Can you take a picture of the outside, that shows both above and below the door.

 

By the looks of the water stains and deteriorating/rotting wood on the inside, that's been leaking like that for awhile.

Yes, I agree, get some photos of the outside deck and how it's connected to the house. Have to figure out how the water is getting in and fix it. May be as simple as pulling up a couple deck floor boards, removing some siding on the house, adjusting/fixing gutters, and replacing/installing some flashing so the water flows away from the back of the house and door.

If you are in a cold climate, deck out in the elements, and salt the deck in winter time, the existing flashing may have rotted out causing the water to enter. I have fixed a few issues like that. Hope you get in figured out soon justin.

 

Here are pics of the outside.

 

After a closer examination of the second photo, it appears the water is coming down the side of the door frame somehow. I can see water droplets. Looks like some caulk was used, which may have help for awhile, but didn't fix the actual problem.

Water coming down the side of the door frame like that, may have something to do with the roof/gutter?? idk. need more photos.

Some photos of the back of the house and deck, specifically around the door and roof line would help us give you some better advice. Thank you.

 

Let's try that again... For some reason I can't upload pics. Here are Google drive links:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1c-7FTbJS7ooHOU9EbtOTWkCsOucxo4Rk

 

I see from your photo, there is a lot of what looks like to me water droplets on your siding. Looks like water is getting behind the gutter and leaking down somehow and going around your door frame. Possibly the water is entering that way. Idk. Just a guess right now.



How about a couple more photos of your roof line.

 

Just added a quick one to that Gdrive folder. I mean it's actively raining right now and has been since yesterday. Hence the wet siding. And the roof line only extends ~1 foot past the side of the house.

 

That would make sense, because the pictures of the inside of your door jam where the water is coming down on the side proves the water is coming from above not at deck level. Just my opinion.

 

Thanks for the pics justin. I would check and see if water is getting behind the gutter and leaking down the siding and around the door frame. Check j channel around the door frame as well, caulk, etc. make sure it's good.

To me, it doesn't look like the water is coming in at deck level, like you would expect, it's coming in from above somehow.

 

This is why a door pan is such a critical step that is almost always skipped.

If there are any leaks (like yours) it will catch the water and direct it to the outside if installed correctly.

The deck ledger flashing should run up the wall first and then the downleg of the door pan should lap over it.

Also, any exterior door that is exposed to the weather should have a storm door installed over it.

The J-channel against the door trim should be caulked too.

Is there Z flashing above the door trim?

There's multiple details that need to be in place to guarantee no leaks (especially with vinyl siding).

Door Pan Flashing.

 

At this point, I would repaint the door jambs, and re-silicone to the sill.
And then add a storm door. A storm door is really the only thing that can save a wooden doorway from the elements.


Nothing you can do easily but I would have liked the deck a few inches lower than the door way.

 

kwikfishron, you're using a lot of words I don't understand, lol I know what the j-channel is and I'll check the caulking around that.

It's on my todo list to repaint the door frame and I guess a storm door would be nice too. I'll look into that.

Given my limited experience with things like this (I have some, although not a lot), if I wanted someone to come out and really get to the bottom of it, who would I even call? Would a general handyman have the know-how to diagnose the problem?

I mean if its simply a caulking issue, then I can do that. But more than that, I'm not entirely sure.

 

Call someone who can install a storm door. After everything is dried up you can paint and silicone

 

This is what I'd do first and hoped that it solves the problem.

If that doesn't work...

Would a general handyman have the know-how to diagnose the problem?

You need someone that it well versed in 'exterior envelopes'. If the handyman is a semi retired siding or even roofing guy then maybe.

"Where to find this person"?

If you have a good old fashion lumber yard in your area (not a box store) go to the contractors desk and ask for recommendations.

 

Thanks all for the advice. I hope it didn't come across as "hey, what do you guys think?" -- "oh nevermind, I'll hire someone." It just sounds like I could be slightly in over my head if I tried pulling off siding and what not.

I'll do some more caulking, but before I have a storm door installed, wouldn't it make sense to figure out what the source is? I'm not saying I wouldn't have the door installed, but I would just like to figure out how its getting in in the first place. Unless you all are saying that it's simply the weather beating directly against the door...

Some of you have suspected its getting in from above the door frame. Would it make sense, when the rain stops, to hit the siding above the frame with a hose and see if I can reproduce? Similarly hit the bottom corner?

Also, in this pic (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1JIzQTuK_5v_z4TmBEcW7KBTI9ggusEUD), you can see that there is kind of a gap between the weather stripping on the frame, and the tapered edge of the bottom weather stripping. Could something be getting in that way?

If I do call someone, it sounds like maybe a siding guy, or a handyman with siding experience would be the best one?

Thanks

 

I've been a handyman for almost 10 years. I'd have zero interest in that job.
10% chance I'll be able to find the problem, but I won't be able to fix it, so I make no money
50% chance I'll find some possible causes and try some stuff and take some of your money, but it doesn't fix it, so I look incompetent/crooked
30% chance I won't have anything intelligent to say so I'll look stupid and waste everybody's time
Only a 10% chance I'll actually be able to find the problem and fix it and everybody has a positive experience.

Not this time of year. Plenty of easier money to be made.

 

When you see water inside like that you are often a long way down the road of unseen leaks, as others have said the door and jam should be pulled and a proper pan put under it after a full inspection of what is under the door.

A few of the deck boards should be pulled at that time to get the flashing under there so you can deal.



Windows and doors leak the trick is to capture and give it a path out so only the door jam is subject to getting wet. Not the wood under under or in the wall or onto the floor.

 

 

Remove the metal sill plate and I bet you will find that it has no caulking whatsoever. Use a silicon caulk to seal under the sill plate and all the edges to the outdoors and it should fix the problem.

With a bare sill plate any water penetrates underneath it and then wicks up through the trim and into the walls and siding. Everyone focuses on the door seals and forgets about the door sill itself when weatherproofing an exterior door.