Help! Can I remove the threshold from my stable??

[Yorkshire horse owner]

I am intending on moving my horses from livery to home, where we have a couple of wooden stables which will be fine once a few basic repairs are carried out. They both have quite high thresholds (about 6 inches) of a brick and timber construction which could be fairly readily removed. The problem if they stay in place (apart from horses tripping over them until they learn better) is that it’s impossible to jet wash the floors which is necessary before I can fit sealed rubber mats. As things stands jet washing will produce a lake. I’m not at all sure what purpose the thresholds serve other than a bit of draft excluding and to help keep the stables drier in certain wet weather conditions, but I would have thought an extension piece fitted to the doors could do that job almost as well without the disadvantages of a step. I have the option of doing a temporary removal for washing and then refitting or alternatively getting rid of them altogether. I’m tempted to do the latter, but I’m afraid I might be missing something. They definitely aren’t structural so I don’t think the stables will fall down if I take them out. Does anyone have any advice to offer on which option to go for?

 

[Red-1]

The thresholds offer support to the structure of a wooden box. In essence, so the doorway does not do the splits!

You could possibly contact the manufacturer to see if the doorway could be strengthened, perhaps with a metal frame?

A bit like trailers are designed to be used with the breast/breach bar for strength.

 

[dreamcometrue]

The threshold stops the bedding being trailed out of the stable as well as supporting the door frame.

 

[Yorkshire horse owner]

Thanks, I understand the principle. As you suggest, there might be another way of ensuring the structural integrity isn’t affected which is a bit less impractical from every other point of view!

 

[ester]

hmm interesting, we don't have them on our wooden block, or any obvious strengthening.

 

[Yorkshire horse owner]

One of the things I noticed when I looked at pictures of newly built stables is that some do and some don’t. I suppose it might depend on the exact construction of the ‘don’ts’ which isn’t visible in a photn the other hand maybe some are built with a belt and braces approach whereas others aren’t. We have some older wooden stables which we only use as storage but which have been use as stables at some point and they don’t have thresholds.

 

[cobgoblin]

Could you replace the thresholds with lower wooden ones and fix them to the door frame either side?
I have brick stables but there are threshold strips that extend under the door and fix to the frame either side inside the stable. They are about 1.5" high.

 

[D66]

if the threshold is part of a long bit of timber going along the front of the stable, no, well not without advice on the structural stability of the building from a builder or qualified professional. You may be able to if you put extra fixings in place. If it is a separate piece just across the doorway, probably.

 

[Yorkshire horse owner]

I’m pretty sure they are separate but I’m going to have a good look tomorrow with the various comments people have made in mind. I told my husband that the H&H forums seem to have people with sensible suggestions/ observations to make on pretty well every subject and I wasn’t wrong!

 

[Esmae]

When we built our stables we laid a base of concrete and then a brick outline that the new block sat on top of. When the stables were all in place and bolted down the bricks were knocked out in the doorways. There was no loss of integrity to the building and the stable builders did it without concern. I think I'd ask a local jobbing builder to have a look and advise you.

 

[Tiddlypom]

How old are your stables? I think it’s one thing to make alterations to fairly new wooden buildings, but quite another if theye’re older and have settled and warped a bit into their own idiosyncratic shape. You don’t want to upset them by twiddling with their construction, you’re not sure what you might end up disturbing.

I’ve got three stables with wooden rails across the doorway and one without. The rail is to help draught proof the doorway and to keep bedding in. It does prevent me jet washing the interiors though, so the 4th stable, which was added on later and is currently used as a cycle store, hasn’t got one. The stable peeps built it without, though they were puzzled at my request as most folk prefer them.

ETA 6” high thresholds like you’ve got would be a bit of PITA to deal with, though, so I can see why you’d like to remove them. I can easily get my wheelbarrow in and out of my stables over my single rail for mucking out, but I think it would refuse a 6” high obstacle!

 

[ycbm]

If this was me, and the wood is structural, my OH would take them out and replace them with flat steel bar 5mm thick bent to fit, drilled with holes and screwed into the wood either side.

I have the opposite problem. I have a block of wood in one of my stables to stop it flooding when we get a cloudburst.

.

 

[Keith_Beef]

If this was me, and the wood is structural, my OH would take them out and replace them with flat steel bar 5mm thick bent to fit, drilled with holes and screwed into the wood either side.

This.

You could even dig or cut a shallow channel across the doorway and set the bar into this channel, so that it is absolutely flush with the floor.

 

[Yorkshire horse owner]

Taking account of the various helpful observations and suggestions which have been made, we are going to go down the steel bar approach so that if the existing threshold is contributing to the structural integrity of the whole then it’s role can be replaced by steel which won’t have the same disadvantages. We will extend the lower door to help with the draught proofing and reduce bedding loss. Hopefully that will be job done and we can crack on with the jet washing. Many thanks everyone.