Either I’m crazy of my customer is. She has a marble saddle in the bathroom doorway that makes a ticking noise when you step on it, but there is no visible movement. She asked me if I could fix it and I said that it would need to be replaced (or re-installed if I can get it out in one piece). The problem is that it’s trapped by the stop molding and everything is finished to perfection in this 1.5 million dollar home.
I bid fairly high because I need to remove the stop molding, replace the saddle, re-install the stop molding and make the whole thing pristine again. That means filling and feathering any chips and repainting. Maybe even repainting the whole jamb so it all blends in.
In hindsight, I think it’s a waste of time and money. Having bid high doesn’t really make me more eager to do the job. I prefer work that is satisfying to me too, but I don’t like to second-guess a customer’s preferences. The only reason I bid it at all is because I’d like to get more work in this neighborhood.
Anybody have any words of wisdom? Like how to make sure that it all looks perfect or maybe remind me that I really am crazy and should pass on this “repair”.
-Don
Replies
Can you attack it from below? Like drill up into the subfloor and inject some epoxy directly under it.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
On second thought...are sure the stop is an applied stop? If it is a split jamb with intregal stop, yer hosed.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Split jamb doors don't seem to be popular around here, but this house is relatively new and I haven't worked on a lot of newer houses. It doesn't appear to be a split jamb. Is there an easy way to tell?
-Don
Define easy? Well, if it is painted, no. If it was a GOOD painter.
I'd look at the head jamb miters if it IS a miter hopefully it was a good doorhanger and it is an applied jamb. If it is just a butt joint it pretty well can be a split jamb or a lazy stop installer.
A tell tale hairline crack on BOTH sides of the stop is fercertain a non-split jamb. And nails.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
Can't see it from here, but how about the 2 long seams, to the bathroom and the adjoining room/hall way. How wide is the joint, what are they filled with (sealant or grout) anyway they can be cleaned out and as Sphere suggested injecting some epoxy, but from above, thinned out, that would run under the saddle and remove the "tick".
I might be tempted to take the multi-master and cut just a fuzz off the stops so they are not in contact with the saddle. Caulk the gap. That is, if that could be the cause of the noise.
Same with the grout joint, and caulk to match.
Is the saddle crammed up against the jamb? If grouted, cut that out and caulk.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
The noise is coming from directly below the saddle. The stops don't quite touch it. I don't think I can fix it from above because the saddle is barely proud of the tile on either side.
Tell the HO to quit stepping on the saddle. Problem solved.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
I have irriatable Vowel syndrome.
I don't think I can fix it from above because the saddle is barely proud of the tile on either side.
If there is tile on both sides and any sort of crack in the grout you might be able to use a shopvac to suck gorilla glue under the threshold. It expands a bit and works great for oddball stuff like this.
Just use blue painters tape and attach the hose to the floor stradling the side of the threshold. On the other side apply a thin layer of gorrila glue to the area you suspect might have an air path. Sometimes it takes 10 minutes of sucking or more to get enough glue into a tight joint to make a difference.
...and it might not do anything except get gorilla glue on the grout.
Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.
What is a 'saddle' in the bathroom? It seems to be something we don't have over here.
I imagine you just call it something else. It's a piece of marble about 3/4" high, 4" deep and as wide as the door opening. It's used to transition from one floor to another. They're usually used in bathroom doorways when the bathroom is tiled.
-Don
Thanks, sounds a lot less exotic than my original thought!
aka threshold.
I'd spend more time looking for the cause of the sound before I did anything permanent in that bathroom. Then, like sphere says, I might try to inject PL or epoxy from the bottom or the sides before I took the thing out.
Maybe you can locate the sound more accurately with a stethoscope or a long screwdriver held to your ear, while someone else steps on the threshold.
I'd be wary. If this little sound is a big deal to her, your work will have to be top notch if you don't want to get callbacks.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
What is the flooring on the other side of the stop?
Tile on bathroom side, is it carpet or some sort of hard surface flooring such as wood?
My thought; the ticking noise is probably the sound of whatever adhesive was used to set the marble. If it happens when your foot leaves the marble then it's voids between the marble and sub-floor. If it happens when you step on it,then it is where the door jambs rest on it. They may have put some type of sealant between the jamb base and the marble. Either theres movement that isn't visible but is there nontheless. You might try putting some decent weight on the marble, then try the step on test. No sound then it's above. You would then have to figure a way to get a wedge(s) between jamb and marble. If it's when your foot leaves then you'll have to re-inforce the base of the marble. If both tests don't work then charge her 10% of what you asked and tell her to step over it.
Thanks for all of the replies. I completed the other repairs at that home today, but I did not replace the saddle. Apparently, it has stopped making noise. Either that or like Sphere suggested, she learned to step over it.
I told her to call me if it ever cracks. I'm sure she won't mind a small splice in the stop molding at that point.
-Don