Best way to secure an entry door transition?

[John W Henderson]

Hi,


I'm fairly new to woodworking in general. I just installed a new back door in an older house. In the process, we raised the entire door up about 1/2" because the floor rises into the room and the old door had been cut at an angle on the latch side so it wouldn't hit the floor when it opened into the room. After being in the house two years, I decided to replace it with a better insulated door and raise it in the process.

In any case, I have a piece of oak ranch casing I'm using as a transition to butt up against the inner lip of the door that shows so it looks cleaner. I cut it to fit quite nicely and am about ready to install it but don't know how the best way to attach it would be.

My initial take was to drill and countersink screw holes, drill it in with some longer-ish screws (2"?) and then fill and sand the holes as I will be staining the wood.

I thought I'd ask those who know better what they would do. I just assumed hiding the attachment mechanism (screw heads) would be more attractive but am not sure if it's better to just leave the screws showing? There are three other transitions I looked at -- one has no sign of anything that I can tell and the grain looks continuous (no filler evidence) so I'm guessing it's perhaps glued; the other two both have the screws showing.

Thanks for any thoughts. What would you do?


John

[Bill McDermott]

John, I'm unqualified on this topic but have a consideration for you. Until recently, I was unaware of adjustable thresholds. Having replaced doors this Spring, we are now in the time of year when we Chicagoans are looking to seal cracks. These thresholds have adjustment screws that allow me to raise and lower the threshold as things shift, shrink, swell and settle. It was a pleasant surprise to find them. Besides that, as beautiful as natural wood can be, that's one heavy wear area where metal has a good application. This diagram illustrates the adjustment screws hidden below a rubber strip. Our front door uses the same concept but the rubber strip is actually wood. The stainless screws visible and accessible from above. It looks fine. Good luck. Bill
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31H1aF6y39L._SL500_AA300_.jpg

[John W Henderson]

@Bill:

Thanks for the suggestion. My new door actually has an adjustable threshold (or transition...) so that it can be raised and lowered to meet the sweeps. It's kind of a heavy vinyl covered metal and has screws like you show.

I might have been unclear -- my piece is more of a purely aesthetic way to transition from the appearance of a pretty high (3/4") "step" between my kitchen floor and the bottom of the door. I'm putting in the ranch casing to just make it look a little nicer. Also, the door we got sits a little shallower into the room and thus the cut edge of the linoleum is now visible. Here's a better picture showing what I'm trying to do:

https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0BzQupOSnvw08YjEyZTI4OTAtMmU0MC00YzUxLTk5ZWE tZmMwYmQxZThhMTUz&hl=en

Pardon the quick OpenOffice drawing, but hopefully that shows it a little better. It will be a nice sloped piece of wood right in front of the door. Should I just sink the holes and don't worry about it (leaving screw heads exposed), put in wood filler, sawdust + glue? Just curious what others would do for something like this.

[Chip Lindley]

Trim screws (like drywall screws with very small heads) are very unobstrusive, and will hold your moulding to the floor nicely. The very small holes can be filled with wood putty or real oak plugs.

[Jeff Monson]

I've also used long finish nails for this application, easy to drill the holes and fill them afterwards.

[John W Henderson]

Thanks for the replies, all. I'll give some thought to the finishing nails and the small headed screws. I'm hesitant about nails as I want it to stay put but also find it nice that if I do cover the holes I can pry it out vs. having to try and "unfill" screw heads!

Thanks again,
John

[Jim Becker]

John, transitions like this tend to be installed "permanently", so if they ever were to be removed, it wouldn't be unusual to just replace them after "violently" ripping them out. I install them with countersunk screws, glue and plug the holes with grain-matched plugs prior to finishing them in-place. As a matter of fact, I'm soon to make four of them (all different) for a room I just "re-floored and re-doored" in the 250 year old portion of our home. These will be white pine (to match the wide pine flooring) and I consider them disposable should they ever need to be detached for any reason.

[Pat Barry]

I'm thinking use adhesive technology and avoid the hardware entirely. I need to do exactly what you are describing onto a ceramic tile floor. I'm not going to use mechanical fasteners, just high quality silicone based caulk as the adhesive.

[John W Henderson]

@Jim: where do you get your "grain matched plugs"? Do you make them or just look for something close at a store?

@Pat: interesting suggestion. That might work just fine. I'll think about that one some more to see how it sits with me. My older house had a non-flat floor. The only thing that I like about screws is that I'll be able to conform it slightly to some of the irregularities. I already used wood filler to give me some leveling assistance (maybe not the best choice? But it seemed to get pretty darn hard feels pretty solid). Perhaps if I silicone it I should just put some heavy weight along the length.