Bad smell after install of patio doors.

15 years ago

We replaced our patio doors with Anderson Patio doors last month. When they took out the old patio doors they discovered no caulk at all underneath them. We had water coming in under the doors and suspected as much. When the new doors went in they caulked the heck out of them. We have an odor in that room that is over powering and I suspect it's the caulk. How long does it take for that smell to go away? It's almost unbearable. I am trying to get a hold of the contractor to ask what he used but he's hunting or something. All I know it is a gray color. Someone please tell me if this smell will go away soon.

Featured Answer

laxsupermom

15 years ago

It could just be offgassing from the door itself.(I know how weird that sounds) When we installed our french patio doors, I woke up the next morning and thought something died in my house. Literally, the smell hit me between the eyes as I left my bedroom. I mentioned it to another mom at storytime and she suggested it was the doors themselves. She said that when her new dining room furniture arrived she had that "what died?" smell for a week. We left all the windows and doors open as well as all the vents on for several days(closed our doors at night) before the smell was no longer detectable by me. Incidentally, DH barely noticed the smell even on the first morning.

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Comments (11)

davidandkasie
15 years ago
the caulk smell should have cleared out in a day or two at most. what does it smell like?
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sewnice50
Original Author
15 years ago
David and Kasie,
The smell is like a chemical combined with wet cardboard.
It's been more than a month now, and the smell is getting stronger. We had extra insulation put in the attic at the same time they put in the doors. I wonder if that could be the smell now that the house is closed up?
I have been told the house has stale air from being too tight, and I should invest in a heat recovery ventilator.
It's going to cost $2200.00 and if the house still smells what am I going to do then? My husband will be a very unhappy man.
homebound
15 years ago
I'm not an exterior door expert, but saying they "caulked the heck out of it" sounds like a red flag. Did it not fit in that well? (Was there a fair amount of damage under the old threshold, such as rot from the prior door, and was it left there when they installed the new door?) I would think that beneath the threshold would get a solid bead or two, plus caulking the edges and that's it 9Not to mention any necessary flashing above).

Alternatively, maybe rain is getting in at the top of the patio doors and the odor is due to "mostly trapped" moisture (that would require a lot of time to dry out in a closed space. I'd check above for gaps (that should be caulked). Just a thought.
mightyanvil
15 years ago
There might be earlier deterioration below the sill that is now allowed to vent into the house. All soft material should have been removed and replaced when the door was installed.

A door sill should sit on metal or flexible-self-adhering flashing (or both) that turns up at the inside and ends and turns down at the exterior. Sealant can be used but it is secondary rather than primary waterproofing. It shouldn't smell after a day or two.
sewnice50
Original Author
15 years ago
The new patio doors were set on a cement slab. I talked with the contractor this morning and he said the smell from caulk should have disappeared after a few days. He thought maybe it's the new insulation or the "pink rigid insulation box" he built for over our attic retractable ladder. Does insulation really smell that bad?

My next step is to make a blanket of some kind to layover the attic trap door and see if that helps.
mightyanvil
15 years ago
I believe wet insulation might be able to cause the odor you described; sort of a cardboard, chicken house odor.
homebound
15 years ago
Rigid insulation hardly smells - that's not credible. Insist that he come back and check/smell for himself. If you can do it during a rainy day, all the better, which might help to find the source.
sewnice50
Original Author
15 years ago
Mightyanvil,
Thank you so much for your response.
The smell you describe is pretty right on, and it is definitely coming from the attic. We have gable end vents, 6 roof vents, but only 3 soffit vents, and they are all in one small spot. Our house has no overhangs except in our patio area and that is where the one and only soffit is. The smell comes down through the attic trap door.
How can I fix this? any ideas? My husband wants to use a sealer around the trap door, he thinks that will stop the smell from coming down into our living area. I want to make another insulation blanket to lay over the trap door in the attic. We had one but the guys who did the insulation used it to add to the insulation when they were up there. I thought the blanket worked great. My concern is why are we smelling wet insulation? We have no roof leaks. When I look up there I do not see condensation. Do I need to put a fan up there? How could I do that safely?

Thanks for your help.
sierraeast
15 years ago
Even though you stated no leaking, you might want to double check. One way to check for roof leaks in an attic is to have someone spray the roof down while another is in the attic with a flashlight. It helps to have two way radios to communicate with one another and co-ordinate the areas being sprayed. Water travels, so the leak, if there is one, could be as far up as the ridge, not necessarily down low towards the plate lines.
mightyanvil
15 years ago
You need to find the water source. It could be a leaking pipe, a broken bath exhaust or small animals. Check anything that passes through the attic. Get on a ladder to look at the gutters from above; same with all flashing.