Installation Masters Institute is currently licensed to and administered by Architectural Testing Inc. for the American Architectural Manufacturer's Association.
Question We had a new sliding glass door installed about 2 months ago on our house which was built in 1976 and has an aluminum siding exterior. Last week, during a heavy rain/wind storm the new slider leaked massive amounts of water from 2 spots at the the top of the frame. It was like having a water fall in your house! Luckily we were home and could soak it up with many towels and blankets. This is the first time it had ever leaked and we have had plenty of heavy rain since it was installed so I am at a loss as to why it did not leak before. Anyway I called the company that installed the new door they came out and put some caulk around the door (but never removed the old caulk from before the new door was installed). I complained at the time if installation (and again when they came out last week) that I thought the exterior should have been freshly caulked and some type of new material should be surrounding the exterior of the door but they just left the old stuff that was there (probably from 30 years ago). I should not have paid them until it was done properly but the guy assured me he was an expert and the exterior did not need anything. Recently I noticed some of our neighbors have something surrounding the top and sides of their doors (flashing is what one of my neighbors called it) so I asked the company about this and they said, "you don't put flashing around the outside of a sliding glass door and you don't need that, etc." They said the leak was from a lagging board attached to my house above the door which used to be the baseboard holding an awning which is no longer there. Please note there were no leaks before the door was replaced. So my question is, should I fight them on this and try to get them to install the flashing around the door (and new caulk) or is this a waste of time.
Thanks very much for your help.
Answer Hi Cynthia,
Your door is improperly installed. I would not allow them to do any more caulking.
"...you don't put flashing around the outside of a sliding glass door and you don't need that, etc."
The above statement is patently false!
I suggest that you get every State agency that you can involved till one of them accepts the challenge and brings your contractor to task.
