How to remove screws in threshold that have an attached washer on the under side?

Question

I am trying to replace the stripped screws that hold my adjustable door saddle in place. They have a attached washer on the bottom of the saddle that doesn’t allow me to remove the screw. Any suggestions on getting these screws out?

I have looked for a replacement part, replacement screws. I am not able to find anything.

Answer 1

I'm assuming this is some kind of bolt that locks onto some kind of threaded "washer" otherwise you could just pull the bolt out. I can think of a few options, here they are with increasing hardware requirements.

• You might be able to get some kind of grip on the stripped threads with a different shaped screwdriver such as a slotted, Robertson or Torx (flat, cross, or square). You will want to get more friction on that washer the best way I can think of is to place the bolt on the floor, thread side towards the ground, and pushing the ends of the threshold down (pic included). I wouldn't try this on the wood floor since this would probably leave a mark. Being careful to not press down too far (so you don't snap the wood) try to use one of the screwdriver/bit to unscrew the bolt while you are pushing down on the sides. That looks like oak so you can probably get away with pushing pretty hard but I wouldn't want to find out the breaking point.
• You can use a bolt extractor to try unscrewing the bolt while pushing down the sides. Usually these come in a set but if none of those can get a grip you can drill a hole (size is specified by the extractors) in the middle of the bolt so the extractor it can get a grip on the stripped bolt.

• (Nuclear option) If the extractor does not work you can get a cut off wheel along with a rotary tool (e.g. Dremel) and carefully go around the bolt while cutting the threaded part of the washer (the part that is actually touching the bolt). Alternatively you can use a small cut off wheel to try to cut a line along the bolt head so you can use a slotted screwdriver. If you cut deep enough this will work but will almost certainly damage the wood since bolt is countersunk.

PS Strictly speaking; a screw is something that threads into something else and a bolt is something that goes through a hole and threads into some kind of nut. However; most people just call something that has tight standardized threads (like your threshold hardware) a bolt and call the spike tipped things screws (like a wood screw).

Answer 2

Cut the washer with a hacksaw or tiny cutting wheel. Pull the screw straight out.

OR

You may be able to slip pliers underneath the washer and just tear it off or mangle it enough that it will slip off. It's very thin.

OR

Use needle nose pliers to grab the washer by digging the points slightly into the wood on two sides of the washer. There seems to be enough left of the screw head to grab it with a flathead screwdriver, but if not, use a screw extractor on the screw along with the pliers on the back.

A little damage to the underside of the piece in either method hopefully doesn't matter to you.