For this door installation project in Glastonbury, there were several issues we were trying to resolve. Not only were we changing the door, which had side lights on both sides, but there was a good possibility that the window above it, as well as the siding and sheathing around it were in bad shape. The client  had reportedly been experiencing a chronic water problem around the door, and wanted to correct all the issues there with one project if possible. Additionally they wanted to avoid wood material as much as possible… for obvious reasons. In the end it was not just a new fiberglass front door installation, it became a whole lot more, after discussing the options with the client they decided to go with a solid PVC siding and trim option along with a fiberglass door that would seal out water and prevent rot in the future.

In this section you can see the how the project moved through the different stages of construction. With each major phase or ” STEP” I like to include a gallery, as well as some description of the processes and challenges in that particular part of project.

As always, we take apart the defective building elements, one layer at a time, until we have removed all of the barriers keeping the door casing in place. In this case we had just the brick mold. However, it was immediately apparent that there was more water damage coming from above the door frame. So the vinyl siding pieces on either side of the half round came off next.

What we found was probably about as bad as we had expected it to be, maybe a little more extensive than I thought. However, it never fails to amaze me how simple steps in the construction process are often skipped to ill affect years later. In this case, the house wrap that was never properly cut or taped, or even fully covering the sheathing around the window and the door frame, and how sloppy the cut was around the window just above the door! They just stuck piece of step flashing in there above the door frame on either side… what a fail!!

In any case, what did we do once we found the extent of the damage? IMMEDIATELY bring it to the owners attention and before proceeding with anything further I gave them an estimate of the “additional work” required to repair it. Our process is always the same, stop all work, evaluate the additional costs and scope of work, then present the additional costs to the client for approval. It’s that simple, every time.

To add insult to injury, once the vinyl siding, the sheathing that was completely rotted underneath, the door, and the window were removed… we found some rot on the frame at the sill, where the jack stud meets the top sill plate and the toe plate of the exterior wall, (the king stud was not compromised in anyway at this location which contributed to the decision to approach blocking from under the main deck). Now this presented a whole new problem because of the heavy pre-cast cement stair unit placed in front of the entry door. This was only going to be safely moved by crane! As that was not an option, we had no other choice to but to resolve the support issue from the inside of the foundation. In doing this we loose the ability to replace the rim joist section in the area of the jack on the latch side. This was explained to the customer, and it was agreed that with proper blocking and shoring on the interior of sill, just behind the rim joist, would achieve the desired structural support and stability needed.

In addition to the fact that we were working in tight quarters, this repair was also conducted up above the finished ceiling of the basement living area. So there was a ceiling to patch once I had installed the blocking and lags along with a few other pieces to isolate movement in the corner joint above.

This third step begins the process of replacing all the failed materials and elements we removed in Step 1 and then repaired in Step 2. First the sheathing surrounding the door and the window must be cut and fastened. Then a house wrap or other similar waterproof membrane must be applied. After the sheathing goes on, the surfaces within several inches of an opening must be protected from water. For this is use a rubber flashing tape that works extremely well in all but the lowest temps.

Having had the door sitting in the opening overnight two nights at this point, it was not hard to see that the exterior wall had moved some due to the settlement and the water damage. So when setting the door it was set flush to the outside wall. This left an irregular gap on the floor and the walls on either side. Extension jambs were custom made to bring the door frame back into plane with the interior wall again, and a transition piece was applied to the transom to hide the small gap.

The last step was to custom cut and fabricate solid PVC cladding to replace the small pieces of siding on either side of the door, above the door, and around the half round window. These pieces were nailed with 18 gauge exterior galvanized trim nail, and they were caulked and sealed with 10 year silicone. Nailing holes were filled with compound and the joints were all joined and filled with silicone. PVC brick mold was applied to the door frame. All of this was to remove as much wood from this troublesome area, which due to a number of factors primarily poor design and a less than optimal location of the site with the entry facing north.

At the end of the day, with painting, caulking, and lots of PVC materials we were able to create a lasting and attractive solution to a chronic water problem in a key area of the home!