How to raise a Threshold?

[RogerM]

SWMBO has finally worn me down and we have new carpets on order. Well, the old one's are nearly 30 yrs old so she has a point. The clearance between the bottom of the front door and the interior doormat is minimal, and I'm certain that with a new carpet and underlay it will be too thick to have an inside doormat at all. Our hall is narrow and the front door enters the side, so we don't want a sunken doormat well. Also I'm sure that CH pipes go under the floor near there so wouldn't want to cut into the slab with a disc cutter.

So, the plan is to raise the threshold by about 20mm.

My thinking is to cut through the existing stainless steel threshold and raise it by about 20mm using an old piece of Iroko, and then screw the whole lot down on a bed of silicon sealant. Then raise the door by 20mm and trim 20mm off the top.

Anyone got any better ideas? The stainless threshold goes under the doorframe so will have to be cut through. A simple hacksaw will be OK to make a straight cut - or should I attempt to cut it out around the existing frame, creating a problem with the cutting. Would a Fein Multimaster solve that one? Bit of an expensive solution for one simple job though! Or is there a simpler/better solution?

Any thoughts gratefully received.

 

[OLD]

Raising the door affects hinge and lock alignment may be better to cut door bottom .If its not important to keep the s/s you could make a hardwood threshold to fit removing the s/s one will then be a simpler job

 

[sawdust maker]

Hi Roger

I had the same problem. But my way round it was to tile the floor inside the door, wall to wall and about 5' in. This gives anyone coming in somewhere to take their shoes off and is a lot easier to keep clean.

just a thought
Paul

 

[Pecker]

As a general rule of carpentry, you should try never to cut/plane the top of the door except lightly to even out the 2mm gap. Main reason is, when looking at a door, your eys will naturally go to the top and not the bottom, furthermore the cut -if uneven- shows much less at the bottom.

So always trim the bottom of a door, and adjust the top as a last resort.

woody

 

[andys wood shed]

Roger

Have you checked out stormguard products
I had a simular problem and overcome this with one of their threshold products which screwed onto the step and (if I remember correctly) had to take about 15mm off the bottom of the door giving me adequate clearance and no draughts

http://www.stormguard.co.uk/index.html

Regards

Andy

 

[Smudger]

As a general rule of carpentry, you should try never to cut/plane the top of the door except lightly to even out the 2mm gap. Main reason is, when looking at a door, your eys will naturally go to the top and not the bottom, furthermore the cut -if uneven- shows much less at the bottom.

So always trim the bottom of a door, and adjust the top as a last resort.

woody

We had a door hung by a local firm of carpenters. They sent the lad, and no-one had told him, so he trimmed the top. Result - like living in the Crazy House at the fair...

 

[Pecker]

As a general rule of carpentry, you should try never to cut/plane the top of the door except lightly to even out the 2mm gap. Main reason is, when looking at a door, your eys will naturally go to the top and not the bottom, furthermore the cut -if uneven- shows much less at the bottom.

So always trim the bottom of a door, and adjust the top as a last resort.

woody

We had a door hung by a local firm of carpenters. They sent the lad, and no-one had told him, so he trimmed the top. Result - like living in the Crazy House at the fair...

seen it all too often unfortunetly

woody

 

[RogerM]

I just love this site. Practical answers to practical problems!

It might be worth adding that one of the reasons that I thought to trim the top rather than the bottom is that the bottom of this particular door is complex. As well as the cut out bottom, there is a stainless steel kicking plate across the inside and outside of the door at the bottom which is let into the surface of the door. Ideally I'd like to leave them undisturbed as they would be difficult to move up. That's one reason why I thought I'd keep the existing threshold and move the whole caboodle up and then trim the top which is just a simple flush fit.

Raising the door affects hinge and lock alignment may be better to cut door bottom .If its not important to keep the s/s you could make a hardwood threshold to fit removing the s/s one will then be a simpler job

I understand your point OLD. In view of my comments above, my reasoning is that if I take a precise measurement of how far I am raising the threshold, then I would move the hinges and lock-plate up exactly the same amount, and cut precisely the same amount off the top of the door - and the door should still fit.

Hi Roger

I had the same problem. But my way round it was to tile the floor inside the door, wall to wall and about 5' in. This gives anyone coming in somewhere to take their shoes off and is a lot easier to keep clean.

just a thought
Paul

Sounds like a cunning plan Paul. Unfortunately as we enter our hall along the side, it would look odd having a tiled area in the middle, particularly as it is quite narrow.

Roger

Have you checked out stormguard products
I had a simular problem and overcome this with one of their threshold products which screwed onto the step and (if I remember correctly) had to take about 15mm off the bottom of the door giving me adequate clearance and no draughts

http://www.stormguard.co.uk/index.html

Regards

Andy

Andy - that website looks interesting. if it weren't for the complex shape and the stainless kicking plates that would be a great way forward.

As a general rule of carpentry, you should try never to cut/plane the top of the door except lightly to even out the 2mm gap. Main reason is, when looking at a door, your eys will naturally go to the top and not the bottom, furthermore the cut -if uneven- shows much less at the bottom.

So always trim the bottom of a door, and adjust the top as a last resort.

woody

Woody - given the additional info above would you still avoid trimming the top? I take your point seriously, but feel that in view of the complexity of the bottom of the door I have little choice other than to measure 27 times and cut once along the top.

 

[Pecker]

I really do understand your dilema, and it's one I face regularly.

The problem, is that when you trim the door you have to go across the grain on the stiles, this almost without fail causes some tearing of the wood which inevitiably shows. You then have to rip along the grain of the top rail keeping the saw dead straight and true. Once you have done all this, you have to hope the top of the door was an accurate fit in the first place otherwise you end up planning it down to level again. On some doors the dowels/ mortices are very close to the top of the door which causes holes. You also have to move all your hinges on either the door or frame as since you will be lifting the door - nothing will line back up.

It's these reasons why most chippies will not be happy fitting a secondhand door for someone - you can never get a good fit.

If you cock it up it shows less at the bottom!

Here is what I personally would do. Make your iroko (or whatever) strip making a note of it's measurements. remove door, fit strip etc. Sit door on carpet and wedge up until old hinges line up. (at this point it is easier if someone can just hold the door in position while you nip outside) and mark on the door the height of where the strip comes to. (failing that measure carefully down from top of frame to wooden strip on both edges then transfer those readings to the door.) Make your rebate slightly bigger then the width of your strip and slightly deeper than the line you've just marked.
In theory hey presto, door can be hung back on existing hinge holes.

Yes it is a work up, but otherwise by the time you've cut and planed the top, realigned your hinges realigned you locks, sworn at the missus for wanting that new carpet, you could be back in the shed making the next item on your list.

yes, if you really take your time it is possible to cut the top, but you might have well spent the time doing it the correct way in the first place.

Sorry for the long post! if you want to know anything else - just ask.

By the way, once the door is off, check the hinges; if badly worn take the opportunity to replace them otherwise you'll only be doing it 6 months later! :roll:

Regards Woody

 

[Pecker]

Roger, just realised you've got rounded hinges. Pain in the tutt to move and have to cut back in neatly. Really would be best to adjust bottom of door mate.

woody

 

[RogerM]

Thanks for all your replies. Off to Paris for a week tomorrow morning so can ponder the problem when I get back.