Hello All,
DH and I have a question on installing hardwood strip flooring. We are installing 4″ prefinished flooring in our family room. The room was originally carpet set within a tile border. We are leaving the tile and putting the wood where the carpet was. Depth matches out very nicely, so we were hoping to have a smooth, level transition from the flooring to the tile.
However, if we leave the recommended 3/4″ expansion gap between the wood and the tile, how should we fill that space? We really don’t want any thresholds or raised transition strips.
We have never encountered quite this kind of problem before, so any help and advice is most welcome.
Thanks,
Lisa
Replies
Good explanation of the situation except, is this solid wood flooring (3/4" thick or so) or is it a laminate / engineered flooring product?
I was going to suggest a transition strip - probably a T shape, which could be attached to the flooring and letting the other side of the T slip over the tile - you already said no to that idea.
Therefore, I don't know.
Bump.
Luck,
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
For a situation like that, you would want the engineeered flooring that has a dense plywood backing, not solid wood flooring. It is far more stable.
But to be sure it doesn't blow up on you, you will still be needing a 3/16" expansion gap to be filled with a cualk that will look bad. You can get Tile caulk that is colour coded to grout colours though from Accucolor and others.
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Haven't seen an answer to the question of what type flooring you're using , but one idea that might work, especially for the 3/4" stuff, is to back-bevel the ends that abutt the tile at about a 22 1/2 dgree angle, leaving just an 1/8" or less of vertical cut.
You could also rip a back-bevel on the first and last length-wise pieces as well. This would reduce the tendency of the expanding wood to move the tiles, although it may crush (slightly) the end cut of the flooring, which may or may not be noticable when the flooring contracts, all depends on the type of flooring and your seasonal changes, humidity being the big enemy.
Geoff
Thank you everyone for your suggestions!
I was remiss in not mentioning that this is 3/4" solid birch. Sorry! It is going down on a plywood subfloor, we will be using rosin paper and a nailer (bostich), so hopefully pretty straightforward once we get going.
I think we will back-bevel the ends and sides where we are meeting the tile. Hopefully this will give us the clean look we want and deal with any expansion.
We will let you all know how it turns out...
Thanks again,
Lisa
We use these for a clean, low profile look.http://www.schluter.com/137.aspx Someone's got it in for me, they're planting stories in the press
Whoever it is I wish they'd cut it out but when they will I can only guess.
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You don't really need to worry about the ends of the boards, mostly just the sides."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
I use 3/4" cork, rippped to width for those situations. It will provide some 'give' between the tile & hardwood.
Otherwise the color-matched caulk as Piffin mentioned.
Mike
I think thats probably the best answer yet. use a spongy material like cork to form a type of expansion joint. using a glue down floor might help as well to reduce movement.
Thatgirl,
a couple of questions to ask yourself..
1st. why do they always recommend 3/4 of an inch on all sides of a floor without regard to the size of the room? it's very predictable based on the type of wood how much a floor will expand or contract. shouldn't those numbers be used instead?
2nd. wood expands width wise not length wise based on how much moisture there is.. why 3/4 of an inch on the ends?
3rd the subflooring underneath is also exposed to the same moisture so why isn't that expanding the same amount or nearly so?
# 3 because the subfloor is plywood, which is known to have lesser expansion than solid wood."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Fast Eddie,
I'll grant you that.. but it will expand. wood is wood and softwoods like plywood is made from expand more than hardwoods do in the same moisture. So given all that why does each manufacture ask for 3/4 of an inch all the way around?
Would 5/8ths work? would a 1/2 inch work? If the room is smaller shouldn't the need for expansion be less?
'
I've always wondered about the 3/4" expansion gap. As Frenchy pointed out, there are a lot of questions that this recommendation by the NOFMA raises.
I have another to add. If a floor is going to expand 3/4", or even 5/8" around the edge, how in the world can the flooring nails not be sheared off or pulled completely out? I just don't see how we could experience this kind of expansion without a vinyl siding type of fastening system.
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
3/4" is a bit much IMO also. A little common sense goes a long ways here. Wood does move - even a tiny bit would be enough to crack a grout line if it's butting up to tile. However, if the width of the area is say six feet, I'm comfortable leaving a lot less gap than if it's a twenty foot span.
I usually shoot for a 3/8 to 1/2 gap & have never had a problem.
Mike