When we bought our fixer upper over the summer I knew the threshold was going to need to be replaced. It’s the first thing you see when you walk in the house and it looked gross! There was also a 3/4 inch gap between the bottom of the door and the top of the threshold so it was getting really drafty now that winter was setting in.
The first thing I did was remove the old threshold. Here you can see how gross it was underneath, not to mention the old termite damage on the door trim. I cleaned up all manner of things including dirt, rust, old tile grout chunks, dog hair and even lentils. Seriously – lentils! I have no idea how those got in there!
We chose an aluminum and oak threshold for the replacement. It fit perfectly so it didn’t need to be trimmed.
I was going to have to cut the door trim however. First I made a cardboard template by tracing the side profile of the new threshold. I used this to mark my cut line on both sides of the door.
I used a coping saw to cut the door trim.
A chisel helped get the last bits of wood out.
With the new threshold in place I noted a problem! There was a large gap between where the tile ended and where I wanted the new threshold to be placed.
I went back to the hardware store and bought a length of oak quarter round trim. I cut it to length and glued it to the new threshold.
I tried different clamps to hold it in place while it dried, but they all slipped off the round surface. Rubber bands to the rescue!
After the glue dried I used a wipe on polyurethane to help protect the wood.
Looking good!
While the polyurethane was drying I cleaned up the rust from underneath the old threshold and masked it off.
I sprayed it with Rust-Oleum primer for rusty metal.
Time to install the new threshold! I cut a piece of scrap wood to use with a rubber mallet to help me tap it into place.
I drilled holes and used 2 1/2″ screws to hold everything in place.
I finished by screwing the top piece of the threshold in place.
I still have to work on the old door trim, but that’s a project for another day!
What a difference! I also bought a new doormat to put on the tile since rainy season is approaching. Now the first thing you see when you come in my house is a shiny new threshold!
Category Archives: Home Improvement
KitchenAid Mixer Bowl Hack
The other day when I was baking my first cake I noticed my KitchenAid mixer hadn’t mixed everything completely! At the bottom of the bowl there was still chunks of butter and sugar that hadn’t incorporated into the mixture. I ended up having to mix by hand and I still had a few chunks when I poured the batter into the cake pans. After a quick Google search I learned about the dime test. Place a dime in the concave area in the bottom of your mixing bowl, attach it to the mixer and run it with the flat beater. The beater should contact the dime and move it 1/4 of an inch or so each time it goes around. Mine didn’t even come close! I then learned about an adjustment screw that I’ve never touched since the day I first took my mixer out of the box. This also helps if you find your beater has paint wearing off. That means the bowl of your mixer is too high and the beater is rubbing against it. Here’s a handy video to show you what I’m talking about: KitchenAid Mixer Beater to Bowl Adjustment.
Problem solved, right? Not for me! I adjusted the screw as far as it would go and the beater still didn’t touch the dime. Never fear, I solved the issue! My secret? Washers. Now, this will only work for KitchenAid mixer models that have the bowl-lift, not the tilt head. I placed one washer on each of the bowl pins, readjusted things using the screw and now it works perfectly! Also, if you’re disorganized like me here’s a handy PDF in case you lost your original KitchenAid Mixer Manual. Keeping your tools well maintained is always a good idea!