The answer to height differences is to use a floor transition strip that ramps up or down from tile flooring to wood flooring. Transition strips, typically made of wood or lightweight aluminum, can easily be cut to length with a regular miter saw or hacksaw.
The smoothest transitions use wood to tile transition strips, a thin metal strip, or a piece of wood molding designed for that purpose. For an alternative to wood molding that may protrude upward, you can use a wood strip for the same flooring material cut to fit the space.
Anytime a hardwood edge meets a tile edge, this small crack will not only be natural, but necessary to achieve a smooth transition. Whether the tile is in a bathroom, kitchen, or around a fireplace where the wood butts up to the tile, there will be a grout line that needs to be filled.
Use the patterning or shape of your tiles or the planks of your floorboards to create a transition that meets at a geometric or diagonal line instead of a straight one. Covering the seam between two flooring types can tie the room together and help define the space, particularly in a room with an open floor plan.
The process is simple. Just lay a row of small and horizontal tiles in a particular color in the joint between the two rooms. If the tiles in the two rooms are of the same color but in different shades, then a transition tile which is a hue between both the tile colors, offers a seamless tile-to-tile transition.
Transition strips are especially important when you are going from one thickness of floor covering to another. It's common to have an area that has thick carpet that transitions to concrete or carpet that transitions to another hard surface like wood, laminate or linoleum.
There are many different options for attractive flooring material combinations. Tile and hardwood are a classic pair but they often meet with large, bulky wood trim at their seams. Consider a metal “Schluter” strip to dress up these two materials.
Transitioning to a Different Laminate Floor
You simply change the boards in the middle of the doorway and continue the installation in the other room with the new flooring. The transition line looks best when it's under the closed door or lined up with the front edge.
Many home experts agree that the floor color should be darker than the walls. The rule generally applies because lighter walls and a dark floor make the room seem larger. Most homeowners prefer a spacious looking interior. However, the rule can change with low ceilings.
Here is where you should place transition strips in a doorway: Transition strips should be placed in the center of the door opening where the opening is the smallest. In this placement, the transition strip will not impact the door's ability to close regardless of which way the door swings.
You should not change the direction of hardwood flooring between rooms—the reason why is that it causes visual disharmony. Placing hardwood flooring in the same direction that follows your space is best.
Two-part epoxy adhesives are great for a strong bond to a variety of surfaces. Hot melt adhesives and urethane adhesives are also commonly used for transition installations. The molding should be in full contact with the adhesive.
Usually called seam binders, these wide (about 5 inches) transition strips are flat strips of hardwood with beveled edges, used to bridge two wood floors of equal heights.
Why Do I Need to Use Transition Strips? Transition strips serve two main purposes in a residential or commercial space. First, they're put in place to make navigating from room to room easier. They also provide a visual break between rooms and flooring materials that might otherwise be jarring and less than attractive.
If you're using a single kind of flooring throughout and there are no height differences or underlayment/stability issues, you don't have to install transitions. You do need to install base of some kind where the flooring meets the walls.
The big question is, should flooring be the same throughout the house? The quick answer is YES! Using the same flooring throughout ties rooms together, improves flow, makes the home seem larger, simplifies cleaning and maintenance, and is often easier on the budget.
The most common way to lay hardwood flooring is by aligning the planks parallel to the longest wall. Apart from a few exceptions like sagging joists, this is the preferred direction to lay wood floors because it aesthetically provides the best result.
When placing wood floors in multiple rooms and a connecting hallway, the boards should all be directed away from the main entrance to the hall, and adjoining rooms should continue in that same direction.
The best place to stop running the tile is under the door. From the bathroom side, you want to see tile disappear under the door, from the hallway side, you don't want to see tile if the hallway is hardwood or carpet.
A choice of timeless hardwood floor colors
Brown Maple floors have hues of rich gold, amber and brown. Cherry floors feature a burnished auburn color that will darken over time. Hickory offers hues from lighter blonde sapwood to cocoa brown and beige heartwood. Red Oak comes in deep, salmon tones.
A light-colored flooring such as light oak or a light-colored carpet will make the room appear brighter and more open. The same applies to the ceiling—use a light color or white to "open up" the space above. Increase the appearance of the size of the room by adding wall mirrors.