Any views on raven weather stops?

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Benoire

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#299305 27-Aug-2022 17:34

Hi folks

Our insurance works are being done again due to the poor quality of the last contractor. As a reuslt, the back door is being replaced again and I've got the opportunity to add a weather stop/strip to the bottom of the door. I've had ravens in the past but they've always been fitted by me... this time the contractor is happy to install it properly and I wondered if anyone had any advice?

Door is going to be a Parkwood Exterior fibreglass door designed for direct weather exposure (Fibreglass FLAR11) and the door sill is a standard painted wooden affair with no weather upstand. I've seen the RP4 and the RP4T and these look promising but I wondered if anyone had any particular views?

Chris

mdf

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#2960279 27-Aug-2022 19:11

I've got an RP123 on the front door, similar to the RP4. It does seal really well, but I'm not sure I'd use it again. It needs to be fitted just right for the rubber "sweep" strips to form a decent seal while not being so tight they catch and break off. The current one is actually my second, since the first one was fitted too tight and we lost all the rubber strips. The compression seal works well though.

I've specc'ed a RP99 for the back door but those seem hard to find. I actually need to chase it up again...

Benoire

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#2960320 27-Aug-2022 22:16

Do you have a photo of the RP123? The builder is willing to do this fully so we can get it right, I just want to get one that won't cause any additional 'step' up issues as the current sill is flat and this is causing the rain to catch and hold against the outside of the door.

timmmay

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#2960328 27-Aug-2022 22:36

I've used one on an old door... they're ok. Not sure the model.

Why would you need a weather strip on a new modern door? New doors should have rubber seals and built in drains shouldn't they? All my PVC doors, PVC windows, and aluminum front door does. Your saying it's a standard wooden frame makes me think maybe you should change the type of door you're specifying.

Benoire

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#2960329 27-Aug-2022 22:40

Its only the door being replaced under insurance, not the frame. Changing the frame and the door is hugely expensive and we're only planning to stay here for another year or so so would be wasted money compared to a weather stop solution... This door, while designed for exposed elements, is only a door and will still leak water as the frame/house is 1960s built.

timmmay

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#2960334 27-Aug-2022 23:00

Ah. An aluminum door with frame and glass surround with thermal break cost us from memory $8k recently, so yeah they are pretty expensive. It's not even that good, pvc is much better in terms of weather seal and general seal.

mdf

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#2960372 28-Aug-2022 09:53

Benoire:

Do you have a photo of the RP123? The builder is willing to do this fully so we can get it right, I just want to get one that won't cause any additional 'step' up issues as the current sill is flat and this is causing the rain to catch and hold against the outside of the door.

Not that would be of any help, sorry. It's pretty well hidden by the door! The website diagram is pretty representative though - three sweeps plus a compression seal on the door. If you don't have a timber upstand on the sill it should be easy to fit. There is a plastic upstand replacement that screws to the sill, then an aluminium threshold plate that clips to that. The door seal then (should) fit relatively nicely on to the threshold plate. I would guess the idea is that the sweeps get rid of any standing water on the sill while the compression seal provides the thermal break and seals out wind etc.

It is a good idea in theory, but my experience is that the door dropped a little post installation and this stuffed up the system. It became too tight and the sweeps would catch and ultimately break. The compression seal works really well though. We've got a similar fibreglass door to your spec (FLAR10) and they have some momentum behind them when the wind catches them or a surly pre-teen is in a huff which probably doesn't help dimensional stability.

Part of the problem is perhaps the limited adjustability once installed. This is why I want an externally mounted system on the back door so I can monkey with it if/when necessary.