The front of the house takes the weather first. How to check the main door, gates and grilles at handover and word the defects.
On a new landed house the main door, the gate and the grilles face sun and rain every day, so their defects show early: a timber door that swells or warps because its edges were never sealed, gaps and rain coming in under the door, a lock or deadbolt that will not line up, a gate that drags or will not latch, a sliding gate that jumps its track, and grilles with loose fixings, sharp welds or rust spots. If the developer supplied them, list each defect in writing and send it inside the 24-month defect liability period. If your own contractor fitted them, raise it with that contractor instead.
The front of a terrace or semi-D takes the weather head on. The main door may sit under a porch, but driving rain, afternoon sun and humidity still reach it. Gates and grilles are bare metal under a coat of paint or powder coating. At handover the typical faults are a door leaf that sticks or rubs, a visible gap of daylight around the frame, a damp mark on the floor inside after rain, a deadbolt you have to lift the door to close, a gate leaf that scrapes the porch, a sliding gate that grinds or rides off its track, and grille bars that rattle or already show rust at the welds.
Internal and balcony doors have their own check; this page sticks to the external main door, the gate and the grilles. For materials and choices, the main door materials guide explains how timber, steel and composite doors behave in our climate.
The defect liability period covers what the developer built and supplied. ClickBina's defect liability period guide lists doors and windows, including warped frames, defective locks and gaps at frames, as typically covered, and excludes improvements or additions made by the buyer after handover. Many developers hand over landed houses without gates or grilles, and owners have them fitted by their own contractor straight after VP.
So check your sale and purchase agreement and the developer's handover list. If the developer supplied the gate or grilles, they go on the defect list. If your own contractor fitted them, the defect is between you and that contractor; the guide to a contractor who will not fix defects covers that route.
You need a torch and a little patience. If you can, visit once in dry weather and once after rain.
| Element | What to look for | Simple owner check |
|---|---|---|
| Main door leaf | Sticking, rubbing, warping, swelling at the bottom edge, unsealed top or bottom edges | Open and close it slowly; look along the edges with a torch |
| Frame and gaps | Uneven gaps, daylight around the frame, loose architrave | Close the door, switch off the lights inside and look for light around the edges |
| Threshold | Water marks inside after rain, a threshold that falls into the house | Look at the floor just inside the door after a storm |
| Locks, deadbolts and handles | Bolt does not line up, key stiff, handle loose | Lock and unlock every lock several times with the door closed normally |
| Swing gate | Leaf drops at the free end, scrapes the floor, will not latch | Open and close each leaf; check the gap at the pillar top and bottom |
| Sliding gate | Grinding, wheels off the track, track uneven or full of debris | Push it through its full travel by hand |
| Grilles and grille doors | Loose fixings, rattling bars, sharp welds, rust spots, missed paint | Shake each grille gently and look at every weld and fixing point |
Write the position of each item, such as "main gate, left leaf" or "bedroom 2 window grille". You can tick your defects room by room on ClickBina's checklist tool and add these under the external section.
Timber doors move with humidity. A door that has not been sealed on all six faces, including the top and bottom edges, takes up moisture and swells or twists. At handover look along the bottom edge: bare timber there is a fault that will cause trouble later, even if the door closes today. A door that already rubs on the frame or floor will get worse in the wet season.
Daylight around a closed door or water on the floor inside after rain means the frame, the seals or the threshold are not keeping weather out. The door seal and weatherstrip guide explains the seals that close those gaps; at VP, list the gap and let the developer fix it.
A swing gate that drops at its free end scrapes a curve on the porch floor and stops latching. ClickBina's sagging gate guide lists four usual causes: worn or loose hinges, a leaf out of square, a pillar that has moved, and no support at the outer end. On a new house, cracks at the base of a gate pillar or a pillar that leans deserve a place on the defect list, because they point to the foundation of the pillar rather than the gate.
Sliding gates run on a track set into the porch or driveway. Check that the track is straight and level, that the wheels run without grinding, and that water does not stand in the track channel after rain. A track full of cement or debris at handover is a builder's fault, not maintenance.
Most grilles and gates in Klang Valley homes are mild steel with powder coating or paint on top, and the rusty grille and gate guide explains that the coating is the only protection, so rust starts at every chip. It concentrates at welds, the bottom rail, hinges, lock boxes and anchor points into the wall. Rust on a grille at handover means the coating was damaged or never completed there.
Check fixings as well. A grille or grille door should be fixed into solid brickwork or concrete, not only into the window or door frame, and it should not rattle when shaken. Sharp weld spatter and burrs on a grille door are an injury risk at hand height and belong on the list.
These calls are qualitative. Judge by whether the item closes, locks, keeps weather out and is safe to touch.
| Finding | Usually | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Main door rubs, sticks or has to be lifted to lock | Defect | Leaf or frame out of line |
| Bare, unsealed top or bottom edge on a timber door | Defect to list | Moisture enters and the door swells |
| Daylight around a closed door, or rain inside after a storm | Defect | Frame, seal or threshold not weathertight |
| Gate leaf scrapes the floor or will not latch | Defect | Hinge, leaf or pillar problem |
| Crack at the base of a gate pillar, or pillar leaning | Defect to list | Points to the pillar foundation |
| Sliding gate grinds or leaves the track | Defect | Track or wheel set wrongly |
| Rust spot or sharp weld on a new grille | Defect | Coating damaged; injury risk |
| Grille rattles when shaken | Defect | Fixing loose or not into solid structure |
| Fine variation in timber grain or colour | Normal | Natural material |
| Grit or leaves in a gate track after weeks of use | Normal | Routine cleaning |
Number each item, say where it is and what you want done.
Send the list in writing and keep a copy. The new house defects guide explains how to submit it and follow up.
Check the repair the way you found the defect: close and lock the door, swing the gate, shake the grilles. Note the date on your copy of the list.
A door that sticks again in the wet season was probably planed without being resealed, and rust that reappears within weeks was painted over rather than treated. Report it again in writing as a repeat defect, giving the date of the earlier repair. The defect liability period guide says an inadequate repair should be documented and reported again, because it is a fresh breach of the developer's obligation.
A gate that keeps dropping after its hinges were adjusted often has a pillar or leaf problem underneath. Ask for the cause to be identified in writing before the next adjustment.
For a new house bought from a licensed developer, the defect liability period is 24 months from vacant possession. Door swelling and gate sagging tend to show after the first wet season, so check again then and before the period ends. The defect liability period guide says the developer is typically expected to make good within 30 days of receiving your written notice.
If you plan to add an autogate motor, a security door or extra grilles, finish the developer's repairs to the existing items first. New work fixed onto a defective gate or frame makes the original defect hard to prove.
ClickBina offers a defect inspection service in KL & Selangor. We check the main door, gates and grilles with the rest of the house, write a numbered defect list for the developer, and can carry out the rectification for items the developer does not cover or after the period ends. As an experienced KL & Selangor contractor handling whole-house refurbishment and trade coordination, we can bring carpentry, metalwork and painting together as one job.
For repair work, a site visit to quote is RM150, waived if you go ahead. We reply within the hour, the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges, and ClickBina is registered with SSM.
Methodology: defect-versus-normal calls are qualitative; no homeowner-measurable tolerance is published for door gaps or gate drop.
WhatsApp us your unit type, size and VP date for an inspection quote — we reply within the hour.
💬 WhatsApp for an inspection quoteTell us what you need — we reply within the hour.