I’m building my own home in Western Washington, where we get 60 inches of rain annually.
I’ve been having trouble finding door thresholds for two exterior doors, which are both inswing. The walls are 2×8 stud construction with half inch sheet rock to go on the interior. That’s the common condition for both doors.
The north door is the main entrance, which has a poured concrete floor, The floor has 2 inches foam insulation plus hardiboard all the way around. The dimension from outside of hardiboard to inside of framing is 7.5 inches. The half inch sheetrock brings the total width of the threshold to eight inches. The threshold will sit directly on the “finish floor” level, so I want a minimum height threshold. Additionally, I’d like the threshold to include a “turn down” on the outside, like a drip edge to help protect the top of the hardiboard from foot traffic damage.
The south door: The south wall has one and a half inches of sheathing. Additionally,there will be siding on top of that below the door. The siding is cedar board and batten, cut at one inch – full dimension. Adding everything up, the width of the threshold is 11.5 inches. Again, I’d like the outer edge to turn down to function as a drip edge. In this case, the threshold will sit on a subfloor with three quarter inch flooring on the interior, so a standard height profile is fine.
The standard thresholds available from the door manufacturer we’d like to use don’t fit the bill, but they’re willing to use anything we provide and build it into the door frames. After initially saying they could do special orders, Pemko manufacturing declined to do so after we sent them drawings (modeled on their catalog drawings) of what I want. At least two other manufacturers have said they can’t do these either.
I’m hoping someone here can tell me where I can find something to fit my somewhat unconventional situation.
Otherwise, I’m ready to chase down a couple of chunks of ipe ( aka lapacho), and make my own thresholds. Although I’d prefer the drip edges to be part of the threshold, in this case, I’d have the local metal shop fabricate a couple of “L” shapes to slip under the threshold for the drip edges.
Thanks in advance for all suggestions and pointers.
Replies
What is the max
you can get using a Pemko adjustable sill with an extension nosing? Probably not enough, eh....
8-3/4 using off-the-shelf product
No, not enough for the south door. We asked for an extension (for the drip edge) on a three inch extender nosing. One of those for each door would have done the job. That plus a stock threshold would work for the north door, and I still might go with their standard parts plus a well caulked heavy duty flashing there. That is, when I give up on finding a solution with fewer parts...
Don't forget a pan under there.......
fab'd most probably-have metal bent or make up up with some flexible flasing-peel and stick. A good insurance policy if anything gets by your exterior weatherproofing. Allow it to drain out. Keeps the bottom corners of your frame dry and less susceptible to rot.
The "Frame Saver" jamb bottoms are also a good idea.
The same material I'm flashing the windows with? Someone suggested I use double thickness of this under the doors.
If I read your comment correctly, you're suggesting I use the flexible flashing OR a metal pan. The pan would be easy: bend up the ends of the "drip edge" I was already thinking of, as shown in the attached, yes?
Plus, in either case, a good caulk seal on the interior side of the threshold and the door frame.
"Fame Savers" sounds like an especially good idea here. Thanks!
Yes, sort of........
That is a pan missing the back edge.
The idea is that no water gets to either side of the opening frame and cannot get inside to do damage under your finished flloor. This while being able to drain to the outside (which doesn't have to be a continuous opening-)
So, in most cases, the flexi flashing can be formed to produce a 3 sided pan, while also sealing the perimeter of the opening. Some will lay this over a pc. of beveled siding (or other beveled flat goods) so there is actually fall to the exterior. This might play havoc (not too much to deal with ) with the threshold.
Something more like this?
The back, as drawn, is 3/4 inch high. Those back corners could be soldered. The length of the pan should be just enough shorter than the RO width that I can slide it into place snugly?
I have two conditions:
A: South door. At 3/4 inch high, the back of the pan will be as tall as the flooring. My initial aesthetic reaction is that I don't want to see that metal edge between the floor and the threshold. It would be easy enough to shorten it ( say, an eighth? ) or let it into the back of the threshold ( or both? ). Thus butting the flooring up to the back of the threshold would cover the pan visually from inside the house. Am I on the right track here? Or, being too picky?
B: North door. The "sub-floor" is the "finish floor": a big chunk of concrete. We have exposed aggregate in the entry way. The area where the threshold will go had a mud sill when we poured - that is gone now. This being the "main entrance", I'm even less inclined to want to see the back of that pan. Would burying the pan back in a kerf in the bottom of the threshold make sense? Or would that cause more problems than it solves?
Some will lay this over a pc. of beveled siding (or other beveled flat goods) so there is actually fall to the exterior. This might play havoc (not too much to deal with ) with the threshold.
Shouldn't be to bad if I plan for it: bevel the bottom of the threshold at the same slope as the siding? Wouldn't think I'd want much of a slope. Three to five degrees?
Thick walls
I think what you might explore is using a typical Pemko residential threshold in conjunction with one of their flat commercial thresholds, which are available in wide widths. Lay the commercial down first, possibly shimmed to a slight slope, and the residential on top of it. That way you have a consistent metal finish the whole way.
Installing a pan with a back-dam under a threshold requires some planning and ingenuity. Sometimes you can hide the back-dam under the threshold, sometimes you can rabbet the flooring to conceal it. I get pans made by a sheet metal shop to my specs. You can use a 1/2" back-dam in my opinion. The expectation is that a bit of water will leak throught the joint between the jamb legs and the threshold, but not a flood. If the subfloor is wood, this is a way to protect it. In my opinion your house should be designed to include large overhangs at doors where possible. Wood doors need a lot of maintenance if they get rained on all the time. Better to cover them so they only get wet if the wind is blowing hard.
WA
Yes, slide it in..........or what is usually done-Put in Place, run a peel and stick flashing up each leg of the opening, over the lip of the pan. Set the door frame upon it.
As far as A and B.-sure, you don't want to look at that thing-hold just below flooring ht. Let into the thresh might work I guess.
The slope? 3-5 would be plenty.
Seal the snot out of the threshold, the bottom particularly as it may see moisture if it gets through your exterior covering. Most store bought jambs come with a metal threshold, no chance of it taking on moisture. Remember to leave a way out for any water that gets in.
If you can build a housed, surely you can build a threshold!