How to Make Floor Transition Strips Between Two Uneven Floors | Hunker (2024)

Tile, carpet and hardwood are rarely the same thickness. When two of them meet at a doorway, the abrupt edge is obvious. It might be slight, or enough to stub your toe. Transition strips create a bridge to fill the uneven gap. One size doesn't fit all, so the solution is to make your own with hardwood.

Commercial floor installers deal with differing floor heights with different techniques. Some build a ramp under the shorter surface, and skip the transition strip -- but ramps break down over time. Some use aluminum or metal transition strips, but they look industrial.

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Hardwood Durability

A wood transition strip allows you the flexibility to custom-fit the transition strip if needed. The natural warmth and durability of hardwood adds a homey touch to flooring.

Overlap Reducer

Don't confuse a transition strip with an overlap reducer, which is used for dramatic drop-offs between floors. It looks like a short, blunt ramp with a single lip.

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Two Lips

T-molding transition strips have two lips to cover the edges of both surfaces, when flooring products differ no more than about 3/8-inch in height. Transition strips do not bottom out; the leg of the "T" doesn't touch the floor. The strip is supported on both sides by the lips, and held in place with nails.

Transition Strip Anatomy

T-molding is created by cutting a rabbet on both sides of a piece of hardwood. It's best to cut the rabbets first, and then route or sand the profile on top. The square shape of the hardwood -- before it's rounded -- makes it easier to work with.

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How They Fit

Transition molding requires at least a 3/8-inch gap between the vertical bottom of the "T" shape and the flooring on each side. The gap, also known as an expansion gap, allows floors to expand as needed. The molding is nailed to the subfloor -- never to flooring products.

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Make a Standard Transition Strip

Cutting rabbets for a transition strip is a basic woodworking technique. There are several ways to accomplish it, including a router or table saw with a dado blade, but one of the most convenient methods employs a table saw with a standard blade. Make a 48-inch transition strip long enough to span most doorways.

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Step 1: Set Blade Height

Raise the blade on a table saw to 3/4 inch, from the point where it emerges from the table to the tip of the highest tooth.

Step 2: Set the Fence

Set the table saw fence at 5/16-inch. Lock it down.

Step 3: Cut the Kerf

Stand the oak on edge, behind the blade. Turn on the saw and run the oak over the blade. Flip the oak 180 degrees. Cut a matching kerf on the opposite side. The kerf is slot or channel in the wood that the blade creates.

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Step 4: Set Blade and Fence

Raise the blade on the table saw to 1/4 inch. Set the fence at 5/8 inch.

Step 5: Cut the Rabbets

Lay the molding flat behind the blade, with the kerfs on the bottom. Run the molding over the blade to cut a 1/4-by-3/4-inch rabbet. Flip it 180 degrees and make an identical cut on the opposite side to create the "T" shape.

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Step 6: Add Support Blocking

Place a 1/4-by-3/4-by-72-inch piece of scrap wood on the edge of a table. Place clamps on both ends. This piece serves as a support for the T-shaped molding so you can add the rounded profile.

Step 7: Shape the Profile

Fit the lip of the T-molding over the scrap wood, facing the edge of the table. The curvature of the lip is a matter of personal choice. Use an orbital sander with 100-grit sandpaper to round it lightly. Use a belt sander with 100-grit belt to round it to a higher degree. Use a router with a 1/4-inch roundover bit to round it significantly.

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Step 8: Sand and Finish

Sand the molding smooth by hand with 100-grit sandpaper. Add stain and lacquer as needed.

Step 9: Cut and Install

Measure the length of the transition. Use a miter saw to cut it to length. Fit it into the gap. Use 2-inch finish nails and hammer to secure it to the subfloor. Do not nail it to the flooring products.

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Customize as Needed

Don't be afraid to customize your transition strips. If you have only slight differences in height, cut the rabbets shallow. If you have a drastic difference in height, use thicker material, and cut the rabbets deeper, or cut one deep, and one shallow. If you have only a shallow gap side to side, cut the T-shaped leg more narrow.

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How to Make Floor Transition Strips Between Two Uneven Floors | Hunker (2024)

FAQs

How to connect two uneven floors? ›

Use square and angle molding between floors of different heights. Square nose molding has a raised blocky edge while angle nose molding has a gently sloped edge to prevent trips. Set the bottom of the molding against the subfloor where the two wood floors meet so 1234 inch (1.3–1.9 cm) overlaps the taller flooring.

How to transition two different floor heights? ›

Flooring specialists use a ramp to transition when there is a significant height difference, such as a concrete slab with tile or hardwood floors . You could also find smaller ramps for installing tile, which go around the tile's edge and taper the material next to it. Ramps generally come in PVC or metal materials.

What can you use instead of transition strips? ›

What are the alternatives to transition strips? As an alternative to transition strips, you can use a seam binder when the floors are roughly the same height. You could also use an alternative material, like marble.

How to transition between two different wood floors? ›

Use transition pieces at the point where the two floors meet to create a seamless look and a trip-prevention zone. Install the second hardwood floor in the opposite pattern or direction to define the separate spaces. When you lay flooring in separate rooms, always use reducer molding to create a safety barrier.

What is the transition piece between uneven floors? ›

Description: The floor transition strip for a particularly aesthetic finish when connecting different floor coverings, they are an ideal solution for connecting carpets with parquet or tile, especially for the reason that they compensate for any differences in floor height.

What is the strip between two floors called? ›

Reducer. A Reducer is a type of transition strip used to smoothly connect two floors of different heights. For instance, it can be used to join a living room with laminate flooring to a kitchen with a sheet vinyl floor, where the latter is lower in height.

What is the best adhesive for floor transition strip? ›

Loctite® PL PREMIUM MAX makes it simple to fix those pesky problems around your home. Use it to lay transition strips, construct eye-catching DIY projects, adhere tough materials like leather, brick, concrete and more.

What can I use to hold down transition strips? ›

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.

How do you lay wood flooring on an uneven floor? ›

In order to properly install hardwood on uneven flooring, the floor itself has to be smoothed out. This can be done through the use of underlays and re-surfacing. For concrete surfaces, sanding and polishing may be required.

What to do if you can't match wood floors? ›

If oil alone doesn't get the new wood to match the older wood, staining the new wood is your only option, short of refinishing the entire floor.

How do you deal with uneven floors? ›

One of the best ways to fix the issue of uneven floor is to use floor patch product. It can be used in concrete subfloor or wooden subfloor. It is best for leveling floors that has dips, slanting issues, cracks and chipping problems.

How do you fix an uneven second floor? ›

The solution for fixing an uneven second floor usually involves jacking. An uneven second floor can often mean the second-story floor joists are not supportive enough.

What are the best options for uneven floors? ›

Both vinyl and laminate floors are versatile and durable options that can be installed over slightly uneven surfaces. They are relatively inexpensive, easy to clean and maintain, and come in a wide range of patterns and colors so you don't have to sacrifice style for function.

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