What to do if a wet stain suddenly appears on the front door of the house?
My wife and I have lived in our house (built in 1978) for about a year now. Today was the first time we noticed that there was a damp stain on the front door.
It had been raining pretty hard before, but not as thunderstorm. There is a small awning in front of the front door. The rain hit the side of the house where the front door is.
None of the rain penetrated the bottom of the door, even though the door is old and has no special seal.
Next to the door is a section decorated with glass blocks – here, too, the joints are damp from the inside.
If you enter the house through the front door, you get into an unheated room (vestibule), which is adjacent to the stairs. The room is mostly cool (about 10°C), but it's not inhabited in that sense. The air goes in and out through the built-in mailbox, which is not draught-proof, so I don't think moisture is coming in from inside.
Now my question is, is there an urgent need for action here? After all, it shouldn't be the case that the wall dries out, should it?
Answer
I would definitely find out where the dampness is coming from.
Perhaps the canopy is attached with slightly longer screws. Maybe the clinkers are drilled through and water is running down the screw to the interior wall or ceiling.
