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New door on sloping sill

| Posted in General Discussion on January 4, 2000 11:41am

*
I am replacing a walkout basement entrance door with a new SteelCraft prehung unit. This is in a masonry wall. The floor in the door opening is poured concrete and has a slight down slope. I don’t have the new door yet so I can’t be exact, but it looks like the outer edge of the aluminum sill on the new door unit will about 3/32″ above the concrete. This is not much, but it looks to me like the sill will be completely unsupported except at the inner edge. This is not good.

How can I level the sill area and properly support the new door sill? I have thought about 1) trowelling on a thin layer of vinyl concrete patch; 2) adding a thin layer of the concrete repair epoxy made by Abatron; or 3) using some of the self levelling concrete crack fillers (with appropriate edge “forms”).

Advice will be much appreciated.

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Replies

  1. Guest_ | Nov 21, 1999 06:15am | #1

    *
    Robert,

    Have you thought about using some non-shrink grout. Make it like cookie dough and pack int under the aluminum.

    Jason

    1. Guest_ | Nov 22, 1999 06:20am | #2

      *robert, if you put anything that will harden under the sill, i would be concerned that with the flex of the alum. threshold, it will crack and come out. I have installed in the same situation and shim every 6" along that threshold. Push the shims in , back from the outside edge, after you've cut them off. Now take some good urethane caulk and caulk that front edge down to the concrete, forcing some under that threshold. This will support the edge when it cures. After curing, you can cut off the excess so all you see is a nice, flat edge. Remember, to caulk under that threshold b/4 you set that door. Pay caution to not caulk up any weepholes in that threshold.

      1. Guest_ | Nov 23, 1999 10:46am | #3

        *I would get apoxy with fillers that boat builders use & make the concrete flat. Make some forms out of birch plywood [waxed with parafin]. L. Siders

        1. Guest_ | Nov 23, 1999 04:09pm | #4

          *shim it caulk it is the best advice at 3/32 slope is not an issue you might not even need to shim if you put a hevey bead of caulk over the bottom before you tip the door in.why make life harded the you need to????

  2. robert_woods | Jan 04, 2000 11:41pm | #5

    *
    I am replacing a walkout basement entrance door with a new SteelCraft prehung unit. This is in a masonry wall. The floor in the door opening is poured concrete and has a slight down slope. I don't have the new door yet so I can't be exact, but it looks like the outer edge of the aluminum sill on the new door unit will about 3/32" above the concrete. This is not much, but it looks to me like the sill will be completely unsupported except at the inner edge. This is not good.

    How can I level the sill area and properly support the new door sill? I have thought about 1) trowelling on a thin layer of vinyl concrete patch; 2) adding a thin layer of the concrete repair epoxy made by Abatron; or 3) using some of the self levelling concrete crack fillers (with appropriate edge "forms").

    Advice will be much appreciated.

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