Leak Around Sliding Glass Door?

[Dave1]

I have a 1989 Hy Line 35' park model trailer that has a sliding glass front door and there is a leak somewhere. Recent heavy rains left the floor and carpet wet on the door handle side. The sliding door seems to close and seal up well, the frame seems to be sealed well with the putty tape behind the door frame edge, etc., but I did notice the bottom track fills with water during a rain and is slow to drain out. I kind of suspect the track may be leaking somehow.

Should I cut some notches in the bottom track to allow it to drain faster? How can I find and repair this leak?

Thanks for any help, Dave

[joedirt63]

would check all the seams again and the lower track, may have to simulate the condition with a hose so you can see the water intrusion , if possble.water could come in at the top and run down the inside of a beam and puddle on the floor . may not even be the door , could be roof. had leak in my bed room window, water comeing from opening, found out the roof section over the window had a hole and would turn into a drain when it rained. could be just wind blown water, if you don't have one and can do it try putting a awning or deflector over the top. did that to my window that has a a/c unit in it. flooded my palor when it rained. cause it's temp set up i didn't seal the a/c unit in the window. just a couple of things to think about may be try. other guys will probly chime in with ideas' thes guys are a good bunch.

[JD]

If the track is filling up and is slow to drain, clearing any existing weep holes might do the trick. If not, adding additional weep holes would help. In a 1989 home, I am assuming that this door has an aluminum frame. Aluminum frames can lose their seal of the frame parts themselves. Thoroughly cleaning and sealing the corners could help. To go a step further, totally pulling and resetting the door, with the help of a friend or two, is not difficult and would allow you to reseal the door, including the threshold.

As joedirt mentioned, most times when I am called out to a window or door leak problem, it ends up being a roof edge leak that runs down the inside of the wall.

JD

[Groo]

on my mobile home, they built the fllor first, then installed the caropeting, then stuck the walls on top of the carpeting. The carpeting would wick in moisture that came throught the siding. it might be coming from the side of the door opening and just wicking the moisture everywere else.

[Dave1]

I did not mention it before but this home has a roof over installed that overhangs 12" on the sides so hopefully a roof leak is not possible.

Today I rechecked and recleaned the bottom track and found two possible leak spots. The first possible leak spot is a screw hole in the bottom track the holds a clip in place that locks the stationary door in place. That screw was a little loose in the hole so any water in that track could have leaked thru the hole and under the track to the floor and carpet.

The second possible leak spot was at the lower corner where the bottom track was joined to the vertical side track. There had been some kind of butyl rubber sealant used to seal that joint and after a thorough cleaning I found a crack in that sealant. That too could have allowed any water that had accummalated in the track to leak thru.

Apparently this has been leaking for a while and now I can smell the strong odor of mold and mildew where the carpet had been wet. Can the musty odor in the carpet and pad be removed or neutrilized or will the carpet have to be replaced?

What would be the best sealant to use when sealing in and around the lower track?

Thanks, Dave

[joedirt63]

depending on theextent of the affected area and how long it's been wet, you could dry it out ,and try some capet fresh or some thing of that sort, i would pay close atention to the floor it's self for damage. partical board or osb doen't like to get wet much it does funny things like fall apart, if you need to replace carpet , you may opt to just do the section in front of the door with vynle or a laminate floor section in the entry . easy to clean than carpet

[Brenda (OH)]

you may want to check the door handle that the screws are tight, and caulk around it...

not a major source of water, but several small leaks may be adding up on you....

Brenda (OH)

[Dave1]

Thanks for all of the replies, ideas, and suggestions. The camp area had a hard rain yesterday afternoon so I may now be able to tell if my efforts did get the leak sealed and the problem solved or not. We plan to go back tomorrow to check for damp or wet carpet around the sliding glass door. If it is dry and it appears we have stopped the leak, I may spray/soak the carpet with some of the industrial strength mold/mildew odor neutralizer and see if that eliminates the carpet odor where it had been wet. If not, a razor knife will be utilized to remove it all.

It is too bad they built the walls on top of the floor covering in many mobile homes. That makes quality repairs difficult.

This has been an on going project for us to get all of the issues corrected. I am about to attempt to replace the roof mounted AC unit myself. That may be another challenge to work thru.

Thanks, Dave

[Brenda (OH)]

Dave,

I often make a 36 inch square area of vinyl tile or allure plank vinyl floating floor by exterior doors. remove the damaged carpet, staple carpet edge to the subfloor....

screw a 1/4 thick 36 inch square of luann to the subfloor, use floor leveler on the screw heads, spray adhesive on the luann and on the back of 18 inch peal and stick tiles, install them. Or use allure floating floor planks if I have them left over from another job. they dont get glued to the luann.....

trim out the edges with flat carpet transition strip over the tile edge and carpet edge. If installing new carpet, I would do the vinyl floor section first, and run the carpet edge up against it.... staples probably the easiest option, but then, i usually am installing carpet tiles if it is a new floor.....

Hope those ideas help

Brenda (OH)

[JD]

I worked on countless floor repair jobs and have found that pro carpet cleaning companies can usually get all mold, mildew and the associated odor out of the carpet itself, but the water damaged carpet pad is always replaced. The mold does not clean out of that material. So I would think that a janitorial supply store and maybe regular stores would have something that would work on the carpet.

For sealing the aluminum track (which sounds like you may have already done), I would use a good silicone or gutter sealant (the one in the small toothpaste tube). You need something that would be unaffected by standing water.

JMO
JD