Transition from 5/16 to 3/4 floor

[Sam Takoy]

Hi,

I have 5/16" top nailed oak floors in the dining room.

I'm about the install a new floor in the adjacent kitchen. The kitchen and the dining area are not separated by a wall. It's basically one space.

I will go with 3/4" floors in the kitchen. I would like to have a smooth transition from the dining area (5/16) to the kitchen area (12/16) over two or three (2") board widths. My question is this: how does one mill pieces like that? (2" wide x let's say 6' long x slanted variable height).

Many thanks in advance,

Sam

[dpb]

Depends on what you have to work with. Normally one would use a sled in a planer.

Lacking that, I'd reconsider and instead modify the subfloor build up a section of the thinner material to the correct height.

--

[WW]

Ask in rec.woodworking. Lots of knowledge there. ww

[dpb]

WW wrote: ...

Just beat your post to the punch w/ answer would have given there... :)

[DT]

Milling a piece gives you the most flexibility. Do you have a bandsaw? You can set up a tapered resaw cut on a bandsaw. Keep the original side up, let the cut side be on the bottom to minimize having to plane or sand smooth.

But there are other methods I have used. First, most flooring systems have transition pieces available. If your chosen floor does not, you can still check the stock at Home Depot and see if something from a similar floor could be used, although you would have to refinish it to match.

Or, you can install an additional piece(s) of the 5/16" flooring (if you have any) and shim up the far side to match the 3/4" floor. Once you have everything set up, set that piece of flooring in thin set to provide a solid base. That's the way I did the transition into the marble foor in my master bath, which was much thicker than the bamboo in the bedroom. I cut 5" wide pieces of marble and matched the heights to each floor and shimmed and grouted. Very nice smooth transition over 5".

[HeyBub]

Take a piece of each flooring to your local millworks company. They will have the appropriate transition (about $1/ft) in an amazing variety of woods (red oak, pine, bamboo, teak, walnut, etc.).

I found exactly what I needed at HD, but it only came in 6' lengths. I needed nine feet. I then found a nearby millworks company and they fixed me up in three minutes.

[Sam Takoy]

What would be the width of that transition. I don't want an abrupt change, but rather a smooth change over the width of 6".

[Sam Takoy]

How wide would transition be? I don't want something abrupt, but rather something smooth over the width of about 6" (at least 4").

Thanks again,

Sam

[HeyBub]

Dude, a millworks shop has HUNDREDS of styles, widths, material, and everything. If you find a transition that will work from their samples and they don't happen to have the length or material you need, wait about ten minutes while they put another planing bit in their machine and ZIP, you're good to go.

The millwork I went to had a warehouse. In this warehouse were container sized pallets of wood, most it seemed were 12x12" by 40 feet planks. Each labeled as to provenance: Teak, Walnut, Mahogany, Bamboo, Maple, White Oak, Red Oak, on and on.

It don't cost nothing to ask...

[aemeijers]

Nobody else said it, so I will- are the floors going to be the same color and board direction? If so, I predict that an 'invisible' transition like that will be a stumble magnet. Not a problem when changing flooring types, since they eye and the foot provide a cue to step high. But with a same-color speed bump, imagine a guest with less-than-great eyesight, carrying a loaded plate, hitting that ramp. People living there will quickly get used to it, but somebody encountering it for the first time may have problems.

I'm sure somebody (AIA, ADA, etc) has an engineering standard published somewhere about it. Back in stone age, we sometimes used a contrasting border so people would pay attention to the change. Maybe you could make the transition one wide board, and inlay some decorative strips or shapes into it or something? Or even rout some non-dirt-catching grooves and patterns, and make it a thing that people have to pay attention to how they are walking?

YMMV, of course.

-- aem sends...

[Joe]

Take the time to research wood floors in kitchens. You will find pretty much universal negative opinion for them. However, if you are building a trophy kitchen with stainless steel appliances, 8 burner stove, multiple ovens, microwave over the stove, a center island and granite tops everywhere, then by all means follow your dream. If practicality enters into the decision, then consider things that occur in normal use by families in kitchens, like grease spills, coffee spills, traffic with kids, and pets. The list goes on. Some of these can deface the flooring permanently, others will force refinishing with attendant hassles. That makes urethane coated vinyl sheet goods a better choice and it even comes with a nice wood pattern. Should you decide to do the wood floor scheme, consider that a long invisible ramp is a known way to trip people up. A very short transition defined with a contrasting color would eliminate that problem. These are common sense things that most architects would applaud.

Joe