How to fix glass sliding doors leaking at bottom?

[serenab]

Hello I am in the process of removing all the carpet and replacing with engineered timber.  However, I have found water damaged located at the bottom corner of each sliding glass door frame. I would like to fix this before putting down the new timber flooring. The tracks are clean but I couldn't find any obvious weep holes to make sure they were clear. Looking at the photos of the outside of the house that meets the frame, should that part be exposed to weather? Could water be getting in here? My thoughts are that I should fill it with exterior no more gaps. Also of note, if it rains heavily with strong wind, the track fills up on the inside. Is this okay?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. 

   

 

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @serenab,

Thank you for your question and welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

It looks like the water is getting in between the weatherboards and the aluminium frame. 

I'd suggest filling these gaps and any others you can find with No More Gaps Exterior Gap Filler like you've suggested.

Start by thoroughly cleaning around the frame to remove any dirt or debris that can affect adhesion of your sealant.

You'll need to cut the plastic tips that come with your caulking so the hole will allow a bead of caulking that is wide enough to cover the gap without any holes that water can get through.

Once you're ready to go, work from top to bottom ensuring you use enough caulk to cover the gap fully. You need to fully cover the gap, so don't go light on your application. It is likely you will need quite a few tubes to fully cover all gaps along the full height of the door.

Now the No More Gaps is in place, you can strike off the bead and tidy things up using a combination of the Paint Partner 4 Piece Silicone Scrapers and a plastic scraper.

Also, keep a bucket of water and some rags handy to clean up where required.

You might like to have a look at How To Silicone a Gap for a demonstration of the technique required.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob