Page 1 of 1

Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 4:27 pm
by Rosemary
I removed carpet in living room and found an area of rotten osb board on floor. The front door is apparently leaking around bottom of door. Construction repairman came over, did not even examine door and told me that the entire door (storm door he said was $300.00) would have to be replaced. He never looked for leak, gutters above door, never measured for vinyl floor replacement, (just asked for my measurements) and gave me a price of $2200.00 for door, small area of osb board replacement and 286 feet of vinyl installation only. I buy the vinyl. I dont trust him as he was 2 hours late and when I called him, he said he forgot about appointment. I feel like he was unprofessional and did not even ask about other projects that I needed. I do not plan to use him of course but am having a very hard time finding someone in Houston, Tx to do MH repair. Can someone just decide that entire door needs to be replaced without considering sealing it instead? I asked about that and he said, well I guess you could seal it but was not interested in doing that. Is there something that I dont know???? People are telling me that no one wants to do MH repair because it can end up being a lot more work than a regular home.Well, I expect to pay for it!!! I dont know who to trust. Rosemary

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 5:01 pm
by Jim from Canada
album_showpage.php?pic_id=1226&mode=pre ... 129#TopPic

Just uploaded a few pics of a door I replaced in 2005. Of course I put the pics in the album in reverse order. lol. It had a bit of rot too. I wouldn't hire the guy on the info you are giving me.

Jim

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 6:04 pm
by Greg
Rosemary, Trust your instincts. In an area that large ther has to be people that do work on mobiles.

Even if you allow $1000 for the door(s) that leaves $1200 for the floor, that must be some floor.

Get the phone book out and make a few calls, even if they don't work on mobiles, ask if they can reccomend someone. Check with a few park offices and see if they have any names. Greg

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 8:07 pm
by Rosemary
Thanks Guys, You are all right! No, it is not "some" floor, just vinyl sheet and NOT that much. He was just not trustworthy. Yes, there must be someone somewhere in Houston. I am still looking. In fact, I am going to fire the creep now!!! Thanks for your quick reply. Rosemary

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2008 10:55 pm
by JD
My main concern would be the fact that he did not investigate the leak. This could have been a roof leak that caused the damage. If you have one of those "set in" doors where there is a small alcove in front of the door (before the deck or steps), then it could be leaking from the floor, under the wall. These are both much more common problems than a door leaking. Doors generally won't "leak" where they are sealed to the wall, unless they have been all goobered up with silicone and failed repair attempts. Doors can leak at the threshold though. But none of these problems would require a new door.

It is hard to say how much too high his price might be. Kind of depends on the door and how it is installed. A small area of vinyl floor repair can get expensive. But $32 to $36 a Yard for vinyl install is pretty average for base grade vinyl (includes vinyl like Armstrong Initiator or Mannington Cambray). That's over $1000 right there. Then on the floor repair, he would still have to block in his cut and float the floor for vinyl. I would think a couple of hundred bucks, no mater how small. Just a guess. Of course I can not see any of the damage.

JMO
JD

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:07 am
by Rosemary
I agree about replacing the door. I dont think there is anything wrong with the door itself. The water damage IS at the cornerthreshhold and I see no damage at the top of the door or the sides. It looks like the water came in from the bottom corner of the door and onto the osb board. I am not going to use him and and still looking for someone else. Thanks for your reply. Rosemary

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2008 11:24 am
by JD
If there is no damage or water stains at the top or sides of the door (all the way down to within 4" of the floor) then it is probably not a roof leak.

If this is a recessed door, set back from the exterior wall, and the floor has any give or soft spot, then this part of the floor needs to be repaired and new metal flashing installed where the wall meets the floor on the outside of the door. Most manufacturers will make a flashing that will cover this small floor area as well flash up the side of the wall a short distance. Sometimes the flashing is behind the siding.

If this door is mounted flush on the outside wall (no recess), I would look at the threshold real good. It may just need some sealant to keep water that hits the door and travels down from seeping into the inside. The floor damage will still need to be fixed.

