Door/floor trim help needed

Heather
by Heather
I put in laminate flooring in our sunroom. One wall is the house wall so it is vinyl siding and has a large french door. The vinyl siding trim that outlines the door does not allow me to put quarter round straight across to cover the rough edge and expansion gap of my flooring. I tried to put in a filler piece in front of the door to bring it out but the trim on one side of the door sticks out further than the other side so my quarter round leaves a large gap on one side that is too big to caulk. Thoughts on a solution? I'm so close to being done with this project and I don't want this part to look like a bad DIY job. I've attached a few pics but they might not be at the right angle or what others need to see it for solutions.
  4 answers
  • William William on May 27, 2016
    You need a filler piece that is basically wedge shaped to fill the gap so the quarter round can butt up to it. I took liberty with your photos and drew in what you should do. Cut a 1x4 board so it fits in to the gap at the door ( red outline in photos). Take a longer board ( green outline in photos) use it as a straight edge, place it on top of the 1x4 (red outline) and draw a line on the inside of the gap on the 1x4. Now you have the wedge filler drawn out. All you need to do is cut the wedge out, leaving the line so you can sand the edge for a tight fit with the quarter round. You can cut the wedge out with a jig saw, band saw, table saw or hand saw. If with a hand saw, go slow making sure you leave the line with the wedge. Sand the edge, checking the fit with the quarter round. When installing put some wood glue on the edge before butting the quarter round to it. I hope this is not to complicated to understand.
    • See 2 previous
    • Heather Heather on May 27, 2016
      @William oh I totally got it now. I understand and should be able to try that on my table saw. I'll see what that looks like and decide between that and my option below. Thank you so much for your help!
  • Kauai Breeze Kauai Breeze on May 27, 2016
    Cut the quarter round off straight to meet the edge of the door moulding on both sides of the door. With a second piece, start with a 45 degree angle and continue to the other side of the door and end with the opposite 45 degree angle. (A box type step even with the bottom of the door sill will make it easier to get in and out.)
    • Heather Heather on May 27, 2016
      @Kauai Breeze - thanks for the response! I've thought about putting in a step. I wasn't sure how to secure the step and I wasn't sure about how high the space should be to need a step either. The door is 8 inches from the ground and the information I found says the riser of a step is usually 7 inches. Are you thinking a step that is even with the sill itself (8 inches)?
  • Heather Heather on May 27, 2016
    I've added some pictures of another idea I had. I feel like this trim piece painted gray makes it look more like part of the door. I angled the end so no one stubs their toes. I think if I put a long rug in front of it, it won't drive me crazy.
  • Heather Heather on May 28, 2016
    Thanks so much for the thoughts on this. I'm learning that home renovations are all about doing the best you can with what you have and making something look right even when everything else isn't. Flexibility and patience. Very appreciative of your responses and the time you took.