How can I hide the gap at the base of the stairs and the door, when installing laminate flooring?

Question

I am starting to plan a project to lay laminate flooring in my hallway. Already I can see two areas which are not as straightforward as the rest of the area.

The first area which I can see me having problems is when I reach the bottom of the stairs. The stairs are carpeted, so once I have left the expansion gap I am not sure how to finish this off? Would this be the best solution?

The second area is the gap between the laminate and the PVC door, which has a PVC skirting board type thing. Would the fitting above be the best option also?

What would be the best solutions to hide these two gaps?

Answer 1

I really like that system in your picture. If that is your option I would use it. You have your expansion gap built in, you have multiple prongs hitting the floor to secure it, and you have nice curves on both sides. If this was available for flooring I have done in the past I could have used it more than a few times.

Install should look just like picture. Tape your carpet and edge of laminate, lots of construction adhesive, and evenly distribute weights on the transition for 12 hours. Some people clear silicone the gap under the transition to laminate but I don't.

One of the things I really like about that system is it has multiple set points and you could easily take the transition out and replace if something happened.

Answer 2

Typically the solution at the bottom of the stairs is to use a quarter-round (Usually 3/4" thick) to cover the flooring and the bottom of the carpet.

You'll need some long nails to get through the carpet, so it's best to pre-drill the nail holes so you don't split the trim.

This is the best image I could find. It lacks carpet, but will demonstrate the basic idea.

Answer 3

I'm not really sure what that picture is of, as it's too dark for me to make out what you're trying to show.

When I laid my laminate floor, the store sold a variety of edging to use where you couldn't simply cover over the gap with baseboards. They have ones for joining two floors at similar levels (eg, at doorways to mate with other flooring), to step down to a different flooring, or to mate up against walls.

The model that I had used a track that you screwed down to the floor, flush against the wall, then you clipped in the cover from the top over the floor.

You do need to plan ahead, as you need a larger than typical gap, so that there's space for expansion, and the track to hold the cover.