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We have a newer door and handle (fiberglass door and Schlage handle and lock) that I caught leaking during the storms last weekend. The door and handle are less than 2 years old so shouldn't need replaced. The door does not have a storm door and is subject to strong direct wind and rain.

This is an odd place for a leak as normally it's around the perimeter of the door but this leak is coming through the handle itself. As you can see from the pictures of the leak, there are water marks where the handle was removed, and oxidation starting to build on the bottom of the lock cylinder so definitely a presence of water.

This must be an odd place for a leak as my searches and remedy possibilities turned up nothing. My initial thought is place a bead of caulk on the outside of the handle on the exterior facing portion but I didn't find anyone doing this and it will make removing the handle (when needed) a bit more messy. I also checked and the lock was tight. However there is no inner rubber seal on the door handle so metal-to-fiberglass tight isn't obviously water tight.

How should I fix this? Is there like a rubber seal made for handles I can put on the exterior of the handle to help it keep water out? Should I try to seal the lock cylinder too on the side of the door? Should I just go ahead and use caulk/sealant? Thank you

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  • If this were mine I'd be looking at installing a storm door to prevent direct exposure of the lockset to rain and wind. Is that an option for you?
    – jwh20
    Commented Apr 17, 2020 at 18:32
  • Unfortunately not at this time. One reason is cost and time. I need to solve this before the next rain storm. The other is aesthetics as this door goes out to a deck from the master bedroom and prefer not to have to require a secondary door.
    – atconway
    Commented Apr 17, 2020 at 18:35

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I would remove the handle, clean it as well as the door, and use an exterior grade silicone caulking (and plenty of it; enough to squeeze out a little) on the inside of the bell's perimeter as well as screw holes of the outside handle, and re-install it. Clean up any squeeze out.

I would not caulk the inside side of the knob as you want it to leak again to alert you that is leaking once more (your fix has failed) rather than your door becoming squishy.

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  • I did add the caulk as mentioned and it fixed the leak. This door is exposed to direct wind and elements so any sliver of an opening is unforgiving. Maybe long-term it needs a storm door, but for now this specific leak has been fixed.
    – atconway
    Commented Apr 23, 2020 at 16:46

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