Thresholds are a necessary part of a proper door installation. They serve to keep out moisture, insects, drafts, and other pollutants and irritants from your home. The threshold is the sloping piece of metal, wood, or combination of the two that spans the door at the bottom. It sits on top of the doorsill, which is a piece of wood that sits on the subfloor across the door opening and serves the same purpose as a windowsill.

As time goes on, exposed to the weather and heavy foot traffic, thresholds rot or wear out and need to be replaced. Replacing a threshold is a relatively straightforward task for the do-it-yourselfer.

There are at least six different styles of thresholds for residential use.

Replacing a threshold is an easy task.

Styles

1. Aluminum/vinyl. This is a threshold made of aluminum having a soft vinyl strip on top that serves as weather stripping for the bottom of the door.
2. Frost break. This style of threshold is also made from aluminum and wood and serves to prevent moisture and freeze damage to the finish floor and subfloor.
3. Adjustable. This threshold is designed to allow a height adjustment to accommodate varying heights from the bottom of the door to the finish floor.
4. Solid wood. This simple threshold is just what the name implies-a solid wooden plank.
5. Saddle style. This is an all-aluminum threshold that has a double taper, one on each side.
6. Bumper style. This threshold has a taper on one side and a round or bullnose edge on the other.

Removal

1. Examine your door opening carefully. You may need, or want, to remove the door stops on both sides of the door opening. Using a sharp-bladed small pry bar, carefully pry the stops away from the jamb. Remove the nails in the stops and set the stops aside.
2. Remove the nails or screws securing the threshold to the sill.
3. Cut across the width of the threshold in the center two times.
4. Remove the cut piece by prying it up and out.
5. Now, remove both remaining threshold ends by tapping them out of place with a hammer and block of wood.

Preparation

1. Clean thoroughly underneath the old threshold.
2. Measure the distance across the door opening.
3. Cut the new threshold with the proper saw.
4. If you did not remove the doorstops, cut notches in the ends of the threshold with a jigsaw and wood chisel. If it is aluminum, use a file to trim up the new notches.

Installation

1. Apply at least two beads of silicone caulk or a building adhesive like Liquid Nails on the bottom side of the new threshold.
2. Tap the new threshold into place. Drill pilot holes and set the threshold with finishing nails or screws.
3. Clean up all excess adhesive with the proper solvent or cleaner.

Tips

If you do not have the proper size drill bit for pilot holes, you can make your own. Simply flatten the point of one size smaller finishing nail than the one you are going to use. Chuck that nail up in your drill and you have a ready-made pilot bit.

Measure the distance between the bottom of your door and the finish floor. Then shop for the correct type of threshold to seal that gap, taking into account your flooring type and the finish you desire.

One source of air infiltration in homes is under outside doors and between window sashes. If you have old-fashioned wooden windows, the seam between the upper and lower panes and the bottom of the window and the sill can let heat out and cold air in.

You should have proper thresholds and door sweeps installed on all outside doors but sometimes these still let a little draft in. You can stop those cold drafts and help lower your heating bill with a draft stop.

You simply place these long stuffed fabric containers over or against the seam or crack and they block the cold air from entering the home. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes; anything from fabric animals all connected to simple straight tubes of fabric, sewn and stuffed with a variety of fillings to give them weight and hold them in place.

You can make them easily and save money.

Measure the width of the window seam or crack under the door where you intend to use the draft stop. Cut a fabric of your choice in a minimum 8” wide rectangle an inch or two longer than the width measurement. Use a strong fabric such as upholstery fabric that matches, contrasts with, or complements your decor, not a soft or fuzzy material, or a lightweight one. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise so the backside of the fabric is facing out. Now simply sew the long side and one of the short sides shut with a strong, matching thread.

Turn the bag you have sewn inside out. You can work it out with a broom or mop handle by inserting the handle in the bag and pushing it as you work the fabric down the handle.

Choose the filling you want to use. In choosing the filling think about filling materials that will bear up under moisture because the draft stop may collect condensate from the window sash. You can use dried beans, rice, clean dry sand, clean dry pea gravel, or fabric fillings you can buy at a local fabric store or sewing center. Just make sure that the fabric fillings are heavy enough to hold the draft stop firmly in place.

Bear in mind any allergies you, or members of your household, might have in choosing the type of filling material.

Simply place the filling material inside the tube making sure to leave enough material at the end of the tube to sew it shut. The tube should be a nice round shape, not flattened out or oblong.

Sew the end of the tube shut and place it at the bottom of the door or over the seam in the window sash.

You have just made a cheap, efficient, practical, and good-looking draft stop and saved money on your utility bill in the process.