A wood threshold at the entrance to your home can make a huge contribution to preventing drafts, water leakage and dirt. To strengthen and make the threshold look better a good stain will be very effective. The even application of a good quality wood stain starts with the preparation of the surface. Your threshold should be made of sound wood with no blemishes like knots or cracks. A fine grained hardwood like Oak is the best wood to use. Place the threshold in position and make sure that the door does not make contact with it. Use a medium grade sand paper to smooth down all the sides of the wood threshold. Pay particular attention to the ends. Finish the preparation with a very fine glass paper. The threshold should feel satin smooth to the touch. Using a small paint brush apply the stain evenly and not too thickly. Do not try to do the base as well because the wood threshold needs to be left to dry. The ends of the threshold will absorb the stain very rapidly. Use a fine glass paper to smooth down the stained surfaces.

You will discover that many fibers have risen and the surface will no longer be smooth. Apply a second coat of stain. Let the stain dry and rub it down with fine glass paper. Apply the third and final coat of stain. Stains are not sealers so you need to protect the wood threshold against water. Use a good quality sealant and apply it in at least two fine coats. Pay particular attention to the ends of the threshold. The ends are vulnerable to water if not sealed properly. It is not important that the base of the threshold should be stained. It must be sealed however. Apply the sealant in at least two coats and rub down between coats with fine glass paper. If the floor to which the threshold is to be attached has a gloss finish you should put a gloss finish on the threshold. A gloss finish can be achieved by using a varnish. So that you don’t change the color of the threshold use a clear varnish. Apply the varnish lightly in at least two coats and allow it to dry thoroughly.

Use a good wax polish to seal the gloss finish. Apply the polish with a soft, lint free cloth. With a regular circular motion rub the polish into the threshold. When the threshold is fitted in place you will need to ensure that the door still does not make contact with it. Drip a little sealer around the fasteners and allow it to dry naturally.After ten years of inspecting in the rainy Pacific Northwest, I have concluded that there are only two kinds of exposed exterior doors around here: those that leak and those that are going to leak. While exceptions can be found, they are primarily a function of exposure — doors installed below generous roof overhangs and on north faces are often safe, but doors exposed to the weather in our climate are not to be trusted. While anyone can spot obvious leakage, a more nuanced understanding of exterior door installation helps me get a sense of how the door may perform after I leave the inspection. While our standards state that we are only reporting on conditions at the time of inspection, this is one area where future problems can be spotted and headed off if you know what to look for.

At the very least, you can alert your client to some potential moisture and security problems by simply taking in a few small details.One of the most obvious questions when looking at an exterior door is: Does the door swing in or out? Exterior doors can be made to swing either outward or inward. Doors that are designed to swing out tend to have a better threshold design to shed the water that drains off the door (see photos on the next page where an in-swing door had water leaking under the sweep). garage door installation canton ohioA door that is designed to swing outward will almost always perform better in terms of preventing water entry than a door that is made to swing inward.garage door repair valencia I commonly find three different types of out-swinging doors:aluminium windows and doors prices cape town

Photos: The first photo above shows a door swinging in. Water has been running down the door and wicking under the door sweep. The second photo above shows a water-stained carpet. This house was built in 2006. This door appeared to be installed with correct threshold orientation but was still leaking — perhaps a better sweep would have kept the water out? garage door repairs fremontNote the flat sill outside and wood threshold with reverse-slope — a likely problem.best garage doors oakvilleAfter I have established what type of installation I am looking at, I turn my attention to the threshold, hinges and sweeps.merlin garage door distributorsLook to see if the door even has a threshold — doors with missing thresholds are certain to leak. merlin garage door fix

Check the orientation of the threshold: Does the side of the threshold designed for the outside appear to be on the inside? This is a tell-tale sign of a door hung backward. Outside, look for water collecting on the top of the threshold and causing wood decay in the base of the jamb material – this is common on exposed doors with the metal thresholds and softwood jambs. Also, is the threshold adequately sloped to drain? Finally, look to see if the threshold is level across the width of the door and is well secured: Does the threshold move and flex when walked on? Photos: The two photos above are from a house constructed in 2013 — regular interior hinges to the weather and sloped threshold faces inside. I explained to the client that the door appears backward and poses a security risk as well as unpredictable performance. I recommended installing a proper out-swinging door with exterior-rated hinges. Photo above: This photo shows typical wood rot developing in the base of a softwood jamb where water wicks into end grain.

Photos: The two photos above show a high-end out-swing commercial storefront door. This was very exposed but well-engineered. The sweep on this door locks into the threshold, and the hinges have a weather-proof cover. If the hinges are to the weather, look to see if they are regular hinges or exterior-rated hinges. Exterior hinges are typically made from stainless steel or brass and are resistant to rust — these are called NRP hinges. NRP hinges cannot have the pins removed unless the door is halfway open; thus they are secure. Regular hinges exposed to the weather are a security hazard – the door could be removed by removing a few pins.There are many different door sweeps, and they are hard to inspect because they are below the door and barely visible. I have not been able to find a correlation between specific types of door sweeps and door leakage — rather threshold orientation and hinge exposure are a more telling clue for me. If the door has no sweep, that is a problem – the door needs to fit tightly to the threshold.

Check for damage on any door sweep that could compromise the sweep. One sweep you may run into is a retractable door sweep that pushes down onto the threshold when the door closes — these are generally designed to prevent air leakage and create a thermal break and will not necessarily weather-proof an exposed door. If you see an exposed and vulnerable in-swing door you can recommend a nice storm door system to keep the weather out.The diagram above shows an example of a retractable door sweep that will push down to meet the threshold when the door closes. (M-D Building Products 7039 Seal-O-Matic™ Door Sweep™, 36 inches, aluminum ) Photo: The photo above shows a storm door protecting an exposed in-swing side door. Sill pan flashings are critical to keeping the building materials below an exposed door dry. These are typically not visible to inspection, so you will likely have a difficult time determining if one has been installed or what materials were used below the door. Some doors that come pre-hung will offer a custom sill pan flashing as an option to install below the threshold;

other sill pan flashings are available that can be custom fit on-site to any door — see the diagram of the Jamsill Guard™ above. Many builders in this part of the country simply wrap the door opening below the threshold with Vycor™ — this is a membrane used commonly around window and door openings. Practices may vary around the country. It would be wise to contact a local builder to see what steps they take in exterior door weather-proofing so you have an idea what is standard in your area. The diagram above shows a Jamsill Guard™ product – an adjustable sill pan flashing for doors and windows.  Illustration courtesy of Jamsill Guard.Open the door completely and if it is a double-hung French door, open both doors. Look at the base of the door and jamb for water stains or wood decay. Feel the flooring inside. Have the hardwoods cupped? Do you get high moisture meter readings? If there is carpet inside, I will often use needle nose pliers and look below the carpeting to see if tack strip or subfloor is stained or damaged.