Front Door Leaking When It Rains — Leak Found, Then Fixed
Every hard rain there is a puddle inside the front door, or a drip from the top of the frame.
Reply within one business day. Or call / text 763-204-2099.
When a front door is leaking when it rains, JMB Builders finds where the water gets in before fixing anything, across the Twin Cities metro. We hose-test the door from the bottom up and trace it to the head flashing, the bottom corner pads, the threshold, a glass lite or a missing sill pan. Then we reseal, reflash, adjust, or pull and reset the door. Priced per door, quoted from photos.
- Priced per door, leak traced first
- Head, corners, threshold or glass
- Reseal, reflash, reset or replace
An entry door can leak in five places, and they look the same from inside: water on the floor. It can come in over the top, where the head flashing or drip cap above the brickmould is missing. It can come in at the bottom corners, where the weatherstrip meets the sill and a small corner pad is supposed to seal. It can come under or through the threshold when it is set too low, cracked or never sealed. It can come around a glass lite in the door or a sidelite. Or it can come under the whole frame because the door was set without a sill pan.
Caulk does not find a leak; it moves it. So we test. Water runs from a hose on one spot at a time, starting at the bottom and working up, while someone watches inside. When the water shows, that is the spot. Doors facing south or west with no overhang take wind-driven rain straight on, and they often leak only in a storm, so the test is set up to copy that.
Many leaks are a repair: new corner pads and a sweep, a threshold adjusted up, the sill resealed, a drip cap added over the head, a lite frame resealed. When the door was set with no sill pan and the jamb feet or subfloor have gone soft, the door is pulled, the rot fixed, and the door reset on a pan, or replaced. Walkout basement doors at grade and windows have their own pages.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
What you supply
- Photos of the door from outside and inside, and of where the water shows up
- When it leaks: every rain, only wind-driven rain, or only when snow melts
- Paint color if trim is repaired or replaced
What JMB supplies
- A hose test from the bottom up to find where the water gets in
- Corner pads, door sweep and weatherstrip replaced where they are worn
- Threshold adjusted, resealed or replaced
- Drip cap or head flashing added above the brickmould
- Glass lite frame or sidelite joint resealed
- Door pulled, rot repaired and reset on a sill pan, or a new door, when that is the fix
- Painting new trim as its own line on the quote
- Photos of what we found and fixed in your job folder
How it is priced: per door
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- A seal or adjustment fix vs. pulling and resetting the door on a sill pan
- Rot found in the jamb feet, sill framing or subfloor
- Siding type around the door, which changes how a drip cap or flashing goes in
- A door with sidelites or glass lites that need resealing
- Interior damage to flooring or trim below the door
- Painting new trim, quoted as its own line
Send a photo of the door from outside showing the roof or overhang above it, close-ups of both bottom corners, and a photo of where the water shows up inside.
How long it takes
Finding the leak and a seal or threshold fix: a few hours. Pulling the door, fixing rot and resetting it on a sill pan: about a day.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Water coming in at the top of the door
Usually no drip cap or head flashing over the brickmould, so water running down the wall gets behind the trim and drips out above the door inside. A drip cap tucked under the siding or house wrap fixes it.
Water at the bottom corners
The small corner pads where the jamb weatherstrip meets the sill wear out or were never put in. Water blown against the door runs down the edge and in at the corner. New pads and a sweep often stop it.
Water under the threshold
An adjustable threshold set too low, a cracked sill, or a sill never sealed to the floor. If the floor under it is soft, the door was set without a sill pan and has been leaking for a while.
Leaks only in wind-driven rain
Doors facing south or west with no overhang. The seals can be fine for normal rain and fail when wind pushes water sideways. Tight seals and a storm door or overhang help.
Front Door Leaking When It Rains — Leak Found, Then Fixed: questions, answered
Why is my front door leaking when it rains?
The water is getting in at one of a few spots: over the top where there is no drip cap or head flashing, at the bottom corners where the corner pads are worn, under or through the threshold, around a glass lite, or under the whole frame because there is no sill pan. A hose test from the bottom up finds which one. Caulking all of them without testing usually moves the leak.
Why is water coming in at the top of my door?
Most often there is no drip cap or head flashing above the brickmould, so water running down the siding gets behind the head trim and comes out over the door inside. It can also be a roof or window leak above, running down inside the wall. We test the door head first, then above it, so the fix goes where the water starts.
How do I stop water coming under my front door threshold?
First check the adjustable threshold: if it is screwed down too low, the door sweep does not touch it. Raising it and replacing a worn sweep and corner pads fixes many leaks. If the threshold is cracked or the floor under it is soft, the sill was never sealed or there is no sill pan, and the door has to be pulled and reset.
Why does my door only leak in wind-driven rain?
Wind pushes water sideways and up, into joints that stay dry in a straight-down rain. Doors facing south or west with no overhang get the worst of it. Worn corner pads, a low threshold and a missing drip cap all show up in wind first. We set the hose test to copy a driving rain so the leak shows.
Can a leaking exterior door be fixed without replacing it?
Usually. Corner pads, a sweep, a threshold adjustment, resealing the sill or a lite, and a drip cap above the door fix most leaks. Replacing or resetting the door makes sense when it was set without a sill pan and the jamb feet or subfloor have rotted, or the door itself is failing.
Is a leaking front door the same problem as a leaking window?
The causes are cousins, missing flashing, failed seals and no sill pan, but a door adds the threshold, the sweep and the corner pads, which are where most door leaks start. We trace a door leak the same way we trace a window leak: test first, then fix the spot the water uses.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and the builders we work with. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
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Read morePage reviewed October 9, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All doors pages
Where we work
Door Replacement & Installation near you
Based in Zimmerman, scheduling across the Twin Cities metro. Closest first: