Protecting Flooring Under Doors

A forum that provides answers to  home repair, maintenance and construction questions

I have a problem with leaking sliding glass doors that will soon be repaired. However I am concerned about protecting the flooring under the doors. The sliding doors rest on the last six inches or so of the plywood floor for the room.  After the doors are repaired the carpet will be replaced with tile. I want to protect the plywood to the maximum so in case of a future problem with the doors, I won’t need to remove the tile to repair the wood. Should I pour raw linseed oil on the floor alongside the door frame so it seeps into the floor and under the doors?? Or should I use another sealer or do you have a better idea. I figured raw linseed oil is better then boiled linseed because the raw oil takes longer to dry.

I have been in the construction business for over 30 years and I have never heard of using linseed or any other oil for this purpose.  A quick google search did turn up multiple news stories like this one about  the dangers of linseed oil and spontaneous combustion.

For the potential fire hazard alone I highly recommend that you DO NOT use linseed oil or any similar product in the manner you described.

The proper way  of protecting flooring under doors is to have  sill pan flashing  professionally installed as part of the door installation process.

Proper jamb and sill pan flashing will ensure that any water leaks that may occur around the door are directed away from the sub-flooring and framing to the exterior of your home.

This is a tried and true method of protecting flooring under doors, but many contractors and installers omit this step and the home owners never know the difference until the damage is done.  Ask your contractor about the door installation process. If they don’t include sill pan flashing as part of the process, insist that it be installed and assure yourself that they are familiar with proper flashing and sill pan installation practices.

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