Weatherproofing an external doorway on slate tiled floor

[Gado]

I am building walls and roof on a porch outside the back door, to make an entry foyer from the rear carport. It will have a new external door. I plan to lay natural slate tiles on the concrete floor (to match other areas in the house). They are quite soft but wear well when bedded in and sealed.

My question is about what to do under the doorway, to keep out the weather and not damage the tiles. The door will open inwards over the tiles. I want it to be weatherproof, but I don't want the door to scrape across the slate when it opens.

I was hoping I could slope it so any water inside can drain outwards, but can't see how I could do this. And I guess will need a metal angle to stabilise the soft edges of the slate.

Do I need to have a separate sill with a lip for the door to seal against?

Any ideas appreciated

Thanks, Gado

[goldie1]

You can have a step down on the outside with a weather strip on the bottom of the door or a raised threshold for the door to

close on to . This can be tile or a hardwood sill. If hardwood it needs a flashing. Any slope should be on the outside to drain

the water away from the door. An exposed edge on the slate would need an angle bar. I assume you have a step down from the

house to the porch slab? Is there a step down from the porch slab to the outside ground level? If not you have the problem

of water getting in at the base of your walls allso.

[Gado]

Thank you goldie1, this makes sense. The porch slab is a step below the house floor and a step above ground level outside, so water shouldn't get to the walls (there will be flashing there as well).

It sounds as if I should finish the slate tiles at the inside edge of the door, and put a threshold tile raised a few mm under the door and sloping outwards.

Thanks for your help!

[goldie1]

Theshhold tile should be the same as the wall thickness. I would have it up at least 10mm high sloped outwards with a spring

loaded weatherstrip on the outside of the door

[Gado]

Theshhold tile should be the same as the wall thickness. I would have it up at least 10mm high sloped outwards with a spring

loaded weatherstrip on the outside of the door

Thanks again, I can see that would work...Am I worrying unnnecessarily about family and friends tripping over the 10mm ledge?

[goldie1]

Thanks again, I can see that would work...Am I worrying unnecessarily about family and friends tripping over the 10mm ledge? Its not normally an issue because its in line with the door frame your eyes go to it.

If you use a square cut tile with an angle on both sides it's pretty obvious. Or you can get a step tile with a bull nose

protruding past the outside wall a bit for a contrast

[Gado]

Its not normally an issue because its in line with the door frame your eyes go to it.

If you use a square cut tile with an angle on both sides it's pretty obvious. Or you can get a step tile with a bull nose

protruding past the outside wall a bit for a contrast

Sounds good. I'll see if I can find some bull nose step tiles that will fit, I wasn't aware they exist. Otherwise an angle on both sides would work. Thanks again for your help!