Aging in Place · Service

Inside, it usually comes out. Outside, it usually cannot.

An interior threshold is a trim strip covering a joint between two floors, and taking it out is a small job. An exterior threshold is part of how the building keeps water out, and removing it creates a leak. Knowing which one you are looking at is the whole decision.

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In short

What is threshold removal?

Threshold removal takes out the raised strip at a doorway so a wheelchair, walker or foot no longer catches on it. Inside the house that is generally straightforward — the strip is trim over a joint, and it can be replaced with a flush or gently bevelled transition. At an exterior door it usually is not, because the threshold is part of the weather seal and the drainage detail. There, the answer is a low-profile accessible threshold or a small ramp, not removal.

Triggers

Signs you need threshold removal

A front castor catches on the same strip every time somebody goes through a doorway
A toe or a walker foot clips a transition between rooms, particularly when tired
A metal strip has lifted, curled at the ends or lost fixings and now stands proud
Floor levels differ between rooms and the joint has been covered rather than resolved
A sliding or patio door track stops a chair dead at the opening
The bathroom has a small kerb or strip a wheeled shower chair cannot cross
Rugs have been laid over transitions to smooth them, which has made things worse

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The job

How threshold removal actually works

Establish which kind of threshold this is

Interior thresholds between rooms are trim over a joint in the flooring. Exterior thresholds sit under the door and form part of the assembly keeping water, wind and pests out, often with a drainage path built into it. The first can usually be replaced with a flush transition; the second usually cannot be removed at all.

Watch for: Anyone offering to cut out an exterior sill and fill the gap. That detail is doing work you cannot see, and the failure shows up as a damp floor and rotted framing later.
Find out whether the floors either side are level

Most thresholds exist because the two floors are different heights or different materials. If they are level and the strip is only covering a joint, a flush transition is simple. If they are not, removing the strip leaves a step, and the real job is levelling one side or using a gentle bevelled transition.

Watch for: A strip removed with nothing planned for the height difference underneath. The result is a sharper edge than the one you started with.
Choose the right replacement rather than nothing at all

Options run from a flush transition strip, through a shallow bevelled reducer, to a purpose-made low-profile accessible threshold at an exterior door, to a threshold ramp on one or both sides. Which is right depends on the height difference and on whether weather is involved.

Watch for: Sealant used to build a slope. It cracks, it stays soft in places, it discolours, and it fails under wheel loads within months.
Protect the drainage and the seal at any exterior door

Sliding and patio door tracks drain deliberately, through small slots that must stay clear. Any change at an exterior threshold has to keep water moving outward and keep the door able to close, latch and seal.

Watch for: A ramp or transition bedded across a track's drainage slots. Water then goes into the floor structure, and the repair costs many times what the threshold work did.
Test it with the actual equipment, both directions

Go through with the chair, the walker or the rollator, in and out. Coming down over a transition is a different experience from going up over it, particularly for someone self-propelling, and a lip that is invisible to a walking adult will stop a small front castor.

Watch for: A transition that works pushed and catches when self-propelled. Test it the way it will actually be used, with the person who will use it.

Money

What does threshold removal cost?

Interior threshold work is one of the least expensive jobs in this category — a short visit and a small material cost, more if the floor either side needs levelling. Exterior work costs more because it is a weather detail, not a strip. See the Cost Guide.

See the full threshold removal cost guide — by material, size and region →

Straight answer

When threshold removal is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

It is an exterior sill and somebody has offered to just take it out. The threshold is part of how the door keeps water out. Removal without a designed replacement detail is a leak with a date on it — use a low-profile accessible threshold or a ramp instead.
The floors either side are at different heights. Taking the strip away then leaves a bare step. Levelling the floor, or fitting a proper bevelled reducer, is the actual job and it should be priced as such.
A ramp over the sill would be cheaper and reversible. Where the obstacle is small, a threshold ramp needs no building work at all, costs very little and can be removed. That is frequently the proportionate answer.
The sill or the frame is rotten. Smoothing over decaying timber conceals a repair that is getting worse. Fix the door and its sill first, then deal with the level change.
The doorway is too narrow as well. Height and width are separate problems. Removing the strip changes nothing if the chair will not fit through the opening.
It is a fire door or an escape route detail. Some thresholds are part of a door's smoke or fire performance, and some are what stops a door binding. Check before altering anything on a route everybody in the house depends on.

