We sell a lot of hardwood and laminate flooring at our Arlington Floor Store. Part of having hardwood or laminate installed is determining which type of transitions you will need for your project.

Transitions are a piece of laminate or hardwood that match the plank of your floor and the create a “transition” between the wood or laminate and any adjoining type of floor like carpet, tile, vinyl, etc…

Many people during their visit to our Arlington Floor Store will voice their opinion on transitions. Some people can not stand them and some people like them because they feel it gives it a more finished look.

Carpet transitions, or End Caps, are a perfect example of that mixed feeling. When installing laminate, we pretty much always install a transition where the laminate meets up with carpet. However with hardwood, about half of our clients choose not to have transitions. Some of that is because some people do not like transitions and prefer to have as few as possible and some choose not to have them because of the added cost. Hardwood transitions can get pretty costly, where as laminate transitions are pretty affordable.

Vinyl transitions, or Reducers, are a must. It is not like a carpet transition where you can tuck the carpet up next to the hardwood or laminate. You will need a Reducer where your wood or laminate meets up with vinyl.

Tile transitions, or T-Molds, for the most part are a must. Lately we have had clients in our Arlington Floor Store that request to not have transitions where wood meets up with tile. That is possible by just filling the gap between the tile and wood with grout, however you have to make sure that the tile and hardwood are going to line up at the same height when installed, because if their is just a slight difference, that lip can cause many stub toes. Here is a good article going into more depth of wood meeting tile: http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/13643718/list/Transition-Time–How-to-Connect-Tile-and-Hardwood-Floors

We hope this sheds a little light on the use of transitions in your flooring project. If you live in the Dallas / Fort Worth metroplex, please visit our Burleson or Arlington Floor Store and our experts will be happy to assist you with any additional questions you might have.

by Brian Heltzel
The Floor Barn
http://www.floorbarn.com
817-419-4015
brian@floorbarn.com

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Transition Time: How to Connect Tile and Hardwood Floors

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