ᐅ Different Finished Floor Levels

Hello everyone,
I would like to get some opinions/facts on the following topic:
To achieve sound insulation or to prevent drafts inside a building (single-family house), it is possible to install a threshold at every door inside the house. This means that the finished floor level of the room the door opens into is about 2.5 cm (1 inch) lower. The door then rests on the threshold at the bottom, creating an (almost) airtight seal. For example: the hallway has a floor buildup of 17 cm (7 inches), while all accessible rooms into which a door opens have only a 14.5 cm (5.7 inches) floor buildup.

The question is: Is this a standard and recommended practice in new constructions nowadays, or was this mostly done in the past (1980s)? – I have seen it in a house from that period...

I am looking forward to your answers and opinions – thank you very much!

Häuserlbauer schrieb:
Example: The hallway has a floor construction height of 17 cm (7 inches), while all accessible rooms with doors have only a 14.5 cm (5.7 inches) buildup.

But then there is a 2.5 cm (1 inch) step edge, right? Is that intentional? Others already complain when a tile replacement causes a height difference of just 0.5 cm (0.2 inches) between old and new surfaces.

Could it be that stone slabs were installed in the hallway/stairwell, which are naturally “thicker” than standard floor constructions?

Nothing has been installed yet.... :-) My question is whether such “trip hazards” are deliberately built in to stop noise or drafts. As I mentioned, I’ve seen this in two architect-designed houses from the 1980s (at my parents’ home).

I grew up in that house and never really saw it as a trip hazard — the door basically hits a 2.5 cm (1 inch) high vertical aluminum profile at the bottom. This way, there’s no gap under the door.

Complete nonsense. Anyone planning something like this today should be fired.

Häuserlbauer schrieb:
To achieve sound insulation or to prevent drafts inside the building (single-family house), one CAN install a threshold on every door inside the house.

The key term is "drop-down door seal." This is located at the bottom of the door leaf and drops down to the floor when the door is closed. This provides effective sound insulation. Thresholds, like those used back in great-grandfather’s time, are generally no longer used. In new construction, the floor structure is usually designed so that there is no noticeable step between different floor coverings (wear layers, e.g., tiles in the hallway, parquet in the living room).

I currently have thresholds at home (built in 1982) but want to avoid them as much as possible in my new house. Once you get used to them, they’re not really a problem, but they’re not necessary. Keyword: accessibility. I also don’t think they make much difference for sound insulation; there’s more potential with the doors themselves, or as mentioned in the post above me.