Sounds more like the flashing may not have been done correctly.

Tearing away at the interior is not normally a good method to find exterior leaks.
The water is already past the drainage plane at that point.

Is the french door an addition or is this new construction?

Sorry I'm so slow replying. The contractor came yesterday and looked at the doors. He said they are installed correctly, but because of my decking, there may be wicking underneath the metal touching the deck. So, we are caulking along the metal. I also found a second place where the water is entering, as the caulking was dried out and the wood behind it had rotted. You were right, brickeyee, I found all the leaks by going outside when the rain finally let up. I pulled off the inside moulding enough to see how high up the damage was. It was only at the bottom of the door.

We have removed all the old caulking and are waiting for everything to dry out. Then, we got an exterior caulk to finish this. Hope it is the end of the leaks.

Thanks again for your suggestion.
Rachel

Any installation that relies on caulk is NOT correct.

As you have already found out (the hard way) caulk eventually fails, all caulk.

You need to investigate how the bottom edge can be flashed to prevent water entry.

Ledger boards on houses do need flashing.

If the door was installed correctly, you would not have water inside the house.
Ron

I have a modular home with freach doors. It has leaked from day one.At first they said it was the outside light at the topside of the door. But it still leaks You can see it leaking over the moulding on the inside.Help

I'm having a similar issue. We had a sliding glass door & there was no leak. We had it replaced with nice, new french doors & it has leaked since day 1. There's no visual leak, per say, the damage shows up gradually as the rainwater seeps up through our hardwood floors. The installers have been out 3 times to "fix" the door & replace our floors & the problem still persists. Anyone have any ideas?

The initial installer for this company apparently put the door in completely wrong. He sat it on top of our floors instead of butting it against it. He also busted out the old footer & puzzle pieced it back in instead of pouring a new one. The 2nd installers came out & tore the doors completely out & started over in what was to be the correct way, but still the problem & subsequent flooring damage occurs. :o(

Your problem is similar to what I experienced 2 years ago, repair the door when it is done by contractors.
but after reading this post I've learned and the future will try to fix it yourself if the same damage again.

Here is a link that might be useful: retractable screen doors