Door jamb in high water table

The replacement southern jamb at the ground-level kitchen doorway stands for days in the water which covers the stone sill, on which the jambs are anchored by iron pins in mortises chiseled into the sill. The darkened area of the jamb above the water level has been soaked by the high water table and "wicking" of water upward in the porous oak timber. This prolonged saturation initiates the cycle leading to rot in timber members, necessitating the mitigation measures referred to in DTR09PH98--1001.01.190, DTR09PH66--1001.01.150 , and DTR09PH74--1001.01.163. See DTR09PH96--1001.01.188 for a discussion of the effects and remedies regarding this persistently high water table. Laurence Ward, 2009