no the slate is on order and am ripping out the hardwood floor area where the slate is going. I hope to be level with the hardwood and was looking to use one of the flooring strips to butt up against the ends of the run of boards in the hallway. I am 3/4 way down the hall now and need to define the end where it will go to slate. not a reducer, but was wondering if I should router a 1/4 inch channel in the ends of the boards I am using in the hallway and use the slip tongue strip of wood to lock the ends with the board across the ends. Or should I just cut the ends of the boards and butt the perpendicular board against them. end result should be something like this: http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/mbclk320/Hardwood%20Floors/31-front-kitchentransition.jpg

Hi there, you can use any size tile you like. Large format tile is very trendy right now, as far as style goes. Transitions all depend on the height of each floor. First, I'd have to ask if your hardwood flooring is solid or engineered. (because the subfloor would typically be different for each) If you have a cement/concrete subfloor, chances are, there won't be a huge height difference once the new tile is installed next to your hardwood (if it's engineered. Therefore, you'd be able to use traditional transitions like T-Moldings or multi-purpose reducers, you can even use a saddle (whatever look you like more). If you have solid hardwood flooring over plywood, the floor prep for tile is a little more involved. There are 2 ways to go about it; 1, install wire mesh (to act as a skeleton) and pour a self-leveling cement for your tile to be installed on to p of. This would add between 1/4" to 1/2" on top of the plywood subfloor, then your mortar and large format tile. The other way to install tile on top of a plywood subfloor would be to use cement board. You could install the cement board, and patch whatever discrepancies there are to make the subfloor nice and flat for your tile. After that, you're all set to install the tile. Always plan ahead for which transitions you'd like before the install starts. You have to make sure that the ones you want, will work out with the heights, and location of the flooring. (like where the old floor ends, and the new tile flooring begins) I hope this helped! The Couture Floor Company The Flooring Blog (You can check out our trending for 2017 blog here for ideas for your new flooring)

If the wood is 30 years old, it is READY for a full sand/refinish. I can see that these may be premanufactured wide planks that are made up of smaller planks. You can look to see how thick these are by looking at the cross section: you have a LOVELY little hole in the floor (air vent) which I see in the photo. This is PERFECT to look at the cut section. Go ahead and take a measuring tape to measure the total thickness of the wood. If it is made up of multiple layers (like plywood) then simply measure the TOP layer. To achieve a full sand/refinish you need 3mm or more. I would bet my first born that a WELL TRAINED flooring professional (ahem...NOT a General Contractor...someone who ONLY works with hardwood) to come in and get a sense of what this wood is. The 'make up' of the wide plank isn't important (which is why the GC is saying you don't have enough wood). All you need is the same SPECIES, narrow plank width, cut and grade. Don't worry. A professional wood flooring person will know exactly what those 4 requirements mean. An order can be put in for more of the same. Then the new wood is installed...and then the WHOLE thing gets sanded/refinished = same colour throughout. Please believe me when I say a hardwood floor that is 30 years old NEEDS a sand/refinish. This is the PERFECT time to do this.

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.