Concerned on this install - looking for advice/input

[mttownse1017]

We had a leak and rot issue from a builder installed door. After a few months of remediation and lead time, we had a local installer replace the door. He is highly rated and carries a lifetime warrantee on the install. Been cursed from the start as the original install was the wrong DP door. So we reordered....and waited 6 more weeks.

Friday we had the new door installed. I have some questions/concerns.

Has anyone seen a sill pan running this far out past a door before? Isn't this just inviting water in under the door. Best I can tell, the sides aren't flashed either - Just caulking and foam at the sides of the door? I know the surround is bare wood as I had a discussion with the installer asking why he wasn't covering the wood with tape and overlapping at the pan. The pan has no sides. Its flat and just has piles of sealant where the door side and the pan meet the wood.

Wont this just pool water against the wood in the threshold? Can the selant really be counted on.

I dont see shims present at the side fasteners into the surround either (didnt take pictures). Seems like that's a concern for a DP 50 door.

Sides are foamed but the top isn't.

The trim surround wasn't pulled and overlaid on the accessory groove. Instead, PVC trim strips were used to cover the gap. This means there is a rebate behind the trim strips.

Any opinions are helpful. Is this a rip it out and start over situation? Will that damage the door?

[Windows on Washington]

Things can look a good bit unfinished before interior and exterior trim. Shims behind screws are idea, but the foam really does support the door and keep it from moving around a good bit.

[HomeSealed]

+1.

How is the door sealing and functioning? Any major red flags in those areas?

Big picture: There is an ideal way to do things, some acceptable ways to do things, and then some bad/unacceptable ways of doing things.

Outside of some sealant touchup and ensuring that the top is foamed (it may have been done from the outside which can be hard to see from the inside), I'm not seeing much that falls within the last category... The doesn't mean that all is copasetic, but from the pics and description, those couple things would be the only major concerns so far.

What type of installation deal was offered in your contract? Was there supposed to be exterior trim/flashing on the sides? Nail fin? etc?

[mttownse1017]

+1.

How is the door sealing and functioning? Any major red flags in those areas?

Big picture: There is an ideal way to do things, some acceptable ways to do things, and then some bad/unacceptable ways of doing things.

Outside of some sealant touchup and ensuring that the top is foamed (it may have been done from the outside which can be hard to see from the inside), I'm not seeing much that falls within the last category... The doesn't mean that all is copasetic, but from the pics and description, those couple things would be the only major concerns so far.

What type of installation deal was offered in your contract? Was there supposed to be exterior trim/flashing on the sides? Nail fin? etc?

Is it odd that the flashing pan sticks so far out on the exterior of the house. Seems like that’s just asking to pool water a push it to the side/into the wood as it wasn’t wrapped. Here is the opening right before door install. The edges of the pan were caked with sealant and the door was set in. The wood remained as shown in the pic. No wrap or tape. Any concern with the accessory grooverebate not being filled. In theory warm moist coastal GA air is all the way around that groove and on the wood until it hits the foam.

[mttownse1017]

Things can look a good bit unfinished before interior and exterior trim. Shims behind screws are idea, but the foam really does support the door and keep it from moving around a good bit.

Can you take a look at the additional pictures I commented back with in the chain and let me know if you would ask for any changes. The door company owner is swinging by tomorrow or Thurs to look.

[Windows on Washington]

Pan will usually extent to the edge of the framed wall and will ideally have a turned up damn leg or a hem of some sort to keep the wind driven water from entering the home.

[mttownse1017]

Pan will usually extent to the edge of the framed wall and will ideally have a turned up damn leg or a hem of some sort to keep the wind driven water from entering the home.

Are we talking inside edge or outside edge. He turned an edge up inside of the door and caulking squeeze out is visible there. Is the tray sticking so far past the door outside abnormal? It covers the concrete opening, extends over a 1.5” kick plate, overhangs the kick plate by about .5” and then bends over and down.

I thought the tray would bend down right after the concrete and then a kick plate would go over it. Are both ok? One better? If it needs to bend down sooner I was going to pitch cutting the outside tray to access the kick plate, pull the kick plate, bend the tray down in place and reinstall the kick plate. Idk if this is feasible or necessary.

Is the bare wood a concern?

Would you have them change anything other than foaming the top if it were your house? We have a meeting tomorrow with the owner to discuss. I don’t know if pulling the door to fix these things is helpful or hurtful.

[Windows on Washington]

Transition between the door and the hardwood would normally be covered by some shoe molding. Not sure anything there require removal and re-installation.

[mttownse1017]

They didn’t remove that. I did. We had a leak that I remediated weeks before the work. Had drywall, floors, some trim, etc pulled locally.

The old door was also narrower so they pulled the 1” trim return on the inside of the house to get to the old door inside face. So the new door sits 1” further into the room than the old one.

Is that pan extending outside so far a concern? Should it have been behind the kick plate, not over it?

What about the bare 2x4s not getting covered. The door went in with the 2x4s as is.

[Windows on Washington]

Over or behind the kickplate is a matter of aesthetic opinion if you ask me. Over is better, but less attractive.

Going up the 2x4s is more easily accomplished with a pre-formed sill pan vs. coil. Not sure what is specified on the contract, but what is there would probably cut muster in the eyes of most when they think of "sill pan". That said, turned up and sealed corners are more ideal if there is a concern of water.

[mttownse1017]

Over or behind the kickplate is a matter of aesthetic opinion if you ask me. Over is better, but less attractive.

Going up the 2x4s is more easily accomplished with a pre-formed sill pan vs. coil. Not sure what is specified on the contract, but what is there would probably cut muster in the eyes of most when they think of "sill pan". That said, turned up and sealed corners are more ideal if there is a concern of water.

1-10 what do you rate this install? 10 being good.

[Ricknez]

Looks fine to me. Are you looking for a reason not to
pay your contractor?
Every install can always be a little better and can always be open for debate based on various preferences of install.
Your looks fine. Asking us to rate it from 1-10 is ridiculous although I would call it an 8.

[Windows on Washington]

Again...not seeing it in an in person and finished format, can't say for certain.

Bigger questions are:
- How does it operate?
- How are the reveals and panel gaps?
- Finish trim work done?

If all those are good, don't see why it wouldn't get more than a passing grade.

[mttownse1017]

Again...not seeing it in an in person and finished format, can't say for certain.

Bigger questions are:
- How does it operate?
- How are the reveals and panel gaps?
- Finish trim work done?

If all those are good, don't see why it wouldn't get more than a passing grade.

It operates fine. We had a small clash in the panel overlap mechanism in high heat. They said that can be transport warping and it will settle out. It seems to have done so.
I don’t know what reveals or panel gaps are - the panel has the same amount of vinyl between the frame and window all around if that’s what you mean.
The finish trim is on me as I had it ripped up for drying out the wall,replacing drywall, etc.

But on a cavity prep level, what would you maybe grade this. Is not covering the 2x4 inside faces a concern, or not really.

Thanks.

[Windows on Washington]

If water is aggregating in the pan such that is hit the junction with the framed wall and seeps in...you have an issue with the connection to the wall system or in the exterior cladding.

When homes were built 100 years ago, they used layered felts and didn't have preformed pans, subsill, foam, and sealants. They didn't leak then.

As stated before, a sealed corner and turned up at the wall is ideal, but there are hundreds of millions of windows and door installed without that detail that don't leak. The internet and the trove of building science internet experts (not referring to you here...just the plethora of experts on the internet) that have never swung a hammer attempt to create the utopian standard of construction.