Article on anchoring a door sill into concrete in basement?

[Ron Rosen]

I had seen a usenet article here about a month or two ago about what I also wanted to do but I cannot locate the article/thread any more.

The thread was about adding a door sill/threshhold to a doorway between the basement and garage. The floor beneath the wood door was concrete. I believe the poster asked if a wood or aluminum sill would be better and also asked for thoughts on how to install it (anchoring it, sealing it, etc.).

I have almost this exact same task to do (I have a solid wood door too) and was hoping someone could either point me to the original post/thread or give me similar answers/ideas on doing this job myself. i.e. how to ancor it in the concrete, what to use for sealant, etc. I know I'll have to shorten the wood door by a bit and I would use a portable circulat saw for this - do I need a specific blade to cut the door (# teeth, etc.)?

The wood door sills I've seen at Home Depot are either 3 5/8" or 4 5/8" width. Does this matter or is it a personal preference thing? I could replace the wood door with a steel door but then I'd have to replace the whole wood framing too so I'd prefer not to.

Thanks! Ron

[John]

I didn't see the post but the job is relatively straight-forward.

I'd use a wooden sill if energy conservation is an issue, aluminum conducts heat/cold (not a biggee if you are in a moderate climate). Seal the sill with any good-quality exterior caulking (a couple of beads under it before final install to prevent air/water penetration).

There are a number of different concrete fastening devices available at any home store or hardware. Most require drilling a hole with a masonry bit in the concrete and then insetting some sort of plastic/lead or fiber plug which the screw fits into. Start by cutting the threshold to length first then mark through the mounting holes with a pencil, remove and drill the holes on the marks.

You shouldn't need to cut the door shorter if you get the type of threshold that the door butts up to. If you want the type that the door goes over top of, there is also generally a seal that fastens on the bottom of the door so the length of the door is more critical.

If you do need to cut the door, mark the line by scribing from the floor with a compass, pull out the hinge-pins, remove the door and cut with a fine-tooth blade. Scoring the line on both sides with a straight-edge and razor-blade knife will prevent chipping.

John

[Ron Rosen]

I've never seen this type of sill. My local home depot only has the under door sill. How would this other type work if the floor surface is completely flat on both sides of the door?

Thanks, Ron. "John"

[John]

Ron:

They are called "bumper thresholds" and they sit on the floor on the side of the door opposite to the direction it opens. When the door shuts, it butts up against a seal on the threshold.

They are quite common around here (available at any building center) and easy to install.

Here's a link with some pictures of various styles.

John

[John]

Here's a link to one that Ace Hardware sells:

and another:

John

"John"