Custom Wood to Tile Transition Needed

crustey · 02-07-2012, 04:34 PM

I have a 54" opening where the Tile in the hall is 1 & 3/8" higher than the existing solid wood floor, in the dining room. Both areas are already installed and a transition was never used. I have been unable to locate a Transition piece that fits these dimensions. Nothing this high. There used to be carpeting over the hard wood floor and that had long cedar shims and padding to lessen the difference in height between the 2 areas. Does anyone know where I can find a transition that fits these dimensions? Any ideas as to what I can do with out custom ordering something? I do not have a table saw or ban saw.
I'm Stuck!!

MNsawyergp · 02-08-2012, 02:45 PM

Wow! That is a lot. I make transition strips as I need them out of the same species of wood as the hardwood floor. I can't think of any ready made molding pieces that you could buy for that purpose. A good woodworker could make the necessary piece for you

MNsawyergp · 02-08-2012, 02:52 PM

Another thing...Even if you make a slanted transition piece, people will trip over it. If it is in an archway, I would make the slant as long as possible and still look nice. That will be hard if the split is centered in the archway opening, which only gives you 2-3" to work with.

sdsester · 02-08-2012, 03:14 PM

Agree you are going to need a fairly wide transition to lessen the chance of tripping on things. I don't see how you are going to accomplish this without a table saw to cut this and probably notch the back on the high side? Or angle it down from 1-3/8" side butted to the tile (and mortared) down to 1/4" on the hardwood floor side across 3-4" or so. May look clunky but anything much shorter will be too steep I fear.

ink · 02-10-2012, 08:27 AM

I have the same situation.. almost the same size, too. Transition from hardwood to heated tile floor.. pex added 3/4" to flooring height of tile, which was already higher because of the backer board and tile thickness. I've been considering abandoning the idea of it ever NOT being a trip hazard and just making the transition piece stand out enough to hopefully be noticed. Maybe a piece of stone. Let us know what you end up doing, I'd certainly like to see how it works out.

crustey · 02-10-2012, 11:06 AM

I think I may have a solution to my potentially expensive problem :
I will abandone the wood transition
and make a slanted floating Mortar base (with Lathe) 4" wide
(I forgot to mention that the tile ends at the wall of the HALL, giving me 4 inches of transition space to work with).

Then use some broken pieces of the tile used in the Hall, or some other aesthetically pleasing similar product embedded in the mortar base.

rusty baker · 02-10-2012, 11:49 AM

Put a braided area rug on the hardwood side with a non-slip rug pad underneath. That should help.

JumpinJW · 02-11-2012, 10:56 PM

I had a stone threshold fabricated for about $50. I went to a local tile shop & looked through their scraps.

I chose one that contrasted with my floor, to warn of the trip hazard. (they didn't have black & yellow stripes).

They told me to make an exact template of the shape I needed out of heavy paper. It was a good thing, because it turned out to be a trapezoid.

I think you could also make it of wood, by stacking layers. To get 1-3/8", you could buy a 1x__ (that is actually 3/4" thick), and use other wood under it. You will need to round the edge with a router, sander, file, or plane. A board that wide will glue down better than the narrow transitions being offered nowadays.