Under my front door, there is a wood board, but there is a 1/2 to 1 inch gap above the board and below the threshold. Is it a problem if water gets in there? I'm not sure if I should seal it. There's concrete visible in the gap, and it seems to be in line with the foundation.
Water – Should I cover this gap under the front door
exteriorfoundationsealingwaterproofing
Related Solutions
I'll assume that the hole is there because concrete was put onto unrammed gravel. The current state is left on the picture
Now assuming you've got rid of the animals you have to stabilize the existing concrete and the gravel beneath it. The easiest way would be to excavate some of the gravel until you reach some stable foundation (I'd guess it's around one foot deep) and put new concrete forming an extra "step". That will be the easiest way to force the new concrete under the old concrete.
@ArchonOSX's answer is good, as long as the local drainage is good enough. If not, I'd install a trench drain that extends further down the slope to where it can discharge back onto the sidewalk, but that depends on the situation.
I'm guessing the door is 8' wide, and the sidewalk falls 5" across it, which means the sidewalk has about 1/2" per foot pitch.
Let's say you install a level trench in front of the door, starting 1" below the door and with a depth of 4" (with a grate on top). At the downhill end of the door the trench bottom will be 4" below the sidewalk.
Then you have to get rid of the water. Drains should have 1/8" per foot pitch, so the sidewalk will fall 3/8" per foot faster than the drain. So, it will take another 11 feet before the sidewalk is below the bottom of the drain. If you have that kind of space you can just extend the trench to that point and then turn it back to the sidewalk.
If not, improvise.
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Best Answer
Yep, caulk it and paint it with paintable caulk and exterior paint (after a good "surface prepping"). Use a dark shade to help hide foot scuffs.
Don't caulk inside the metal threshold, it probably needs to be able weep water. Just caulk it where it meets the wood, and all around where the wood abuts the building, even if it's not cracked, yet.
The problem is not only with water infiltration, but air, as well with those lil' buggers.