Fitting a new front door cill Kitchens, doors, rails, stud, tables, chairs, stair cases, garden furniture etc... Find answers and ask questions here!

[Kevin2494]

I am replacing the front door cill as the existing one is rotten in places. I removed the old one and the only replacement I can get is 5mm thicker so I will need to remove the door and plane the bottom slightly.
At the timber merchants I had a choice of 2 widths, 140mm wide (same as the existing) or 160mm wide. There was one piece of 160mm not much longer than the piece I needed which was cheaper than buying the 140mm to the right length (there was increased scrappage). So I bought the 160mm wide.
So now is there any point in running it through the circular saw to reduce the depth by 20mm to match the existing? I will have a wider tread area verses a larger area to have rain water linger longer.
Same on the overall width. The existing has an overhang of 1.25 inches either side. The new piece of timber means I can increase the overhang by another 3 inches either side. But is there any point, just more area to trap water and would look a bit odd.
In short apart from the thickness shall I stick with exactly the same dimensions or is there any point in making it deeper and wider?
One final point the front door has a glass panel down one side so there are three uprights, two being fixed to the door opening. The centre one that take the door catch now flaps free. Just wondering how the fix it rigid to the new cill. I was thinking of drill at a shallow angle and screwing it the cill then plug the hole of fit a batten to the two uprights the screw that to the new cill. Or is there another way?
Just in case anybody is wondering this is a porch door so the original front door is still in place so there are no security issues while work is ongoing

[stoneyboy]

Hi kevin2494,
Yes reduce the depth to suit the gap, there is no point in increasing the width. Fix the uprights as you suggest.
Regards S

[Kevin2494]

Thanks. Just dawned on me that I don't need to remove the door to plane the bottom due to the increased thickness. With the old cill removed I can place a piece of timber the same thickness as the cill. With door open of course. Check the height from the floor to the bottom of the cill. Then find a piece of timber the same width of the door that when I temporarily fixed to the floor and butted up against the closed door is equal to the height of the cill plus a bit for clearance. Then just use my Fein tool to cut off the bottom off in stages.
Also jamming a piece of timber under the centre upright stops it flapping about. I can now cut the new cill to fit and fully treat it at my leisure before finally fitting.