Threshold questions

[Chris152]

I'm in the process of refitting a section of floor by the front door and need to install a threshold between maple floorboards and what will be an area for a coir mat. After lots of umming and ahhing I ended up with a piece of American white oak.

Questions:
1. The maple boards are not straight across where they meet the oak but have a bow, leaving a gap in the centre where they meet the oak - will it look ok to fill this with natural-coloured caulk? Or do I have to try to replicate the curve on the oak so it fits?
2. I bought some brass screws for attaching to the beams (front edge in photo)) and the chipboard under the oak - is that the right way to do it? The oak is laying flat on both the beams and the chipboard.
3. I first thought to stain the oak with Chestnut black spirit stain so as to contrast the maple (once the maple's been sanded back and sealed clear), but I like the oak so I'm also thinking about Osmo Polyx Clear gloss - but that might look like it's supposed to be a match for the maple and fail.

Ideally I'd be doing this once the plastering's been done, but my brother's a plasterer and for some reason, family jobs go to the bottom of the list of 'to-dos' and I need to have the entrance area at least working again asap.

Any thought gratefully received.
Chris

 

[AndyT]

Just on question 1, shaping the oak to match the slight curve would be miles better than visible caulk. It should be an easy job to match the curve with a hand plane, or a belt sander.

And answering a question you didn't ask, I've been told that by a professional accessibility advisor that coir matting is the very worst sort of matting for wheelchairs or any other wheels. Thinner barrier matting is much more effective, lasts longer and is easier for everyone to cross.

 

[Chris152]

Thanks Andy. The bow is fairly regular so I think it'd be easy enough to plane, as you say. My only concern is that the sides of the board might notice as no longer parallel, which might be more visually disturbing than caulk - tho the board's 21ch width so maybe a slight taper (about 5mm each end) it wouldn't notice. Hmmm...

edit: Your concern about caulk struck a chord. 5 mins with a block plane and chisel and I've taken the maple boards back far enough on one side to remove the bow. I'll get on with the other side in the morning. Thanks again.