2

I have a floating floor on concrete slab that joins to tile in a number of common, high traffic walk ways in our home:

Floor Setup

The standard way of joining a floating floor to a fixed one (or two floating floors) is a "T" transition:

T Transition

These transitions suck for a number of reasons:

  1. They get caught on shoes or anything sliding across floor which puts ripping force
  2. Every one I can find is made from wood / particle board they break easily
  3. Because the surface that is in contact with the floor is so narrow, they are easy to topple, and the glue rips. Carpentry nails help, but don't work for concrete subfloors.

In general, it means that there is nearly annual maintenance and replacement for something that should require very little thought. We'd like a better way.

  • Caulk / Silicone grout: All official sources on the web seem to suggest this should not be done for floating floors (and especially relatively large surfaces like ours), though it's not entirely clear why. What is the worst case scenario here? Softness in the flooring?
  • Is there a non-wood brand of t intersection that doesn't look awful, or looks like wood but is something sturdier?
  • Is there a brand or type of T strip that has a larger footing that the laminate be slotted into? All that I've seen have at most 1/4" of cheap wood that gets glued down and don't last the day. Something Like this?

Something like this?

Improve this question
7
  • Do you not want to use a low profile T transition? "Caulk / Silicone grout: not recommended" The why is - What happens when the floating floor floats (contracts) away from the Caulk / Silicone grout line? – Alaska Man Dec 9 '20 at 18:43
  • I think the answer by DA01 in the link may be the answer to your question. diy.stackexchange.com/questions/26466/… – Alaska Man Dec 9 '20 at 18:49
  • @AlaskaMan - Sadly, these fun solutions aren't for floating floors (next time I'll do hardwood I think) – BadPirate Dec 10 '20 at 21:13
  • @AlaskaMan - Regarding low profile T transition, I explicitly don't want a T, though if it is low profile, durable, and can somehow attach to the concrete subfloor in a way that doesn't easily (and reliably) get ripped up by little sneakers, I'd love to see a link to a specific product below (that's the question) – BadPirate Dec 10 '20 at 21:15
  • The fact of the matter is that a 1/8" thick metal transition isn't much different than a 1/4" wood transition in terms of trip hazard--a hard shoe sole will snag either. I'd use real hardwood and adjust the shape to fit very well. With wood at least you can make the edges soft. – isherwood Dec 10 '20 at 21:56
2

Schluter makes a number of transition metal pieces that work seamlessly and permanently but some need to be embedded under the last row of tile in the thinset.

Some examples:

  • Schluter Reno-T is metal, can be glued to the tile side, and doesn't require tile to be lifted though works only for same height.
  • Schluter Reno-V is adjustable to accommodate different heights on each side of the transition (in case your flooring isn't as level as depicted in your drawing), and secures underneath tile side. This is solid, has a smaller transitional space, but requires that you re-glue / grout your tile or be doing a fresh installation.
Improve this answer
4
  • 1
    What happens when the floating floor floats away from the edge of the Schluter? Expansion and contraction. What is hiding the unfinished edge of the laminate? – Alaska Man Dec 9 '20 at 18:39
  • @AlaskaMan isn't that the point of the T-type transition strip? It's got a horizontal piece to cover the installation gap and any changes in gap due to contraction. – FreeMan Dec 11 '20 at 13:49
  • The RENO-V Schulter seems like what I'm looking for, as it attaches underneath tile (Glued to floor and tile itself and grouted in), seems really solid and is metal. The Reno T seems like a regular T strip, though it's metal which is nice. How does it stay put? Is it glued to the tile and not the laminate? sccpublic.s3-external-1.amazonaws.com/sys-master/images/h8a/h56/… – BadPirate Dec 11 '20 at 18:12
  • 1
    The reno-T is caulked or can sometimes be snapped in place. It is flatter and smoother than most metal transitions though so less likely to cause tripping or fall out – redlude97 Dec 11 '20 at 18:18

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.