In the real world, however, you cannot help but transition from one flooring type to another because different rooms need different types of flooring. For example, the Brazilian cherry works great in the living room, but you must transition to porcelain in the bathroom due to moisture issues. To accommodate these shifts from one type of flooring to another, the flooring industry uses several different types of accessory items called transition strips.
Transitions Between Similar Floors
If you are transitioning from one type of flooring to the same type (e.g., ceramic to ceramic), it may be possible to have them meet without a transition strip, especially if they are the same thickness. But a transition usually is a better option. For one thing, seams are often incorporated between rooms of like materials to provide for expansion and contraction. A transition strip covers the expansion gap for each material. Also, unless the two floors happen to blend in an aesthetically pleasing way, you’ll probably want the visual break provided by a transition.
Transitions Between Different Materials
If you are dealing with two different types of floor coverings, a transition strip is almost always required. Each material needs some kind of finish along its edge, and different materials often create a change in floor height as well as changes in underfoot characteristics (for example, soft, yielding carpet transitioning to cold, rigid tile). You may think that the less noticeable a transition is the better, but usually that is not the case. Clearly visible transitions are safer because the person walking toward them can see and anticipate the change in flooring elevation or feel, and this helps to prevent accidents. Fortunately, transition strips are no longer just those aluminum strips. You can purchase a variety of genuine hardwood transitions, even if the floors you are connecting are not wood. For laminate flooring, for example, you can purchase hardwood transition strips that look just like your laminate.
Carpet Strip: Transition from carpet to another material.Hard Surface Reducer: Transition from a thick hard flooring (such as hardwood or tile) to a thinner hard flooring, such as vinyl.End Molding: Create a final finished edge on one floor material, rather than transitioning between two floors.
Although these transition strips are available in several colors, it may be hard to find an aesthetic match that looks good with both floors. Installation involves mounting a metal channel with expandable anchors embedded in the subfloor between floors, then snapping the finish molding into place over the surface flooring. Seam binders are available in different widths. Most are sold unfinished, so you can stain them to match your flooring. Installation involves anchoring a metal channel to the subfloor using screws and expansion anchors, then snapping the top strip into the channel to cover the seam between floors. The hardwood strip is left unfinished, so you can stain or paint it to match your flooring. An edge gripper is installed by being tacked to the subfloor. Then, the carpet is forced into the toothed side of the strip, which holds the carpet backing in the same way that tackless strips are used to secure a carpet around the perimeter of the room.
