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There's currently some kind of solid filling between the tiles in my kitchen and the hard wood in my living room. During the summer when it gets hot and humid, the hard wood expand and cracks the solid filling. After a couple of years, there's not much left of the filling. Here's how it looks:

Wood to tile

That filling is also used to connect hard floor from living room to my bedroom:

Wood to wood

What should I use to re-fill those gaps so that when summer come, the filling doesn't crack and break? I'm fairly new to DIY, so links to the mats and tools needed are much appreciated.

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If you don't want to use a transition, you could consider using a sanded caulk on the wood to tile spot; that will have some give in it. I used that between ceramic tile and wood, and it worked well.

If that still has too much movement, a silicone should work, but it likely won't look as nice.

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  • What's the name of sanded caulk on the tub? I'm doing a search in rona web site and they all look like regular caulk: rona.ca/… – Thierry Lam Sep 30 '12 at 4:40
  • I have only ever seen it referred to as "Sanded Caulk" or "Sanded ceramic tile caulk". In my local stores, it's with the ceramic tile supplies. – Eric Gunnerson Sep 30 '12 at 5:20
  • I wouldn't use sanded latex caulk; it collects dirt way too easily. I would use silicone. I personally prefer Latasil, which is made for flooring and shower applications and acts as a movement joint as well. – Karl Katzke Sep 30 '12 at 20:29
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You want to look for pieces called hardwood flooring transitions. They can either be "T" pieces, reducers, or threshold pieces. Here are some examples: enter image description here

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That is an expansion joint and it must be filled with a flexible material. The proper choice is a foam backer road topped with 100% silicone sealant. You can color match the silicone to the grout to hide the seam.

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  • Hello, and welcome to Home Improvement. Thanks for the answer; keep 'em coming. And, you should probably take our tour so you'll know how best to contribute here. – Daniel Griscom Dec 31 '19 at 1:07

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