One Piece Door Sill With Upturned Edges?

[HerHusband]

I've installed a few prehung exterior doors over the last few years, trying to flash and caulk the doors as best as possible. Unfortunately, none of these doors have roof overhangs to protect them from the weather, and storm doors on the outside are not an option.

In almost every case, there have been problems with leaking and/or rot, and now I need to repair or replace the door frames.

The door frame assembly really seems like a dumb design in the first place. It relies on the caulking/sealant between the sill and door jambs to prevent water from coming in, and then the wood sits right on the sill to wick up moisture.

If I can find some place to order them, I'm planning to replace the rotted door jambs with jambs that have a PVC bottom section to prevent the wicking issue (like the "EverJamb" at

then installing a sill pan under the jamb (like the "Jam Sill" at But these still seem like work around fixes to an inherent design flaw.

So, I'm curious if anyone makes a one-piece door sill with upturned edges? Then the door jamb could overlap the sill edges, keeping the bottom off the sill to prevent wicking. Wood doesn't touch water, and there's no where for moisture to go but out. It seems like such a basic flashing detail to me, rather than relying on caulk between the jamb and sill.

Any recommendations?

Anthony

[jloomis]

[HerHusband]

Hi John,

Have you tried a jamb like the "EverJamb" where the bottom 6" or so of the side jambs are made of PVC? This sounds like it would prevent the wicking issue, though moisture could still work down the crack between the jamb and door sill. I also wonder how well latex paint would stick to the PVC portion (though I'd rather have peeling paint than rotten wood).

The "JamSill" seems like it would protect the structure WHEN water has worked it's way through the joints in the jamb, but my current door sills still have wood under the sill itself. Unless I could find a solid sill, or one made without wood under the aluminum, it seems like rot would still be inevitable.

Considering every home has more than one exterior door, a one piece sill with upturned edges to keep water out seems like a no brainer. I'm really surprised no one makes such a beast.

Anthony

[jloomis]

[Guy]

responding to

Guy wrote: Reply:

Hello Anthony,

Over the years I have sucessfully solved this type of problem by bitumen priming the bottom part of the jamb in contact with the wall and the sill and using torch-on felt to form a shoe. You don't have to use a torch at this scale, it can be done with an electric paint stripper at full heat.

The beauty of this method is that the felt shoe actually seals the wood grain and also acts as a local dpc. stopping any dampness sucking up into the wood. as an extreme example, it has worked on an exterior gate jamb left for at least 10 years without any apparent deterioration even though the jamb was sunk below ground level.

Also you can pa> I've installed a few prehung exterior doors over the last few years, > trying

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[HerHusband]

Hi Guy,

My original post was from earlier this year, and I have since replaced both door jambs with composite frames I ordered through Lowes. I reused the doors themselves, taking exact measurements for the new frames.

Before I installed the new door frames, I added a sill pan by

in each rough opening.

The composite frames won't rot or wick moisture like the original frame, and the sill pan will protect the framing on the off chance water should find it's way past the door jambs.

The only negative I encountered was with painting. I scuffed up the exterior trim lightly with sandpaper, and used a primer specifically made for PVC and plastic. But, it still took 3-4 coats of paint on top of the primer to cover the white plastic trim. Still, that's a small price to pay for the peace of mine knowing the door frames will last a long time.

Anthony