Draughty rockdoor

Andrea15

Hi there,

I have my spanking new black Rockdoor. It looks very nice, BUT...

1) The spyhole gets water inside, so you can't see who is outside knocking on your door.
2) It is rather difficult to close the door. What I mean is that is you want simply to close the door without locking it (or lifting the handle) chances are that the latch (or whatever it is called...) won't engage and the door will open as soon as there is a slight breeze. Even locking the door with a key is not easiest because you have to give the handle a good yank and close the door very strongly to make sure you can actually turn the key.
3) The draughts... this is actually my main gripe... The door (rated A+!!) is draughty where the three hinges are and worst of all near the handle. In those areas there is only a seal on the outside (doing what, exactly?) and no brush on the inside.

I have told the installer and he is going to speak with the manufacturer, but I wonder, is this normal??

phoenix_w

It's not normal. We had a rockdoor fitted at our last house and it was just wonderful - it made our unheated hall much warmer than the regular UPVC door it replaced.

Issue #2 can probably be fixed by adjusting the keeps on the door frame (10 second job with an allen key) - your fitter should be able to do this. However 1 & 2 should probably be fixed by rockdoor themselves - keep onto your fitter to get it all sorted to your satisfaction.

Smiley_Dan

The draughts are not acceptable and must be fixed. How many levels of seals do "Rockdoor" have? High quality joinery often has as many as three.

The entire door including threshold must be totally air tight. You probably don't have a smoke pen, which is ideal to test. Try licking the back of your hand/finger to feel any breeze and/or holding a thin piece of paper in the first line of seals to make sure you can't pull it through without reasonable force.

Andrea15

Thanks a lot.

I'll post some pics so you can see for yourselves.

Shame that I can't... As a new user I am not allowed... I have tried all I can. I would have to copy the pictures inside the post...

No, I cannot do that either Use your imagination...

Let's try this:

http:// postimg.org/ gallery/ d0s5fru4/

OK, here is the link to the gallery. I have added spaces after each "/" to try to fool the system.


Here goes Picture 1


Note the lack of brush. On the outside instead there is a continuous rubber "gasket" (for wont of a better term)

Here goes Picture 2

Again, where the hinge is, no brush

Here goes Picture 3

There is nothing on the door itself, but only on the frame. (You also have a partial shot of my dog )

For something rated A+ (I can post a picture of that as well if you like...) I would expect something a bit more insulating.

Don't get me wrong, it isn't as if there is a constant howling gale down my hallway, but it IS annoying, to say the least that you can actually feel the draught (and the vestibule is now certainly warmER, but not that warm).

What do you think?

ic

Sounds like your installer had done a very poor job of fitting it. The door will be very adjustable - the hinges can go up, down, left, right, and the lock stay can also adjust. However if the frame is out of true then there could always be a gap.

When the door is shut, you should not be able to slide a piece of paper in on the outside as the seal should block it. Get your installer back to correctly adjust it. As for the water in the spyhole - that sounds like a manufacturing fault - again you should raise this with the installer if they supplied the door.

Andrea15

ic, in fairness I don't think the installer did a great deal. The door (purchased by him) came as a oner, so the guy pretty much fitted the door/door-frame in the hole where the old door used to be, I didn't see hem do much adjusting as such.

I have just tried the piece of paper test, and I did manage to slide it, at least a bit. It didn't really move freely, but move it did.

greenface

That doesn't sound like a rockdoor . sounds like a composite but not a rock . get the fitter back . does it say. rockdoor anywhere ? Maybe on the top of the door when open . should be a colour circle and a name . one gasket and 2 bushes on 3 sides . hinges are adjustable claws and locks too .

Andrea15

Where should I look? I had a quick glance, but couldn't find anything obvious.

However I have the paperwork and it is stated that it should be an Ultimate Rockdoor (rated A++), so I would expect no draughts... (otherwise what would have happened had the door been C rated??).

I also have the Rockdoor brochure and the rating sticker confirms it is a Rockdoor.

greenface

c rated composites don't have draughts either . doors fitted badly are draughty. going by your paperwork you have a rockdoor . they can be adjusted to enhance the fit to make it tighter at the hinge and better at the lock . get the fitter back and explain how unhappy you are . keep us posted

Paul_Cunniffe

Did you get this resolved in the end - I have exactly the same issue with the draught coming through where the hinges are. On the frame the brush does not cover the hinges at all - so wondering why this is an A++ rated door for energy efficiency. The fitter is coming out tonight to have a look.


Also because of the cold coming in - I am getting condensation on the door hinges which in turn is dripping onto the floor!

TheCyclingProgrammer

If you're getting drafts then the door is not making a good seal against the rubber gasket. If it's on the hinge side then the compression on the hinges needs adjusting.

Get the fitter back to do it because it requires adjusting each hinge and if you mess it up you could mess up the door alignment.

If it's not making good contact on the latch side then it could just be the keeps for the latch and hooks need a slight adjustment.

Always ensure you lock the door properly by engaging the hooks when it's closed. This will pull the door against the gasket, ensure air tightness and secure the door and also minimise the risk of thermal distortion.