diff --git a/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue b/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
index 102af45..25c590e 100644
--- a/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
+++ b/frontend/src/views/SettingsView.vue
@@ -275,41 +275,44 @@ function actorLabel(actor: string): string {
 }
 
 async function saveKbInject() {
-  const t = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbInjectThreshold.value) || 0));
+  // Every similarity bar, clamped the way the server's `bounded_float` clamps
+  // it: an unparseable value falls back to its default, never to 0, and `lo`
+  // is the floor a bar that BLOCKS must not go under (0.80 block, 0.70 overlap).
+  const asBar = (v: string, d: number, lo = 0) => Math.min(1, Math.max(lo, Number(v) || d));
+  const t = asBar(kbInjectThreshold.value, 0);
   const k = Math.min(10, Math.max(1, Math.floor(Number(kbInjectTopK.value) || 1)));
   // `|| default` not `|| 0`: an unparseable value here should fall back to the
   // per-kind default, not to 0 — a 0 floor would report every record as a
   // duplicate of every other one.
-  const dupSnip = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbDupThresholdSnippet.value) || 0.82));
-  const dupNote = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbDupThresholdNote.value) || 0.93));
-  const dupTask = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbDupThresholdTask.value) || 0.93));
+  const dupSnip = asBar(kbDupThresholdSnippet.value, 0.82);
+  const dupNote = asBar(kbDupThresholdNote.value, 0.93);
+  const dupTask = asBar(kbDupThresholdTask.value, 0.93);
   // The gate BLOCKS a write, so its bars have a floor the server enforces too:
   // 0.80 for a block, 0.70 for the overlap list.
-  const gateAt = (v: string, d: number, lo: number) => Math.min(1, Math.max(lo, Number(v) || d));
-  const gate = gateAt(kbGateThreshold.value, 0.9, 0.8);
-  const gateSnip = gateAt(kbGateThresholdSnippet.value, 0.96, 0.8);
-  const gateLesson = gateAt(kbGateThresholdLesson.value, 0.96, 0.8);
-  const gateCopy = gateAt(kbGateThresholdNoteCopy.value, 0.98, 0.8);
-  const gateOverlap = gateAt(kbGateNoteOverlapFloor.value, 0.87, 0.7);
+  const gate = asBar(kbGateThreshold.value, 0.9, 0.8);
+  const gateSnip = asBar(kbGateThresholdSnippet.value, 0.96, 0.8);
+  const gateLesson = asBar(kbGateThresholdLesson.value, 0.96, 0.8);
+  const gateCopy = asBar(kbGateThresholdNoteCopy.value, 0.98, 0.8);
+  const gateOverlap = asBar(kbGateNoteOverlapFloor.value, 0.87, 0.7);
   // Same `|| default` guard: a floor of 0 would hand back an existing plan
   // for every new one, and no plan could be started without force.
-  const planT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbPlanMatchThreshold.value) || 0.8));
+  const planT = asBar(kbPlanMatchThreshold.value, 0.8);
   // Same `|| default` reasoning: falling back to 0 would surface every
   // snippet in the corpus on every edit, which is the failure this knob fixes.
-  const wpT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbWritePathThreshold.value) || 0.68));
+  const wpT = asBar(kbWritePathThreshold.value, 0.68);
   // Same `|| default` reasoning again, and it bites harder here: a rule hint
   // fires on every write, so a fallback of 0 would attach a standing rule to
   // every edit in the session.
-  const rhT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbRuleHintThreshold.value) || 0.72));
+  const rhT = asBar(kbRuleHintThreshold.value, 0.72);
   // Same `|| default` guard, and the same reason: this arm fires before every
   // Bash call, so a fallback of 0 would put a rule in front of every command.
-  const trT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbToolRuleThreshold.value) || 0.68));
-  const prT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbPromptRuleThreshold.value) || 0.72));
+  const trT = asBar(kbToolRuleThreshold.value, 0.68);
+  const prT = asBar(kbPromptRuleThreshold.value, 0.72);
   // The checkpoint bar, and the `|| default` guard matters most here of all:
   // this is the only number that can STOP a call, so a fallback of 0 would
   // hold the first command of every session behind whatever ranked first.
-  const cpT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbCheckpointThreshold.value) || 0.8));
-  const rpT = Math.min(1, Math.max(0, Number(kbReportPrefThreshold.value) || 0.72));
+  const cpT = asBar(kbCheckpointThreshold.value, 0.8);
+  const rpT = asBar(kbReportPrefThreshold.value, 0.72);
   // The budgets, clamped the way the server clamps them: a whole number in
   // [1, 10]. Never 0 — an arm turned off is turned off by its switch, and a
   // budget of zero would run the search, log the retrieval and render nothing,
diff --git a/src/scribe/services/dedup.py b/src/scribe/services/dedup.py
index d15e18b..208f086 100644
--- a/src/scribe/services/dedup.py
+++ b/src/scribe/services/dedup.py
@@ -287,16 +287,16 @@ def _gate_key(note_type: str) -> str:
 
