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Under the door trim I have discovered a small gap between my patio door and my floor. It is about 1cm in width and 3cm deep. At the bottom it is concrete and my flooring above this is concrete.

Should this gap be there? I am trying to track down a damp issue and at the bottom of this gap it is damp.

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People with potentially similar issues

https://community.screwfix.com/threads/what-should-i-use-to-fill-the-gap-between-my-door-frame-and-floor.196247/

https://www.mybuilder.com/questions/v/43628/what-is-the-best-solution-to-fill-a-gap-between-the-concrete-foundation-and-my-front-door

User1
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  • I'm not quite sure what I'm looking at, there. Presumably, this is related to https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/261947/what-is-causing-a-damp-patch-in-patio-door-corner Did you address the exterior flashing/sealant issues raised in that question? – Tetsujin Dec 07 '22 at 19:29
  • Yes it is related to that question. I did reseal the outside and inside of the door. I’m not sure how to check the flashing tbh. In the photo above there is black carpet then a small gap. I will try get a better photo – User1 Dec 07 '22 at 19:31
  • What is the concrete? What's _inside_ of the concrete? All I see is tack strip and some sort of sheathing. You'll need to investigate further. – isherwood Dec 07 '22 at 19:56
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    Wait, maybe that's the joint between interior and exterior concrete slabs. Is that right? – isherwood Dec 07 '22 at 20:06
  • Sorry I am new to diy, but it seems like just a random gap, at the bottom is probably the subfloor, and under the pvc door is the exterior bricks. I wondered if the gap was there for ventilation for some reason but I’m starting to think it’s just bad fitting – User1 Dec 07 '22 at 20:32
  • I’ve added some links to other people with what I think are similar issues – User1 Dec 07 '22 at 20:46
  • Is your door a sliding glass door? – JACK Dec 07 '22 at 20:49
  • That would be normal set up for thermal expansion reason – Ruskes Dec 07 '22 at 21:01
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    The implied question is what is under the tack strip? If you have two concrete slabs coming together there, the material between is an expansion strip, as expected. If not, there are other questions. More information, please. – isherwood Dec 07 '22 at 23:11
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    Doors are put into rough openings. The bottom of the opening is "rough" and when the door including the door jamb is put into the opening, shims are used to set the door level and plumb. The shims create a gap between the jamb and the rough opening. These gaps are typically sealed in different ways (inside and outside). – Fresh Codemonger Dec 08 '22 at 07:27

1 Answers1

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Observation

The door frame is leaking needs to be isolated from outside and inside

There is a humidity barrier between the outside concrete and floor that sits in that gap

Therefore the gap is normal to have and need it for that function

Ruskes
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  • You're saying that it's _normal_ to have a gap under a door frame that's not sealed against water intrusion? Wouldn't that allow wind-blown rain or snow to just blow right under the door or hot air to pass (move inside in the summer, causing higher AC bills, or move outside in the winter causing higher heating bills)? This seems _very_ unlikely to me. Have a source saying this is correct? – FreeMan Dec 08 '22 at 16:01