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Flooring Design Dilemma

Floorboards stop at door - difficulty with laying wood flooring on top

Michael Johnson

2 years ago

I recently bought some engineered wood flooring for my 60's built flat which is 95% floor boards but at the door there is a square concrete section. It was previously carpeted and this was totally unnoticeable until I lifted it all.

Fast forward to the fitter visiting the flat and they pointed out that because of the slight height difference (roughly 3-5mm) between the concrete and the floor boards they would need to add a threshold between the two sections to make it work. Taking this at face value, I'm unsure how to make this look good and not ruin the clean aesthetic.

This picture shows the square area by the door that needs to be different (the line in the floor to the cupboard).

The fitter was intending to use a wood effect strip and keep the angle of the floor the same to kind of hide the join but in my opinion it would look better to lean into it and make it some sort of homage to a japanese-type genkan area.

My first idea was to change the orientation of the floor and also use a silver threshold to make it look deliberate. I'm struggling to imagine how this might actually look though (ran out of flooring so can't just lay it and see).

I'm really just looking for opinions on if this is a good idea or if anyone has some better options?

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Comments (5)

Suki Mom
2 years ago
I think the fitter's idea is dangerous because it creates a tripping hazard that people would easily overlook. Better to have an obvious change so people see the height difference. Either a different material or a different angle for the flooring.
PRO
Beth H. :
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I'd bring in a tile and weave it into the wood. can you see if you can find a porcelain or even a cement or zellige tile (the latter two are thicker) that make up the diff?

if the height is really an issue, lay down some cement board or other substrate to bring it up.

if that still won't work, try doing this type of seperation.
Michael Johnson thanked Beth H. :
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Michael Johnson
Original Author
2 years ago
I really like the tile idea, thank you. The concrete door section is actually slightly raised relative to the rest of the floor so the tiles would need to be quite thin. I'll look and see if it's possible.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 years ago
Why not just grind down the concrete in that area?
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Beth H. :
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
you could make a little step down, or have a transition,,, like the last picture I posted, above.

ceramic and porcelain tiles are usually consistant at 5/8", I believe.

curious why the entire floor/area wasn't stripped down in preparation prior to that wood going down. very odd.

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