Threshold Advice Needed (pics included)

[jdrogers73]

I am tiling my kitchen floor. It shares a doorway with the dining room. There was no threshold in the doorway. The hardwood floor in the dining room continued through the doorway and into the kitchen. The kitchen hardwood has been removed, but I am unsure of what to do with the remaining board that juts out 3/8" beyond the doorway. The tile floor will be higher than the hardwood by about 1/2" not counting thinset.

(If you need to see how I calculated the height difference... The hardwood is 3/4" above the subfloor shown in the photo. I will lay: 5/8" plywood, then thinset, then 1/4" hardibacker, then thinset, then 3/8" tile. 5/8 + 1/4 + 3/8 = 1 1/4" not counting thinset. Subtract 3/4" for the hardwood, so this tile will be about 1/2" above the hardwood.)

1) Do I need to trim the wood back? If so, how far? To the edge of the doorway? To the center of the doorway?

2) Based on your answer to item 1, what are some options for the kind of threshold to install?

(I will remove that tacky piece of wood nailed down in the center of the doorway. See photo 4.)

[Lazarus]

A wooden "clamshell" reducer strip would gently "ramp" the height difference. Check in your local HD store for one...or any wood floring store should be able to provide one for you.

[ceramictec]

I would have ended the wood a little further back into it's room,
then installed a nice "hollywood beveled" marble sill to lose the height
over the distance of the width of the door opening.

[jdrogers73]

Is it better to cut back a) to the edge of the doorway or b) to the center of the doorway?

a) I would mount the threshold on top of the hardwood. I would need the threshold to be 0" on one side and 1/4" on the other. Is that too thin?

b) The threshold would fill in the gap created when I removed the hardwood and would run from the center of the doorway to the edge of the doorway. I would mount the threshold to the subfloor. The height would be 3/4" and 1.25".

Which scenario is better?

[bbcamp]

If you are using a saddle, cut the hardwood back to front edge of door frame. Mount to subfloor.

[jdrogers73]

I removed the row of hardwood closest to the kitchen floor. I now have a threshold or transition space of about 1 1/4" between the floors. I checked with a stone cutter about making a Hollywood bevel for the gap. He said he could do it, but suggested that I consider not installing any threshold and instead slope a piece of tile downward from the tile floor to the hardwood. He said he had done it and to nail an extra piece of hardibacker in the gap to support the tile. See Drawing. What do you think of this method? Is it considered a professional method?