How To Install Transition Strips On Concrete

Have you ever tripped over the fold of a carpet or slipped on the edge of a hardwood floor? Harmless slips like these can land you in the hospital. The fix to this problem is a little hardware accessor called a transition strip.

Transition strips work for a multitude of floor transitions. The most common transition is from hardwood or vinyl to carpet, generally found in most suburban houses. Other arrangements include carpet to tile, carpet to concrete, hardwood to concrete, or tile.

In this post, you will learn how to install two different kinds of transition strips on concrete. The method of installing both is roughly similar; you will have to drill into the concrete and nail the transition strips into place.

We will cover two scenarios in this blog post. Firstly, we will talk about installing a transition strip between two floors, like hardwood and vinyl over a concrete subfloor. In the other scenario, we will talk about installing a transition strip directly between a paved concrete floor and some other flooring arrangement.

Go through this to gain some expert insight into the complexities of laying different flooring all over the house. Concrete flooring can include pre-made slabs such as tiles or paved concrete floors. Whichever kind of flooring you need transition tips for, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!

Transition strips, as the name suggests, are strips used to join two different sets of flooring. They are used in areas where the flooring changes, for example, the transition from a living room hardwood floor to a carpeted bedroom.

Transition strips help to bridge the gap between the two floors. They cover the exposed edges of different floorings, making it seem like a smoother transition to the eye.

Transition strips come in many different materials, such as aluminum, PVC, laminate, and steel. It depends on what kind of look you want and what type of traffic it is meant to withstand?

Let’s talk a bit about different transition strips and their purposes:

In this scenario, we will be installing a transition strip between two different flooring arrangements, such as carpet and vinyl, both fixed on a concrete subfloor. Your transition strip will sit on the concrete subfloor, between the gaps where these two floorings meet.

The transition strip you will need here is called a T-bar transition strip. It consists of metal rails underneath and a T-bar canopy with an overhang that bridges the two floors.

Let us begin:

Suppose you have to install molding between your concrete garage floor and your house, which has a hardwood floor. The hardwood floor sits a few inches above the concrete floor. What do you do?

In this scenario, we will be working with a different type of transition strip called the reducer molding. This strip is used in situations where one flooring is at a higher level than the other. It slopes towards one side, allowing for a smooth transition between the floors.

Let us delve into how we will install this particular kind of molding:

Do we need a transition between two hardwood floors? Well, if truth be told, you can make do without a transition if you have two floorings of a similar kind. Unless, of course, they are of different thicknesses in which they pose a safety risk.

But a transition strip is still a good idea, especially for hardwood floors. These types of floors need space for expansion and contraction between seams, and the transition strip allows for us to leave a gap for that.

Also, they provide a nice contrast and seem easy on the eye.

It’s always a good idea to use a transition strip when one side of the floor is carpeted because they tend to fray after some time, and you don’t want your feet to get caught in that.

When dealing with two different kinds of flooring, a transition strip is a necessity. Each material needs a finish on its edges, and different materials have different thicknesses. The textural change can also be too sudden, for example, a woolen carpet suddenly changing to a cold tile floor.

You want your transition strips to bridge the gap in height. Also, you want them to be visible, so people can anticipate the change in flooring and avoid any accidents.

Click here also to learn how to deal with wall transitions, like a professional!

Related Questions

How Much Space Do I Leave For Transition Strip?

It is best to leave a gap of about ¼’’ between the edge of the flooring and the center of the opening to allow for expansion. Conversely, leave a gap of about ¼” inches from the center from the other edge of the flooring too.

What Happens If You Don’t Let Laminate Flooring Acclimate?

If you don’t let laminate flooring acclimate, they can expand in heat and buckle, messing up your floor.

Can I Glue Wood To Concrete?

One of the best ways to glue wood to concrete is to use epoxy. Gluing wood to concrete is faster than drilling holes through the concrete.