laminate transition
 

I put down laminate in the family room. When I got to the door to the garage I unscrewed the heavy metal threshold intending to put it back down later. Turns out the laminate raises the edge too much and the door won't close. It also tilts slightly, so planing the door won't fix it. I tried to bend it a little but it's too thick. The only alternative I can think of is to grind 1/8" or so off the edge. Is there a better way?

is the garage door metal?

Sounds like you need to trim the laminate back from the door. You're supposed to leave it floating, and not do things like screw transitions to it, which can prevent it from moving and cause the joints to open up.

To me, this is the biggest downside to laminate flooring. In order to leave the required clearances (as per the instructions), there are some details that don't seem to have good solutions.

I laid the laminate up to the door but not over the screw holes. I considered cutting it back even with the edge of the threshold, but that'll look bad because the threshold slopes.

The door is metal. But since the threshold tilts I don't think trimming the door is right anyway.

can you use a lower profile threshold?

That's the kind of thing I was talking about -- you're supposed to leave a 3/8" gap between the flooring and the threshold. You're right -- it wouldn't look good. But neither will the floor coming undone (or buckling).

Since the floor is down you need some kind of fix.

One solution might be to make a threshold from oak that can screw down using the existing holes and "float" over the flooring.

I can do that. Is that acceptable with a fire door? (Not sure if it's considered to be one.)

I don't know about fire doors. Someone recently said they have a plate on the jamb side if they are rated.

No plate, so I guess it's a go. Thanks for your help!

You could reset the door as well