My dad's just had a composite door fitted and it's really draughty especially around the top corners, along half the length of the bottom, and in the middle of the rhs especially where the latch is. Re where the latch is the draft proofing stops either side of the metal casing so how can it ever be draughtproofed, is that a design fault? Any clues from the photos if it's something that can be rectified?
Draughty new composite door
- Thread starter foreverchanges
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The gaps look pretty uniform all around apart from along the bottom, why is the gap tapering, that said it won't be causing drafts. In terms of the draft proofing(brush pile fur) stopping either side then unfortunately thats how it has to be certainly on the centre latch where the plate HAS to overlap the brush, if the brush were on top of the plate then the latch on the door would foul it, heres mine......
If the door has just been fitted then get the installers back, was it a local company?
If the door has just been fitted then get the installers back, was it a local company?
So re the central latch you mean there'll always be a draught there, is that the case with yours and all composite doors? It seems ridiculous design and if I'd known composite doors weren't 100% draughtproof I would have kept the old one and saved £2k. I had a traditional wood door before , it was dated in appearance but 100% draughtproof and I thought a composite door would be an improvement re thermal efficiency not make things worse. Yes it's a local firm and they've sent a final invoice. I'd call them back for rest of door but if the central latch area can't be draughtproofed I don't know what to do re payment. I wasn't warned I'll have a permanent draught in a new door
The door shouldn't be drafty despite the brush not being there, theres the outermost gasket on the frame that runs around all 4 sides that should make it draft free including the latch area, don't pay anything until its sorted, get the installer back and raise the isues with them, you start fiddling with it they'll say you made it worse and would try and wriggle out of fixing it and voiding your warranty, who was the company?
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He's been back this afternoon. Even though the air is pretty still outside he admitted there were draughts. He thinks adjustments will solve most problems though he emphasised doors were not airtight like fridges and I should expect some air??? He did concede there was a problem with the draught at the bottom left of the door. He said air was always blowing in from outside through the drainage holes in the surround but shouldn't be causing a draught inside and he's getting some technical advice from manufacturer. So watch this space!
The drainage holes in the sill do allow a tiny amount of air to enter the space between the outside seal and the inside brush seal. I wouldn't expect that a couple of small drainage holes would be enough to generate a draft at the lock position though. Show us a photo of the sill arrangement at the bottom of the door with the door open please. One photo from inside and another from outside.
WTF do you need technical advice from the manufacturer, just sort it, adjust the compression on the hinges, Trojan Athena hinges.....easy, turn the slot adjusters with a torx key......easy, make sure the door doesn't rattle when just latched, if so move the adjustable latch in a couple of millimetres, sounds like the door has just been fitted and not finessed to get it working as it should
He didn't link the sill to the draught at the latch but to the draught coming in the bottom where there's a wider gap on the lhs (looking from inside). He seemed to think the other draughts could be remedied by adjustments
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Its strange that the gap along the top looks even but at the bottom the gap gets thinner from left to right, get a tape measure and measure the height of the door itself(the slab), left and right sides to see if the door has been cut straight, I would imagine it is because its done with a CNC machine, then check the internal opening height, left and right and you might find the the opening is shorter on the right, at this point the manufacturer MAY quote 3/4mm tolerance allowed in upvc manufacturing and I think its out by that much
Those two small slots in the plastic of the cill are the only places that outdoor air should be able to pass the outer seal. If you cover them with some blutack and the problem goes away then they are the source of the draft. If the problem doesn't go away (very likely) then the source of the draft is that the door is not compressing the outer seal (requires adjustment of hinges and/or latches).
This assumes that you are actually lifting the handle to compress the seals. If you don't lift the handle when you close the door then the seals are unlikely to get compressed on the latch side.
This assumes that you are actually lifting the handle to compress the seals. If you don't lift the handle when you close the door then the seals are unlikely to get compressed on the latch side.
Yes I neglected to say the door is only really draft and waterproof when the handle is up and hooks engaged
We were only told we had to lift the handle in order to lock it with the key, they didn't mention that was anything to do with the seals but we do that every time as the door is never unlocked
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