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Hardwood floor height adjustment?

2416 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  ront02769
I'm getting ready to re-do all the flooring on my first floor. The kitchen and the foyer/mudroom will be tiled and the hallway, dining room and great room will be a floating installation of engineered hardwood.

This is a "standard" installation over 2x8 16" OC floor joists and 7/8" T&G OSB subfloor. (Not sure of the official thickness of the OSB, but that's what it measures in the floor openings for the heat registers. It's a 28 year old house.)

(I've already dealt with the tile deflection issue by adding a supporting beam below the joists.)


I'm estimating the height of the tiled floor to be: 1/4" tile plus 1/4" backerboard plus two 1/8" layers of thinset to be a total right about 3/4".

The hardwood is 1/2" and the underlayment padding is 1/8" for total 5/8".

It is an open floor plan, and there will be about 10 linear feet where the tile will meet the hardwood.

My question is how to handle the 1/8" difference. What are my options? Would adding a second layer of underlayment make sense? (I'd guess no.) Or lay down some kind of 1/8" plywood? Or just install transition strips? Or is a 1/8" height difference even a tripping hazard that has to be dealt with?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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In my opinion a 1/8 inch difference is a trip hazard.

I trip over a stupid piece of vinyl flooring that is used to just cover a burn mark in a frequented place.



Can you get a 3/8 inch backer instead, or maybe use a luan ply over the entire subfloor for this area.


ED
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Not too long ago I completed a similar installation and ended up using 5 mm panels to level the floors. This obviously increases the cost of your project.

Do you have the hardwood already? Is going with a 3/4 inch one an option at this point? Although I'm assuming you do not want to deal with nails/staples?
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Not too long ago I completed a similar installation and ended up using 5 mm panels to level the floors. This obviously increases the cost of your project.

Do you have the hardwood already? Is going with a 3/4 inch one an option at this point? Although I'm assuming you do not want to deal with nails/staples?

Yes, I already have the hardwood.

I am going to lay the tiles first, since they will be taller. Then I can see exactly what the finished height will be. Than I can decide what to do for the hardwood.

I forgot to mention that I will be putting down slate tile, and the tile varies in height a bit from piece to piece, so maybe I can save the thinner pieces for the edges where it will meet the hardwood.

Yeah, I'm not sure if laying down 1/8" plywood over the half the floor is worth the time and money vs. coming up with some kind of transition solution. Or maybe I will just leave a small gap between the tile and wood and fill it with caulk that matches the tile grout.
Fine tuning the height can be accomplished using layers of felt paper (tar paper)

You will need a T- molding over the edge of the floating floor--so the height difference might not be an issue.
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With the t strip between the two it shouldn't be an issue. Or take a look at ditra as opposed to the backer board and save 1/8". Ron
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