Straight answer

Can I do this myself?

Reasonable to DIY

Measuring the height of the strip and checking whether the floors either side are level
Identifying whether the threshold is an interior trim strip or part of an exterior door assembly
Removing and replacing a loose interior transition strip on a like-for-like basis
Buying and positioning an off-the-shelf threshold ramp on either side of a raised sill
Checking that a sliding door track's drainage slots are clear and stay clear
Testing any change with the actual chair or walker, in both directions

Call a licensed pro

Anything at an exterior door where the weather seal, flashing or drainage detail is involved
Levelling a floor either side of a doorway so a flush transition can be used
A rotten sill, a failing exterior threshold or a leaking patio door track
Thresholds forming part of a fire-rated or smoke-sealed door assembly
Transitions between substantially different floor materials or thicknesses
Anything where the doorway also needs widening, which changes the whole scope

Before you sign

What to check when hiring for threshold removal

Is this an interior trim strip or part of the exterior door assembly?

It decides whether this is a small job or a building-envelope job, and the answer should be given confidently before any price.
Are the floors either side level, and if not, what are you doing about it?

Removing the strip without addressing the height difference produces a sharper edge than before. This is where cheap quotes go quiet.
How will water still get out at this door?

The single question that protects you at any exterior threshold. A specific answer means they have thought about it; a vague one means a leak.
Will the door still close, latch and seal afterwards?

It is discovered at bedtime on the first day, and it is entirely preventable by asking now.
What are you replacing the strip with, specifically?

Flush transition, bevelled reducer, low-profile threshold or ramp are all real answers. Sealant shaped into a slope is not one.
Can we test it with the chair before you leave?

A lip that a walking adult cannot feel will stop a small front castor. Ten seconds of testing settles it.

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Local pros

Threshold Removal near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Threshold ramps for a raised sill

The no-building-work alternative

Accessible Flooring Installation

Transitions as part of the whole floor

Accessible Entry Modifications

The rest of what happens at the door

Door Widening

If the opening is narrow as well as raised

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FAQ

Threshold Removal — questions people ask

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Can we just take out the threshold at the front door?

Almost never straightforwardly, and this is the most useful thing on this page. An exterior threshold is part of the assembly that keeps rain, wind and pests out, and on many doors it also carries a drainage path that moves water away from the sill. Cut it out and you have opened a route into the floor structure, which shows up as a damp threshold, then soft framing, then a repair that costs far more than the original problem. The workable answers are a purpose-made low-profile accessible threshold designed for exactly this situation, or a threshold ramp on one or both sides. Both keep the weather detail intact.

What about interior thresholds between rooms?

Those are much more amenable. An interior threshold is usually a trim strip covering the joint where two floor coverings meet, and where the finished floors are the same height it can simply be replaced with a flush transition. Where they differ, a shallow bevelled reducer spreads the change over a distance instead of presenting an edge, which is what a castor or a toe actually catches on. The one thing not to do is remove the strip and leave the raw joint, which is both a trip point and a place where flooring edges get damaged.

What can be done about a sliding patio door track?

The track cannot come out, because it is what the door runs in and it usually drains the bottom of the frame. What can be done is a threshold ramp on each side to bridge it, chosen so it does not block the drainage slots and does not stop the door closing. Some manufacturers make low-profile or accessible track options that can be considered if the door itself is being replaced. What to avoid is bedding anything in sealant across the track, which is a common shortcut and sends water into the floor.

How small does a lip have to be before it stops being a problem?

Small enough that the specific wheels in use roll over it without catching, which depends on castor size and on whether the chair is being pushed or self-propelled — small front castors are the least forgiving thing in the house. The published accessibility standards give figures for maximum changes in level and for where a bevel is required, and they are a sensible reference, but they were written for public buildings. The practical test is better: push the actual chair over it, both directions, and watch whether the front wheels stop or jolt.