WE HAVE FOUR DOORWAYS that have been unprotected from above. During rainfall, water runs down the upper wall to the doorway, where it enters between the frame and the top of the door. There, it has caused damage to doors or to the materials below doorways.
How to keep rainwater out of the building and/or from damaging the (top of the) doors? Putting our heads together, Andrew Roth (a new member of this committee), Fleming, and I figured out a relatively simple, cost-effective, and hopefully long-lasting solution: install an overhead rain drip guard. Andrew tested out this approach a week ago on one of the doors.
Below the jump, this post documents the need and describes our preventive maintenance approach.…
West wall of the school building
On the morning after a recent rainstorm, I opened the door there and looked up at the lintel. Do you see the drops hanging from the underside of the lintel? (Circled in red.)
Not surprisingly, the top of the door was damp to the touch. This confirmed that installing a door guard (and also ensuring that the top of the door was painted) would be helpful there. Happily, Andrew soon took care of both aspects.
Overhead rain drip guards are available from several manufacturers, e.g., Pemko or Trudoor or National Guard. (They do not appear to be sold at Home Depot.) Andrew found a make/model on Amazon.com that fits our doors/frames, for about $30. (Less expensive and easier to install than an awning!) This model has a curved-back lip at its edge that directs water to each side of the doorway.
For installation, he started with this doorway, because it is the easiest one to access, of the three that need attention.
Details
He used (2) 3/16" x 1¼" masonry/concrete screws, placed through the two existing holes of the rain guard, with a layer of Loctite PowerGrab construction adhesive applied to the back of the unit.
“We found the wall to be solid for the first 1 inch, then the drill bit encountered metal, likely a metal stud. The screws provided a strong grip to the wall, to hold as the adhesive cured.”
Then outdoor caulk was applied across the top of the rim, to make a watertight seal along the wall above the doorway.
In this case, Andrew also painted the top of the door itself, using clear Rust-Oleum. (Previously that door had only been primed.)
For the future
Doors #2 and #3: Mechanical penthouse atop the sanctuary building
These penthouse doors were repainted just over a year ago. Water previously leaked below the doorway and moistened an attic joist—which attracted termites, which damaged the joist. Our roofer’s best guess is that the offending water entered from around the door.
Door #4: Bottom of the stairs, entrance to Social Hall
View shown from the inside, after I opened one of the double doors and closed it again. My opening of the door prompted a sudden release of water that had collected underneath the lintel. A drip guard would be helpful here, too.
Andrew is working on getting the remaining three doorways protected.
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