Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
oreocake_gw

Help! Floor Mats Won't Fit Under Door

Oreocake
12 years ago

Just had our new HW floor installed yesterday in kitchen and foyer. There are two entry doors, the front entrance and garage. Since the floor is higher now than it was before,there is no clearance for a rug at the entrance unless I take the weather strip off the bottom of the door. They are steel doors, so can't be cut down. What do we do?

Comments (16)

  • ladyshadowwalker
    12 years ago

    Things like that drive me crazy, seems you can never ever account for all of them. Feeling for you I did a quick search and found these pretty, functional mats that are only 1/4" thick

    Here is a link that might be useful: ultra thin door mat

  • pfmastin
    12 years ago

    I ended up tiling the entry area at one of our doors for this reason. It was disappointing at first after just having installed beautiful wood, but it has turned out to be a great decision with 2 dogs going in and out.

  • abananie
    12 years ago

    I had the same problem. It was the main entry area and I was very upset about it. There was practically no clearance for anything, never mind a rug. I asked fellow GW members and they suggested a hinge lift. It is a hinge that lifts the door up as it opens clearing the rug area. I looked into it, but is was very expensive. I ended up having the contractor pull out the door and lift it up an inch or so. Cost a days labor. I think it was $500 and although I did not want to spend additional money, it was well worth it.

  • Oreocake
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I guess I'll have to look into that. That would cost me $1000 since I have two doors. But what's the alternative? There has to be something there to protect the floor from wet, dirty shoes. thanks for the link to the 1/4 inch mat Ladyshadowalker, but that's even too thick.

  • ladyshadowwalker
    12 years ago

    Can you move the weather strip up higher on the door if its one that attaches to the bottom back of the door ? If it were my door I would saw off any weatherstrip I could and stick some extra weatherstrip along the doorframe to seal it.

  • kitchenkraze
    12 years ago

    I just went through this my self. I ordered water hog mats from LL Bean. They are low profile enough to work. Front gate also had nice low profile rugs but would not ship till Dec. I needed something before then.

    Good luck!

  • ellaf
    12 years ago

    We have the exact same problem. Besides having mats outside the doors,

    Front door - we have a thick interior floor mat to the side of the door. You have to turn to get into the rest of the house anyway and our mat is a three ft. diameter round, it looks fine.

    Garage door - tile floor in the adjacent mudroom, but if our shoes are really dirty we take them off before we come in. Maybe you could have a shoe rack in the garage?

    Back door - ah, here's the rub. Still working on this one. The chilewich mats look like a good idea. There's a variety of sizes, one of these would work for sure.

    http://www.chilewich.com/category/woven_floormats

  • Oreocake
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Maybe we'll try the weather stripping on the bottom of the door frame outside. Not sure how to attach it, though and would have to watch so people don't trip on it.

  • palimpsest
    12 years ago

    Could you change the weather strip to one that fits on the threshold rather than the door itself?

  • ladyshadowwalker
    12 years ago

    what you can do is get one of those thermal thresholds that are a little ( or a lot ) thicker to snug up against the bottom of the door to make a good seal but are made not be a tripping hazard. They come in standard sizes and are easy to install yourself. The old one shouldd remove easily too

    Here is a link that might be useful: something like this one

  • kawh707
    12 years ago

    is this a formal entrance from the garage, or more of a mudroom? if it is not formal, you could use a kitchen mat (they are a comfort mat that's waterproof.) they are only 1/4 thick at most. they are waterproof. comfy underfoot. get a cheap one at target (they have a few basic colors) to see if it works-- if you like it, get a nicer one.
    if you can get by with that for one door, you only have to pay $500 for the second door...???

  • feisty68
    10 years ago

    I got my hardwood floor extended to the kitchen/entrance. I have a fireproof steel front door. The flooring guy cut down the bottom of my door for CAN$80 and reinstalled it. It wasn't a big deal - I think there is an area on the bottom that's designed to be cut down if you have the equipment.

    The cheapest would be to find somewhere that cuts doors (a door company), remove the door, take it to them when their shop is open, have them cut it down, the reinstall it yourself.

    I still only have room for a thin mat, but at least I can do that.

  • PRO
    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    10 years ago

    Oreocake:

    It doesn't necessarily cost double to have two doors cut down. A guy has to make the same drive and drag out the same tools to raise one door as he does two.

    You've raised the floor, now do it properly and raise the doors, jambs, and thresholds.

  • Dy
    2 years ago

    I used "Warp Brothers Clear Plast-O-Mat Ribbed Flooring Runner Roll" - comes in 30"x50ft rolls. It's super durable, yet very thin. Can probably fit under a tight door-to-floor situation.

  • kl_lauzon
    last year

    We had our entire door raised up about half inch and problem solved .it only took the contractor a few hours and was worth it as it is our main entry.

Sponsored
Capri Home Renovations
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars33 Reviews
Reputable Home Renovation Company Serving Northern Virginia