Hardwood to Tile Threshold

[BenignBodger]

I apologize for posting something on-topic but I actually do have a home repair question: how do I handle the transition between an old red oak hardwood floor and newly-laid porcelain tile. I worked really hard to get the floor levels to come out even after I had to jackhammer out the mud floor base in an old ensuite and I thought I built up the new subfloor to a perfect height but failed to take into account the thickness of Schluter Ditra. Now the tile is Just a hair (well, about 1/4" or 6.5mm) higher than the wood at the door opening. Since I'm redoing this bathroom for my elderly mother any sort of trip hazard is a worry but putting in any of the threshold pieces I've seen would seem to make it worse by being even thicker. Any ideas?

[Norminn]

If the grout joint where the two meet is wide enough, perhaps adding some grout to taper off the highest edge? Or make a shim to match the wood flooring and glue it down? If you are game to rip up some tile, the cement can be laid to make the tile slant a touch....that is what the contractor did, but in reverse, to raise the new tile to be even with existing terrazzo floor.

[Gordon Shumway]

The easiest way is to use tapered shims to elevate the edge of the flooring closest to the higher floor elevation. When it is complete the two types of floor will be at the same elevation and the shims will negate the need for a transition piece that could create its own potential trip hazard.

[nestork]

I stand corrected. Johnsonite makes those rubber transition strips in 0 to 1/16, 0.080, 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8 and 1/2 inch thicknesses. They also make a wide variety of intermediate strips to go from 1/8 or

3/16 to 1/4 or 3/8 inch thickness as well.

'Johnsonite > Wall Base, Finishes & Accessories > Finishing Accessories

[BenignBodger]

I can't even imagine what would be required to shim underneath the existing nailed-down 3/4" hardwood flooring. No. I take that back. I _can_ imagine what it would take but I just can't imagine doing it.

[Terry Coombs]

See if you can find 2" x 6" flat cap like that used on walls that matches your new floor . Another option is to rip /sand/stain a tapered strip of wood and glue it to the existing hardwood .

[Vic Smith]

I have metal transitions for the doorways to my kitchen, where it goes form hardwood to thick vinyl sheeting. Kitchen floor is about 1/4 higher. They're 3'' wide and are "stepped" so you couldn't even stub your toe on the lips. Got them at a big box, and they were an exact replacement for the old ones, whose finish was was junked up. Did it when I sanded the hardwood floors. They look good and last forever. Cut to size with a hacksaw.

[clare]

Not trying to be nasty or anything, but you ever heard of "measure twice, cut once"? I just did a tile entry and hardwood flooring in my house last summer/fall, using Ditra. Great stuff - but you DO need to measure (at least) twice, and be SURE you have things figured out before laying the tile.

Worst case you bust out a foot of tile and slope it to the hardwood, by whatever method is possible (don't know what you used to build up the floor under the tile)

[clare]

Which way does the hardwood meet the tile? End on, or crosswise?

[clare]

Cut the subloor and shim it from the joists. Nasty job, and not something I would reccomend or do.

[Gordon Shumway]

Oops, I read it wrong. I thought the hardwood was going down now.

OK, the way I see it, at a minimum, you're going to have to break up the row of tile that's adjacent to the hardwood. Then, IF you have enough elevation, re-set the tile with a slight slope to line up with the hardwood like clare said.

However, if you don't have enough elevation to do that... well at least you can imagine what's required.

[Gordon Shumway]

If the job was done right it would be crosswise. A not too easy to see example is the Living Rm-Foyer image.

[prabhuv1612]

[BenignBodger]

Thanks. I'll drop by Lowe's and HD later today when I'm out and about and see what they have. All I've noticed before has been wood which was thick enough to go over both surfaces making it an even larger hazard. I had been leaning toward a shop-made tapered wood strip (I do have a full woodworking shop) but I'm always up for an easy quick solution that does the job.

[dadiOH]

If you wind up making one start with a piece of wood with a thickness that matches sub-floor>tile; taper it to the thickness of the wood floor. Cut out 2-3" of the wood floor and stick in the tapered piece.

[Mayayana]

I think if it were me I'd get an oak threshold at HD. They're only 5/8". Then cut off one bevel and do a slight bevel or round-over on that edge, which will then meet the tile. When that's butted up to the tile it's only a 3/8" rise. That may be too much for your mother, but it's the only thing I can think of that won't look tacky. Anything thinner in wood would risk cracking, and while metal might deal with the slope it will look a bit institutional.

| Thanks. I'll drop by Lowe's and HD later today when I'm out and about and | see what they have. All I've noticed before has been wood which was thick | enough to go over both surfaces making it an even larger hazard. I had been | leaning toward a shop-made tapered wood strip (I do have a full woodworking | shop) but I'm always up for an easy quick solution that does the job.

[Ed Pawlowski]

The tapered strip would be my first choice. 2" should be enough to make the transition easy.

[DanG]

Go to any commercial carpet installers store. This happens to be Roppe, but there are other brands:

I don't know if the box stores have or can get all the shapes. Huge assortment of colors/sizes/shapes in both rubber and vinyl.

[BenignBodger]

Solution is almost in hand. I went to Lowe's today and did some searching and found a transition strip that will, after a couple of passes through the planer and having one edge ripped square, fill the bill. It will have a bit of an abrupt rise at the leading edge so, if it looks like too much, a couple of passes with a hand plane to taper it more should do the job. I realize now that I should have just dug through my scrap bin for a suitable piece of oak and made it from scratch but if I'm dumb enough to do a similar project again I'll know in advance. You live and learn if you're paying attention...

[BenignBodger]

Yes, I've heard of it and I usually measure more than just twice. But I've also heard of putting tile in without installing the adjacent hardwood floor at the same time (which would make it entirely too simple to diddle the elevations) and I've heard of getting the tile to the proper height to match up with the existing toilet flange so that the existing cast iron plumbing won't have to be destroyed and redone. Fighting the self-contradictory requirements of the existing 50-year-old plumbing and hardwood floors was more than I could handle simultaneously with limited experience so one or the other had to be the controlling factor, accustomed as I am to dead level floors. In retrospect I guess that the old 3" mud bed that I had to jackhammer was probably subtly sloped (as well as cracked and concealing joist and subfloor damage beneath).