Hi, We're finally over the hump...DIY'ers here. We have our countertop installed, and are now prepping cabinets to be stained. Next big decisions will be the backsplash and flooring. We are wavering between laminate wood and some kind of tile. We have heard conflicting opinions on having laminate wood in the kitchen. People are strongly advising us to go tile. However we are concerned about two things: the transition between kitchen and the main living areas and tile grout issues. We have about 52 inches of opening between a wall and the penisula. The penisula will be part of the dining area which in turn goes into the main living area. Is there a strip of wood or something that covers the transition in the opening or is there a way to butt up the laminate floor to the tile floor? We plan to run laminate wood througout the main floor except the bathroom and laundry room. The laundry room is adjacent to the kitchen which in turn goes into the hall bathroom. How does laminate floor hold up to water issues? I have two boys who are pretty sloppy!

I have wood strips and used Construction Glue to hold them down. They've been in for 7 years in some very high traffic areas and haven't moved. No screws. Mine are regular T moldings in oak.

Schluter with a T mold.

Are you going to be installing new flooring on both the old wood and the new concrete? I will assume there is some reason that the new slab/concrete wasn't poured higher (Like a doorway that we can't see or something) than it was to match the existing sub floor height. Also based on your picture... it looks like that portion of the slab concrete floor needs to be flattened before you could install most any type of flooring. I see the concrete elevation drop off quickly at the right side of the picture. I would carefully check you newly poured slab out to see if you have other areas with dips/humps and fix those areas before you think about installing new flooring. Chances are you need to do a little (or a lot) of self-leveling/flattening of the slab before you install the new flooring which may gain you a little elevation on the slab side. You will need some sort of reducer to transition from the wood side to the slab side. Typically the laminate reducers wont necessarily work for that height difference. So I look at the available pre finished hardwood reducers which will be closer to what you need for height difference. Usually they have overlap reducers that have 3/4" clearance which will get you closer. You can always make your own reducer from a piece of hardwood with a table saw, sander and some time. Also please check with the manufacturer of your particular flooring product about their specs for the flatness of the floor, moisture content of concrete/wood subfloor, acclimation of material before you go for it. Wood flooring products like laminate are especially prone to post installation issues if you ignore things like leveling the floor, moisture content of concrete etc.