Kick plate on an entry door?

[Percival P. Cassidy]

As I managed to get more paint off these steel entry doors, I was finding small holes near the bottom. I wondered what had been screwed there, and it suddenly struck me that there used to be kick plates.

So now I am wondering: What are the advantages and disadvantages of having kick plates. I think they might look attractive, but . . . Most of the rough spots and rusty patches are in the area where the kick plates were, suggesting that moisture accumulated in the gap between the plates and the surface of the doors and caused them to rust -- but I suppose one could using caulking compound in between to prevent this. Any other disadvantages?

Perce

[Phisherman]

Metal kick plates look good when first installed but look bad after several months due to tarnish.

[Alan]

Putting a kick plate on a steel door doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A brass kickplate on a wooden door makes more sense, and would look good in a place where traffic would normally damage a door, such as a garage or kitchen entry door.

Percival P. Cassidy wrote:

[DanG]

Kick plates are normal whenever there is a closer on the door. The kick plate is there to protect the door from the normal tendency to use your foot to assist opening the door against the power of the closer. Steel doors are normally painted, so you need to protect the paint. Wood doors need it more so. Most kick plates have gone to a plastic/Formica type like these:

down to page C14

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