Here is what I have used in the past it is a brass or aluminum transition strip. You may be able to get it in other colors also. Your tile man should have known about this. Kind of makes me leary of him and your GC.

Dave.

Here is a link that might be useful:

I should have mentioned this in my original post, but I was busy panicking. We originally had the metal strips between the tile that just came out and the carpet. We decide we didn't want those anymore: the rooms on either side are formal dining and living rooms and we thought there must be something "dressier" out there. Plus the entrances to each room are very wide and open (9+ feet and 6'), so the strip between is very long and noticeable. Ditto for the vinyl for the same reasons.

Bill, I'm not sure I know what you mean by, "either tuck and tack the carpet so as to raise it over the edge of the marble, thereby protecting the edge," do you mean raise the edge of the carpet over the edge of the marble? Or raise it UP to the same height as the marble?

I ran into a big tile store today and asked what there was in thresholds. The clerk there sent me to HD saying they had wood thresholds that "snapped" into a channel that was first nailed down to the subfloor. I then ran to HD and found what he was talking about: they are made by wood floor companies as transitions to carpet. But I couldn't find one that would work in this situation.They lap OVER the top of the hard surface, which to me would be a trip factor. I want something that will be flush to the height of the marble, then slope down to the height of the carpet, with a recess underneath for the carpet to fit into. I should think something like this must exist!

I have a feeling that what they were talking about is a wood version of what's shown in the pic I posted. If you want something that ramps down from the marble to the carpet, check out Schluter Sheine reducer strips.

I just tried googling that but got no hits. Tried alternate spelling of "Scheine", too. I did a search on the John Bridge forum too.

Where can I find info on this product?

I can do that transition with or without a transition molding.

I think it would look best if a transition molding is chosen, is a wood transition, stained and finished to match the door casing.

After the tile is set, there is material available in a powder form that you mix with water that you can feather out with a straight edge ( at least 20" ) from the tile to make for a smooth transition. this material will adhear to your subfloor/concrete. I've seen wouod shims used before and did not like the look, you could tell that the floor was ramped up to the tile. these leveling products are a much smoother way to go and most cases dries fairly quick.

Floorguy, what would you use for a wood transition? That's starting to look like one of the better options, though not the look we wanted originally.

As I said in an earlier post, I looked at the ones at HD that were made by wood floor companies, and none would suit our situation. They were all made to lap OVER the top of the hard surface floor: something I don't want for both appearance and trip issues. Plus those were all pre-finished to match their wood floors. If I found something unfinished in oak I could just stain it to match the baseboards I'm already staining. If there is nothing made for this purpose, we would have to find an oak molding of the right thickness and profile: and probably nail it down right over the edge of the carpet.

One of the tile stores suggested bringing our tile to a place that will bullnose it for us. Cost is about $5 per tile, which would add about $300 to the project. With their lead time, this would set our project back about 2 weeks (old floor and powder room are already torn out). This would give us the clean, seamless look we were going for in the first place.

What I'd like to know is if this would be safe for the tile. There would not be any overhang of the bullnose, it would be supported by the durock underneath, with the edges flush. Can anyone tell me if this is a viable option? If not, for what reasons? If the bullnosed tile is likely to chip, I'd probably go for the wood instead.

The EASIEST and FASTEST way to make transitions between hard surfaces and carpet is with the use of Carpet Shims and Universal Side Shims. Discover the Underlying Difference with Carpet Shims! Visit their site today and save your headaches for tomorrow!

Here is a link that might be useful: Carpet Shims website

A carpet shim won't work with what is shown in the picture above. It would raise the carpet way higher then the tiles.

Carpet Shims are great when the tile is set on CBU or the hardwood is more then ½" in thickness.

Just another schmoe advertising his product. :-)

's OK. He violated the terms of service here anyway, so you can tell he plays fast and loose with the details.

How can we boot him out? He just joined Monday, obviously to make blanket posts all over the forums. I look for unbiased advice: I resent camouflaged ads, evenly poorly disguised ones.

Our tile guy put down a strip of marble that was a reducer between the tile & carpet. Then the carpet folks came out and just gently tucked the carpet up next to the edge of the marble strip. Turned out lovely. The marble strip is a breeze to clean too. I think he got it at the tile store.

Take a look at some of these shapes. Maybe you can find a local stone fabricator to fabricate it for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thresholds

Take a look at some of these shapes. Maybe you can find a local stone fabricator to fabricate it for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Thresholds

sippimom:

Do you have a picture of what you did? I am having some tile installed in my bathroom in a few weeks and not yet determined what kind of transition I want; however, what you have done sounds like what I think I want!

I'm the OP. Those marble strips are nice but they only come in white. Since our floor is dark they wouldn't work for us. We ended up going with wood. There was no molding of the right shape or height, especially since we were trying to bridge a height transition: the tile being higher. We bought ranch molding that was designed for window and door frames. If you are not familiar with ranch molding, in profile it has a slope: one side is high and the other side is lower. The installers has to shave some wood off the back to make it fit (to reduce the height), but that was their problem since they had promised they would come up with something nice for us and had not. We had them bring the wood right before the weekend and then we stained and varnished it to match our other moldings. On Monday they came back and installed it. The carpeting is a berber, and the edge is tucked lightly under the lowest edge. The high side butts against the tile/durock and a small caulk line is in between.

I purchased a house with 12X12 ceramic tile in the kitchen and carpet in the great room..no transition strip was installed. The house is a slab house drilling thru the tile or the floor to put a metal strip up is not an option.
I have been told of a laminate strip which can be place, but have been unable to find this. What can I do the edge of the carpet is already getting frayed!!