Fixing Frig exterior access panel door leaks

Delam_15_600The reason my Mirada suffered from water damage was because water intruded under the frig access door.

If you have a similar door and frame, you may want to look at it and see if this could also be impacting you.

The access door did not have a lip on it, so water would run under the door and drip down inside the wall below the frig.

I repaired the water damage  (CLICK HERE) , so to prevent the damage from re-occurring, I decided to install a lip on the bottom of the frig access panel.

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Original access panel – no lip. Water runs inside and between walls

Clean the bottom of the frame with acetone or lacquer thinner.

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Run a bead of silicon adhesive/sealant along bottom of frame

 

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cut wooden dowels and place them on the bottom of the frame. Make sure they are well immersed in the silicon

 

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Level out the silicon, make sure the dowels are fully coated.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE – You may have a water drain tube from the frig, make sure that tube pokes out when you put the cover in place.  You don’t see the tube in these photos because Its tucked out of the way while I was making the repairs to the frame and the delamination.