Questions for the glaziers/builders of the forum.
May 23rd 2016, 6:03 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 1
Questions for the glaziers/builders of the forum.
Hi,
Just joined this great forum, wish I'd found it sooner. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I thought all the details were necessary.
We've been renting this 3-year old unit for a few months now. During the first heavy rain we noticed that the aluminum sliding door to our uncovered balcony was leaking, making the carpets upstairs wet and leaking through the concrete slab control joint downstairs. The real estate agent advised us that the previous tenants reported the leak too after which she had a tradesperson seal the bottom of the door inside where it meets the floor concrete slab) (photo 1), however, it had merely masked the problem for a while.
Please find photos 1 to 6 in the flowing link.
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
When we reported the leak, the landlord himself attended a few times and put some new sealants in different parts of the doors inside and out (photos 2 and 3), which appears to have finally stopped the leak. The culprit though appeared to be a very narrow gap in the outside sill (photo 5) which the landlord somehow fixed, never realised how he managed to vanish the gap though! In any case I am waiting for the next storm to double check the leak is actually gone this time.
As we like the unit and considering offering the landlord to buy it, I thought I'd do some more research about how professionally the sliding doors are actually installed.
As you can see from the photos 2 and 4, the window sill outside seems to be 1.5 cm higher than the inside concrete slab (7 cm outside as opposed to 8.5cm inside). I'd like to know how bad actually this situation is, and whether this sort of (improper?) installation makes the doors prone to leaking in the future?
Please excuse my noob question.
Cheers,
Alex
Just joined this great forum, wish I'd found it sooner. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I thought all the details were necessary.
We've been renting this 3-year old unit for a few months now. During the first heavy rain we noticed that the aluminum sliding door to our uncovered balcony was leaking, making the carpets upstairs wet and leaking through the concrete slab control joint downstairs. The real estate agent advised us that the previous tenants reported the leak too after which she had a tradesperson seal the bottom of the door inside where it meets the floor concrete slab) (photo 1), however, it had merely masked the problem for a while.
Please find photos 1 to 6 in the flowing link.
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
When we reported the leak, the landlord himself attended a few times and put some new sealants in different parts of the doors inside and out (photos 2 and 3), which appears to have finally stopped the leak. The culprit though appeared to be a very narrow gap in the outside sill (photo 5) which the landlord somehow fixed, never realised how he managed to vanish the gap though! In any case I am waiting for the next storm to double check the leak is actually gone this time.
As we like the unit and considering offering the landlord to buy it, I thought I'd do some more research about how professionally the sliding doors are actually installed.
As you can see from the photos 2 and 4, the window sill outside seems to be 1.5 cm higher than the inside concrete slab (7 cm outside as opposed to 8.5cm inside). I'd like to know how bad actually this situation is, and whether this sort of (improper?) installation makes the doors prone to leaking in the future?
Please excuse my noob question.
Cheers,
Alex
Last edited by Alex.Nina; May 23rd 2016 at 6:07 am.
May 23rd 2016, 6:33 am
#2
Concierge
Joined: Jan 2013
Location: Western Australia
Posts: 21,139
Re: Questions for the glaziers/builders of the forum.
Hi,
Just joined this great forum, wish I'd found it sooner. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I thought all the details were necessary.
We've been renting this 3-year old unit for a few months now. During the first heavy rain we noticed that the aluminum sliding door to our uncovered balcony was leaking, making the carpets upstairs wet and leaking through the concrete slab control joint downstairs. The real estate agent advised us that the previous tenants reported the leak too after which she had a tradesperson seal the bottom of the door inside where it meets the floor concrete slab) (photo 1), however, it had merely masked the problem for a while.
Please find photos 1 to 6 in the flowing link.
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
When we reported the leak, the landlord himself attended a few times and put some new sealants in different parts of the doors inside and out (photos 2 and 3), which appears to have finally stopped the leak. The culprit though appeared to be a very narrow gap in the outside sill (photo 5) which the landlord somehow fixed, never realised how he managed to vanish the gap though! In any case I am waiting for the next storm to double check the leak is actually gone this time.
As we like the unit and considering offering the landlord to buy it, I thought I'd do some more research about how professionally the sliding doors are actually installed.
As you can see from the photos 2 and 4, the window sill outside seems to be 1.5 cm higher than the inside concrete slab (7 cm outside as opposed to 8.5cm inside). I'd like to know how bad actually this situation is, and whether this sort of (improper?) installation makes the doors prone to leaking in the future?
Please excuse my noob question.
Cheers,
Alex
Just joined this great forum, wish I'd found it sooner. Sorry for the lengthy post, but I thought all the details were necessary.
We've been renting this 3-year old unit for a few months now. During the first heavy rain we noticed that the aluminum sliding door to our uncovered balcony was leaking, making the carpets upstairs wet and leaking through the concrete slab control joint downstairs. The real estate agent advised us that the previous tenants reported the leak too after which she had a tradesperson seal the bottom of the door inside where it meets the floor concrete slab) (photo 1), however, it had merely masked the problem for a while.
Please find photos 1 to 6 in the flowing link.
Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
When we reported the leak, the landlord himself attended a few times and put some new sealants in different parts of the doors inside and out (photos 2 and 3), which appears to have finally stopped the leak. The culprit though appeared to be a very narrow gap in the outside sill (photo 5) which the landlord somehow fixed, never realised how he managed to vanish the gap though! In any case I am waiting for the next storm to double check the leak is actually gone this time.
As we like the unit and considering offering the landlord to buy it, I thought I'd do some more research about how professionally the sliding doors are actually installed.
As you can see from the photos 2 and 4, the window sill outside seems to be 1.5 cm higher than the inside concrete slab (7 cm outside as opposed to 8.5cm inside). I'd like to know how bad actually this situation is, and whether this sort of (improper?) installation makes the doors prone to leaking in the future?
Please excuse my noob question.
Cheers,
Alex
If I were making an offer on the unit, I'd make the offer 'subject to' an inspection and clearance by a professional builder that the installation is properly sealed and leak free. This puts the onus on the seller to arrange and pay for the inspection, it's perfectly acceptable practice and gives you some peace of mind (and the paperwork) that the work has been certified as sound. Good luck.
May 23rd 2016, 9:11 am
#3
Victorian Evangelist
Joined: Sep 2005
Location: Melbourne, by the beach, living the dream.
Posts: 7,704
Re: Questions for the glaziers/builders of the forum.
Or you could offer a price to buy the place taking into account the cost of replacing the sliding door.
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