Door Kick Plate

I was talking to my friend about my new door kick plate the other day, and he had a very strange look on his face for quite some time. After a while I asked him what the matter was, and he told me “I don’t have any idea what a door kick plate is!”

If you’re in the same situation as my dear friend, don’t worry, as I’ll explain everything in detail right here. Basically, a door kick plate is something that we can install at the entrance or doorway to our house at the point where we step over the bottom of the door (where there’s usually a small wooden step). Their usefulness is something that’s quite understated – they basically increase the lifespan of this step that I have just mentioned by reinforcing it with metal. These steps often get worn down and scratched over time, so a door kick plate is like a kind of insurance policy for your home (much in the same way as you might use a screen protector on your mp3 player to stop the screen from getting scratched or damaged).

You can purchase a door kick plate in almost any kind of size or finish to match the look or feel of your home (as well as the size of the door that it has to fit around). Nearly every door kick plate is made from either brass, aluminium, steel or iron (although steel and iron kick plates are extremely rare these days due to their higher cost).

To attach a door kick plate onto your home, you’ll either have to glue it down or secure it in with screws or nails. The choice is up to you, but I find that nails do the best job at keeping my kick plate down and they are the easiest of the 3 options to use by far. A word of warning, however. When using nails, make sure that you have someone else there with you that will hold your door kick plate in place before you apply the finishing touches by nailing in your nail, since you only really get one chance with them (unless you don’t mind buying lots of kick plates to practice with).

Another important note is that your door kick plates should not be the exact length of your door frame. You want them to be an inch or so shorter so that they can actually fit inside the frame (and you won’t ever use the edges anyway – it is the middle that gets most of the scratches and wear and tear on it). Also remember to first investigate what kind of door that you have, since different types of doors (made from different materials) require different kick plate mounts (since they must be attached differently), so it’s something to keep in mind when you are shopping around.

Door kick plates are not a new invention, but they are something that has been out of the limelight for a few years as they aren’t exactly the sexiest thing in the world.