wood rot under French doors

[traintrip2000]

We purchased our Fuqua Home in October 2007. It has the French doors instead of the sliders. We've recently discovered major wood rot under and around the doors due to poor construction. Do I have any avenue to follow for compensation?

[David Oxhandler]

French doors are beautiful but often problematic. They do require regular preventive maintenance to keep them water tight. This is especially true for a new home as the majority of settlement for most occur in the first year.

Fuqua has a reputation for quality construction. It is very possible that the door was installed correctly and sealed well on all sides at the factory. As that home is transported it racks but is put back to level and square during installation. It is possible that the door needed to be resealed at that time but was over looked.

Another possibility is that you home has settled putting that doorway out of square. It only takes a very tiny gap in the seal around the door for rain water to work its way in and the problem you describe to start.

Look under the home. Do you should see support under the edges of the door opening? If your home is set on piers there should be a pier on either side of the door opening to keep it level by permitting adjustments as the home settles.

So the problem could have started in the factory, on the road, or since your home was installed. You can phone the service manager at the shop where the home was built and ask if this has been a reoccurring problem for their homes. Unless you have an extended warranty, I'm afraid you may find it difficult to assign blame or get anyone to step in and fix the problem.

Most important at this time is to repair the damage as soon as possible. Wet wood rot continues to spread like cancer. It is imperative that you stop this continuing destruction of you home.

I have seen this same problem over and over with French doors. Most of the time the wood framing around the door has been compromised to the point where the door has to be removed, the rotten wood replaced and the door reinstalled. Pull up the carpet around that door area, check in the walls and under the home to be sure that you don't miss any of the damage. The last French door replaceable we made required rebuilding a 16 foot by 8 foot section of floor.

Consider replacing the French door with a sliding glass door, which usually have a full aluminum frame and will require less preventive maintenance down the road.

TO better understand the problem you can read:

The most frequent problem with manufactured housing

Is your manufactured home unlevel?

The Manual for Manufactured Home Repair & Upgrade