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A door sill is the bottom portion of your door frame, while a threshold is the transition piece that separates the two types of flooring between rooms, or serves as the transition between the interior and exterior on an exterior door. The threshold sits on top of the door sill. A kick plate is a protective plate that sits against the face of a door to prevent damage to the door from feet and shoes. You’ll usually only find kick plates on exterior doors, while every door has a door sill, and most exterior and interior doors have a threshold.

You can use wood, metal, or plastic as a door shim, but keep in mind that wood will rot easier than the other two materials. Your local hardware store should have at least one type in stock. Alternatively, you can trim a piece of cardboard to fit underneath your door hinge and work as a temporary, makeshift door shim.

Using force to open a door is not recommended, as this could cause serious injury or permanent damage to your door and surrounding door frame. If it’s a front door that you’ve lost the keys for, it’s better to call a locksmith. If it’s an interior door without any lock that you plan on keeping, a handyman can help. Finally, if it’s an old door that you plan to replace anyway, a professional door installer can remove the stuck door and source a replacement.

For most doors, you can use a 1-inch chisel to create the mortise for the strike plate. In addition, you can use a 3/4-inch chisel for more refined cuts and to clean up the edges of your mortise. The smaller tool is handy when squaring off the edges around the hole for your latch.