Sliding Door Drafty or Leaking Water in the track after it rains?
Some water in the track is normal. The track is built to catch rain and drain it outside through small weep holes. Water on your floor isn’t normal, and neither is a draft you can feel with your hand.
Free estimate. No trip fee. No same-day fee. No after-hours fee. No minimum.
We reply within 30 minutes, 7am–9pm, 7 days.
Likely causes
Where the air and water get in
Most common first. The numbers match the drawing.
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Cause 1: Worn weatherstrip and brush pile Most common
What you’ll notice: Daylight around the edges, or the fuzzy pile is flattened or missing.
The brush pile and weatherstrip along the edges of the panel are what seal it. Salt air and constant sliding wear them flat, and pieces work loose and fall out.
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Cause 2: Clogged weep holes
What you’ll notice: Water sits in the track after rain instead of draining out.
Weep holes are small slots on the outside edge of the sill that let the track drain. Sand and dead bugs block them, and the water has nowhere to go but over the inside edge.
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Cause 3: Panels out of line at the interlock
What you’ll notice: A whistle in the wind, or a draft right where the two panels meet.
When the door is closed, the edges of the two panels hook together at the interlock. If the moving panel sits too low or stops short, they don’t meet, and air and water get through the gap.
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Cause 4: Door sitting crooked in the frame
What you’ll notice: The gap along the side of the closed panel is wider at the top than the bottom, or the other way round.
Worn or unevenly adjusted rollers tilt the panel, so it only presses on the seals along part of its edge.
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Cause 5: Water coming in around the frame
What you’ll notice: Wet drywall or baseboard beside the door, while the track itself looks fine.
Water getting in between the frame and the wall is a sealing or building issue, not door hardware. If that’s what we find, we’ll tell you straight.
Before you book
Try this first
Most of this is about letting water drain the way the door was built to.
Don’t caulk the track or the weep holes
Sealing the track traps the water it’s meant to drain, and it ends up on your floor. Replacing the seals means lifting a heavy glass panel out of the frame, so leave that part to us.
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Vacuum the track so water can run to the weep holes.
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Find the weep holes on the outside face of the sill. They’re small slots, sometimes behind little flaps. Clear them gently with a pipe cleaner, and leave the flaps in place.
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Test the drainage: pour a cup of water into the track and watch for it to run out of the weep holes outside.
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Make sure the door is closed all the way. A panel that stops short leaves a gap at the frame.
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On a bright day, look for daylight around the edges of the closed door. Wherever you see light, the seal is gone.
When to book
Weep holes clear, and it still gets in?
Then the seals or the alignment need work. Weatherstrip and brush pile come in a lot of sizes and profiles, and matching them to your door is most of the job. Don’t wait for hurricane season to find out how bad it is.
The price comes after we’ve seen it. Every door is different, so we don’t guess over the phone. A specialist looks at your door and gives you an exact price, free, before any work starts.
Same-day or next-day service in our core area.
Send us a photo so we come with the right parts. It isn’t a quote, but it can save a second trip.
The fix
How we fix it
New seals, and a panel lined back up so it actually presses against them.
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Weatherstripping & seals
Worn weatherstrip and brush seals replaced to keep out drafts and rain. -
Sliding door repair
If your slider sticks, drags, rattles or won’t close right, we find the cause and fix the door you have. -
Roller replacement
Worn or rusted rollers replaced so the panel rolls with one hand again. -
Tune-ups & maintenance
Preventive maintenance: we clean, lubricate and adjust your sliders so they keep rolling smoothly.
We don’t replace glass or install new doors. We fix the one you have.
Several doors? Ask about multi-door savings.
Is water in the track normal?
Some, yes. The track is built to catch rain and drain it outside through the weep holes. Water that drains away after a storm is the system working. Water that sits there or spills onto the floor isn’t.
Why does my sliding door whistle when it’s windy?
Air is getting through a gap, usually at the interlock where the two panels meet, or past worn brush pile along the edges. New pile and a panel lined back up usually quiet it.
Can I just caulk it?
Not the track, and never the weep holes. Sealing them traps the water that’s meant to drain out, and it comes inside instead. Caulk belongs where the frame meets the wall, not on the parts that move or drain.
Will new weatherstrip keep water out in a hurricane?
It helps, but no slider is completely watertight in a strong storm. Wind-driven rain can push water over the sill even on a door in good shape. Leaks on an ordinary rainy day are the ones we can fix.
Do you fix leaks around the outside of the frame?
Water coming in between the frame and the wall is usually a sealing or building issue rather than door hardware. We’ll tell you what we see, and fix the door side of it.
Something else going on?
Pick the closest match to see what usually causes it.
Tell us what the door is doing
Send us a photo so we come with the right parts. We reply within 30 minutes, 7am–9pm, 7 days.
Free estimate. No trip fee. No same-day fee. No after-hours fee. No minimum.