Are you saying the hardwood is a 1/2" HIGHER than the tile, or the other way around?

Old hardwood is below the new tile. Big transition step.

I'd be curious as to what was there before, and if your installer did any demolition to the old floor. As it sits right now, if you want to leave the tile as is, you might think about putting in hardwood reducer strips butting up to the tile to match your hardwood. It really gets me that it's that much higher, though, especially if it's butted up to 3/4" hardwood. If the original floor were stripped down to the original subfloor, then 1/4" cement board and tile should make the tile just about come flush to the hardwood.

It happens all the time. A homeowner will choose a tile or type of flooring and the installer will install it without thinking. Tile and flooring is not something that you can just throw down and make it work and come out even especially on a remodel. Here's why..

You start out with all of the subfloor heights even. You decide to install 1/2" thick wood flooring in all of the rooms but the kitchen. When new the builder compensated for the extra height when they tiled the kitchen. Say for example 1/4" thick tile was used. The builder would add 1/4" thick plywood to raise the floor to where the tile would be even with the wood flooring..

Fast forward.. You come along and decide to redo the kitchen floor with 1/2" tile that calls for a 1/4" underlayment. You now have 3/4" total height to deal with. The old 1/4" tile is removed. Minus 1/4 from 3/4 you have 1/2 left.

!/2" will be the difference in height between the old and new. So now you have three choices. Go back and find a tile or flooring type with a thickness that will come out even when fully installed. Rip out all of the old wood flooring throughout the house and start over. Add a transition piece and learn to live with it.

Myself I would have did a lot of measuring and after if you wanted to go with the tile you choose. Then I would have added something like a Shur-Trim transition piece under the tile and onto the wood flooring.

Rubbing my eyes here....Bill? Bill Vincent? You're B-A-C-K!!!

Missed you around here. :-)

Hey Lady. :-) Long time no...er.... see. :-)

I had to go back and check the date (year)!
Yay!!!

Yes, reducer might be your best bet.

Very common problem in renovation, (even in new construction getting different flooring materials to come out the same height seems to be darn near impossible) I made beveled hardwood threshold pieces to even out the transitions. In a week or two you will no longer notice it.