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living room Home Decorating Flooring

Transition from hardwood to tile floor

3 years ago

Please recommend something clean looking to transition from tile to hard wood. I initially planned to have a thin metal strip however after laying the tile there happened to be about 3/4 “ gap between. It starts flash with wood than goes off toward the end, I need something to close that gap (the level is the same of both floors). The only thing I was able to find is 2” wood strip (t molding) but I don’t want to go this wide , just enough to close the gap. I saw a metal one but 1. It’s 3/4 by itself and I am but sure I even like it. Thank you!

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Comments (6)

kculbers
3 years ago
I have the same issue. I have installed new porcelain wood look tiles in my entry hallway that transitions to my Pergo wood look laminate flooring in my kitchen. I am having an experienced carpenter make some custom wood transition pieces that will match the color of my oak stairs. He will also make a transition piece from the hall tile to my wall to wall carpet in n my living room. I just didn’t care for the transition pieces that I had seen in the building supply stores.
SJ McCarthy
3 years ago
Your tiling pro needed to install the scooter edge BEFORE s/he finished the tile. Putting it in afterwards isn't a good idea.

Who sourced the materials? Did you discuss this prior to starting work?
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It depends on the layout whether transition mouldings are needed. In the above posters hardwood to tile it's at an opening with the hardwood running with the opening and looks nice without moulding, but in open areas where there are large runs butting up to the two different floorings, transition mouldings are used when the hardwood is perpindicular or even at angles one to the other. The op has large areas kitchen, dining, foyer where depending on layout, more than likely would need mouldings where the two meet when perpindicular. An alternative to transitions is running a band of hardwood matching the flooring with the tile but perpindicular to the hardwood runs. Tha takes woodworking,(milling), that some installers wouldn't make time for.
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I had the same problem. Had old strip flooring that was over 100 yrs old. At one point someone replaced a section with 3/4 thick wood floor but you wouldnt know until it was tore up. When I laid all the flooring an got to the the hallway I was up about 1/2 in. I shimmed up an 1/8 in then stripped a blank of the new floor on the table saw to build a thin transition piece. There is a slight raise but everything is the same level and looks nice. So in short just use a reducer.
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Okay, I think you have all convinced me to not create my own weekend from hell (by trying to pour leveling compound with just two adults ... and two kids under the age of five). Thanks for this! We have the hardwood on hand, and were already planning on a floating installation as it's recommended for the product (no nailing). So if we now switch and go the cork path - say with that 12mm option from the website you mentioned - that leaves me with a few questions: (1) My previous calculation - indicating the top of the hardwood surface would be almost half an inch lower than the top of the adjacent tile surface - had built into it using 3mm PergoMax underlayment (the "gold" stuff). Would I still use this stuff, on top of the cork and underneath the hardwood? I'm guessing no. (2) Perhaps tied in with the first question, I see that thinset is used to adhere the cork to the concrete. Is this correct? This will (obviously) add some thickness to the whole equation. I'm thinking now that - by removing the PergoMax stuff (-3mm) and adding thinset (guessing, +2mm) - it's pretty much a draw, which I then just float the hardwood on. Am I thinking of all of this correctly? Thanks again for all of your help. You are all much appreciated.
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Thank you so much for all of the advice! I think the consensus is to go with all hardwood throughout, even into the kitchen. I agree that this is the best look for the floor plan. My husband was just afraid of the maintenance in the kitchen area. Last year (in all my pregnancy-brain glory), I left the freezer door slightly open overnight (it was closed enough to where you could barely tell and the open-door beep alarm didn’t go off but it was open enough that the door seal didn’t engage) and the ice from the door melted onto the surrounding hardwood in front of the fridge. So other than not repeating that mistake and just being more careful in general with wiping up water from spills and such, are there any tips for helping to care for the solid hardwood floor in the kitchen area? I have read to go with light or medium stains instead of darker stains. Will going with a more matte finish over a glossier sheen make a difference in making the wood last longer or look better in that area? Would it be better protection if the wood was installed then finished on site or would the pre-finished flooring have more moisture protection?
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Lana Shulman
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks kculbers, same here I do not like the ready made transitions available at hardware stores, is the thin stripe on the picture the transition strip your carpenter made?
Lana Shulman
Original Author
3 years ago
SJ... putting the edge before was not an option since we knew there will be a small gap between floors but after tiles were layed the gap is bigger than what was expected so need a transition. The one that I see in hardware store is too wide (2 inches or so), should I have a carpenter make a strip for me and match finish to the wood? I believe that’s my only option, just glueing a piece of wood in between probably will not stay (I might be wrong).
Lana Shulman
Original Author
3 years ago
Can someone recommend a good carpenter to make a transition piece. I am in Brooklyn NY.
kculbers
3 years ago
No the thin strip is the subfloor I got. He did not make the transition piece yet.

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