All this is not to say that the door is not leaking where it is attached to the wall. But from your description, it doesn't sound like it.

JD

Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 9:09 am
by Brenda OH reregister
Let say,

subfloor repair, $200 to $500

if only replace 3 ft by 3 ft square of the vinyl by the door, or even 3 ft by 4 ft, $20 for vinyl remment (Home depot, lowes my state have them)

carpet edge bars for area $20 to $40. Glue $20? Labor for vinyl floor, maybe $100?

so the flooring part, $720 and this is very very high estimate. I have had the subfloor job done at $200 pretty often. So $300 not be too surprising, and maybe $100 if it is only a small corner of the subfloor.

Door... one with screen door already on it, what maybe $350? $100 to $200 to install?

so the $2200 just is screaming too much to me.

best place to save on this job, would be do the vinyl replacement yourself.

general idea of what you would do:

plan to cut out the vinyl flooring by the door into a square, like maybe 3x3 ft, or even a rectangle 3 feet by 4 ft.

This is like you often see where there is vinyl or tile used next at an exterior door by a carpeted living room to limit the wear and tear on the carpet.

the repair would be, mark where you are going to cut. staple the old floor just outside of it, lay the new piece down on top of old vinyl, mark it, and do the cut through both layers at the same time. lift it up, remove the old floor, apply the glue and put in the new vinyl patch.

Put the metal carpet strips down over the cut edges. Bingo, done.

I think medium color wood grain pattern vinyl matches every other flooring pattern well lol. Or, the cobble stone pattern is pretty cool, or the stone flooring pattern... ok, I am easy to please on flooring lol

of course, all costs are regional, and I negotiate and get several estimates. The park maintenance crew are often a good source of repairmen leads, and often work on the side, but I would "supervise" and ask them a lot of questions, on how they plan to fix the subfloor.

Brenda (OH)

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 11:08 am
by Rosemary
I am meeting with another guy tomorrow. He has worked on MH'S before and stated that the problem with removing the rotten osb board floor is that part of the wall must be removed since the floor goes beneath the wall. Is that true? Cant the rotten board just be cut out and new board slid underneath the edge of the wall where the floor and wall meet? He also said that he would have to also go under the house and work from beneath also. Is that true? He has not seen the damage yet. It is near the thresh hold of the door and expands out about 1 foot in width there then tapers off to a width of about 3 inches at each end and about 4 feet in total length. I am wondering about the wall removal and ifhe really knows what he is doing. Woe is me! Rosemary

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 12:22 pm
by Yanita
Hey Rosemary,

No one can tell you what needs to be done UNTIL they look at the job and discover where the leak is!

You are correct about the wall, it does not need to be removed, but is a PITA to do. That part of the job can be quite time consuming.

My advice to you at this time is to order our repair manual in the books parts link in the task menu above. Read through it, make yourself knowledgeable in this repair and then you will know who is trying to take you for a ride!

Even if you can not do the repair yourself you will know what really needs to be done, on this repair and any other that will happen to your home.

Yanita

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 2:23 pm
by oldfart
M'am you've already received some of the best advice concerning mobile home repairs from these folks. Just let me add that knowledge is power. Understanding how these homes are built and how repairs must be made is very important. No carpenter, regardless of skill, can tell what needs to be done without looking at the job personally. Yup...I know "they've done it before." Each job is different..the damage and needed repairs will follow suit. If the leak is not resolved then the repair is only a band-aid on a much more serious problem. Mobile homes, in particular, require a problem to be solved from the outside in...and not just from the inside. Audie..the Oldfart...

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2008 4:51 pm
by Greg S
Your new contractors approach sounds like he is preparing to try and take advantage of you too. STOP. Get the repair manual and educate yourself before you call anymore contractors.

RE: Leaking front door/0sb on floor rotting

Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2008 1:06 pm
by Rosemary
Thanks again for all of your input. Yes, I am learning more about MH'S so that I can hire the right person for the job. Rosemary