 
 async def _gate_setting(user_id: int, key: str, lo: float) -> float:
-    from scribe.services.settings import get_setting
+    from scribe.services.settings import bounded_float, get_setting
 
     default = GATE_DEFAULT_THRESHOLDS[key]
     try:
-        value = float(await get_setting(user_id, GATE_THRESHOLD_KEYS[key], str(default)))
+        raw = await get_setting(user_id, GATE_THRESHOLD_KEYS[key], str(default))
     except Exception:
         # Fail-open like the rest of the gate: an unreadable setting falls back
         # to the measured default rather than blocking or waving through.
-        value = default
-    return min(1.0, max(lo, value))
+        raw = None
+    return bounded_float(raw, default, lo)
 
 
 async def gate_bars(user_id: int, note_type: str) -> tuple[float, float]:
@@ -557,16 +557,11 @@ _MAX_DUPLICATE_PAIRS = 200
 
 async def get_duplicate_threshold(user_id: int, kind: str = "snippet") -> float:
     """The user's near-duplicate similarity floor for `kind`, clamped to [0, 1]."""
-    from scribe.services.settings import get_setting
+    from scribe.services.settings import bounded_float, get_setting
 
     default = DUPLICATE_DEFAULT_THRESHOLDS[kind]
-    try:
-        value = float(await get_setting(
-            user_id, DUPLICATE_THRESHOLD_KEYS[kind], str(default)
-        ))
-    except (TypeError, ValueError):
-        value = default
-    return min(1.0, max(0.0, value))
+    raw = await get_setting(user_id, DUPLICATE_THRESHOLD_KEYS[kind], str(default))
+    return bounded_float(raw, default)
 
 
 def group_pairs(pairs: list[tuple[int, int, float]]) -> list[list[int]]:
@@ -1120,15 +1115,12 @@ PLAN_MATCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD = 0.80
 
 async def get_plan_match_threshold(user_id: int) -> float:
     """The user's plan-gate similarity floor, clamped to [0, 1]."""
-    from scribe.services.settings import get_setting
+    from scribe.services.settings import bounded_float, get_setting
 
-    try:
-        value = float(await get_setting(
-            user_id, PLAN_MATCH_THRESHOLD_KEY, str(PLAN_MATCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD)
-        ))
-    except (TypeError, ValueError):
-        value = PLAN_MATCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD
-    return min(1.0, max(0.0, value))
+    raw = await get_setting(
+        user_id, PLAN_MATCH_THRESHOLD_KEY, str(PLAN_MATCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD)
+    )
+    return bounded_float(raw, PLAN_MATCH_DEFAULT_THRESHOLD)
 
 
 def plan_candidate_text(
diff --git a/src/scribe/services/retrieval_surfaces.py b/src/scribe/services/retrieval_surfaces.py
index cecdf7e..fb104d5 100644
--- a/src/scribe/services/retrieval_surfaces.py
+++ b/src/scribe/services/retrieval_surfaces.py
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 
-from scribe.services.settings import get_setting
+from scribe.services.settings import bounded_float, get_setting
 
 # A budget nobody should be able to set past. Not a tuning value — a guard on
 # the worst case, so a mistyped setting cannot turn a menu into a wall of text.
@@ -270,11 +270,8 @@ def dial_for_key(key: str) -> tuple[str, str] | None:
 async def floor_for(user_id: int, name: str) -> float:
     """This install's current floor for a surface, clamped to [0, 1]."""
     s = get_surface(name)
-    try:
-        value = float(await get_setting(user_id, s.floor_key, str(s.floor_default)))
-    except (TypeError, ValueError):
-        value = s.floor_default
-    return min(1.0, max(0.0, value))
+    raw = await get_setting(user_id, s.floor_key, str(s.floor_default))
+    return bounded_float(raw, s.floor_default)
 
 
 async def budget_for(user_id: int, name: str) -> int:
diff --git a/src/scribe/services/settings.py b/src/scribe/services/settings.py
index fb044aa..ae13359 100644
--- a/src/scribe/services/settings.py
+++ b/src/scribe/services/settings.py
@@ -16,6 +16,22 @@ logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 SECRET_MASK = "********"
 
 
+def bounded_float(raw: str | None, default: float, lo: float = 0.0, hi: float = 1.0) -> float:
+    """A numeric setting as stored text, parsed and clamped to [lo, hi].
+
+    Every similarity bar and retrieval floor is kept as a string and read the
+    same way: an unparseable value falls back to the DEFAULT, never to 0 (a
+    floor of 0 admits everything), and a value out of range is pulled back
+    into it. Pure on purpose: each caller keeps its own `get_setting` read, so
+    what can fail there — and whether that fails open — stays the caller's.
+    """
+    try:
+        value = float(raw)
+    except (TypeError, ValueError):
+        value = default
+    return min(hi, max(lo, value))
+
+
 async def get_admin_setting(key: str, default: str = "") -> str:
     """Read an instance-global setting (one stored on an admin account).