# Water leaking under garage door after rain storms



## kdrymer (Aug 12, 2014)

Hello we recently moved into our home and noticed in the garage after we get a bad rain storm water seeps under the garage door into the garage. The concrete was poured level here so it's only appears to be rain that hits the door that is seeping underneath. I installed a garage door threshold and a bead of silicone caulk underneath it in an attempt to eliminate the problem however we just had our first storm and as you can see in the attached pictures some water is still seeping underneath. How is this still occurring with the threshold seal in place and what else can I do to stop it? It also appears to be leaking from the wall adjacent to the garage as you can see in the pictures but I have caulked there as well. The house is only two years old! Appreciate any help, thanks.


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## kdrymer (Aug 12, 2014)

2 of 4.....


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## kdrymer (Aug 12, 2014)

3 of 4.......


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## kdrymer (Aug 12, 2014)

4 of 4......


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## nealtw (Aug 12, 2014)

to the site.
You would like to see the garage a little higher so the driverway climbs a little to enter the garage. Your garage was likely just built on a slab with out a concrete curb under the wall.
On any construction we would like to see some inches between the outside yard level and the bottom of the siding and the wood behind it.
 I hate to say it but I think the real fix would be to jack up the building and add a curb and then add 3" to the slab.


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## slownsteady (Aug 12, 2014)

The missing paint on the bottom of the door frame makes me think there is a chance that the framing at the bottom of the wall is damaged too. An invitation to insects and stuff. It might be worth opening up the wall on the inside first to see if things are right there. Hopefully it is pressure treated.

If you think it's just rain on the side of the building, it may be easier to add a little awning or other shelter to the garage door than to correct the foundation. Have you stood outside in bad weather to see how the driveway drains?


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## CallMeVilla (Aug 13, 2014)

Your solution is NOT caulk.  The best solution is a linear drain that connects off the side of the house to a proper landscape drain.  This will catch all runoff and take it away from the house.  It will require cutting the cement across the driveway and possibly beyond ... but it will solve the problem.


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## beachguy005 (Aug 13, 2014)

First I'd make sure that there is a gutter and any downspouts are directing water away from the garage door then I would install a rubbed garage door threshold like this...

http://www.carguygarage.com/flameresistantr.html


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## kdrymer (Aug 13, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback. The white trim should have been cut slightly higher off the ground, it appears its touching the ground which I think is causing the moisture on the wood at the bottom. I have stood outside when it rains and the water for the most part does not run toward the garage, its seems to just be the rain that hits the ground directly in front of the door and then is seeping under. I wish the siding on the garage was not installed all the way to the bottom of the wall, as it looks like water can seep in the J Channel at the bottom of the siding and have no where to escape to. I do agree there should have been some sort of lip in the concrete and not at one continuous level. I did recently install a garage door threshold and that helped somewhat, but from the pictures I took yesterday it obviously did not eliminate the problem.

We were thinking of either putting some type of depression directly in front of the garage door that is sloping downward from one end of the door to the other with small channels or slits cur out to allow drainage, or installing a grate with a drainage pipe underneath it (channel drain). If I were to install a channel drain it would need to be placed directly in front of the garage door (by the door jam) I was hoping to avoid tearing up the concrete as it is fairly new but want to correct the problem.


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## kdrymer (Aug 14, 2014)

I'ms also wondering whether the J Channel at the very bottom of the siding has any slots cut into it to allow water to drain out that collects in it, and if so how/where would it drain to with it being right along the foundation level?


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## nealtw (Aug 14, 2014)

Go get yourself a zipper tool for vinyl siding (cheap) open the first seam and remove the lowest peice of siding and lets see what is really going on.


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## kdrymer (Aug 15, 2014)

Yes I plan to remove the first level or two of siding and inspect it. I thought about installing some flashing underneath and bend it so that it protrudes out at the bottom away from the building, and then re-attach the siding on top. If there was an excessive amount of water flowing out of the flashing, it would make sense to install a drain in the driveway to channel it away. Will keep you posted what I find.


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## nealtw (Aug 15, 2014)

Vinel siding dosn't keep water out well so good house wrap and drainage is important. Perhaps cut a slot in the concrete to take the flashing and seal that so water stays out.


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## kdrymer (Aug 26, 2014)

Here is a pic of the work we did to the driveway over the weekend in that same area. On the other side of the door (out of sight in the picture) we cut two notches with a circular saw from the edge of the garage door to the edge of the driveway on the other side, seems to carry the water well that goes into it. Next step is to install the flashing to drain into the channel.


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## slownsteady (Aug 26, 2014)

It's not clear from your last post if you removed the vinyl for inspection. Did you? And what did you find?

Don't forget to address that bare wood at the bottom of the door trim.


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## kdrymer (Sep 2, 2014)

Removed the bottom layer of siding and installed vinyl siding that sits under the J channel which we drilled a few holes in the bottom for drainage onto the flashing and carries any water away. I still am thinking of putting down some kind of adhesive for vinyl to glue the flashing to the concrete to help keep water from seeping underneath the flashing (its flush with the concrete in most spots but on the corners it sticks up a little). The very bottom of the sheathing had some rot in it but I'm hoping it will be ok.


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## nealtw (Sep 2, 2014)

It's the bottom plate that will rot first.


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## oldognewtrick (Sep 2, 2014)

A great example if improper siding installation. The first course of siding should lock onto a starter not sit in a J channel. J channel run on the horizontal just traps water and debris.


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## kdrymer (Sep 2, 2014)

Do you think the flashing will help or should I be looking at doing something else? I want to prevent the sill/sheathing from rotting any further. Wish this would have been identified in the home inspection <sigh>


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## nealtw (Sep 2, 2014)

Best fix would be to remove enough wall and place a row of concrete block, mortered in. If this is the gable end of the garage, this would be fairly simple.
My second suggestion would be to cut a slot in the concrete as close to the framing as you can and have a HDG flashing made to fit the slot ans back to the wall and up a few inches. Caulk the seam  between the steel and concrete, you would have to remove the trim in the door frame too so it made the corner.

Oldog, you must live in the flat lands, on hills were the foundation is on several levels the starter caurse is only used at the very  bottom and everything else is J trim, it should be drilled at the bottom every 6 inches for drainage.


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## kdrymer (Sep 3, 2014)

We just had a pretty heavy rain last night and all but the corner was dry afterwards  so the flashing and the notches we made in the driveway seemed to help. I'm thinking the reason the interior corner was wet was because the flashing we installed was bent upwards at the corner, easily allowing water to seep in underneath it. I plan on putting a silicone adhesive underneath the flashing to adhere it to the concrete.


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## nealtw (Sep 3, 2014)

There is a chaulking for concrete, not silicone. It may not stick to the flashing.


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## slownsteady (Sep 4, 2014)

Don't leave that flashing edge turned up like that. You can cut it with a sharp utility knife.


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