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How to make a joint between tiles and laminate or other flooring

This post explains how to make a professional-looking joint between tiles and laminate or other flooring. It outlines the simple steps necessary for a successful installation, including ensuring the basic materials are available, preparing the area, measuring and marking, cutting the tile, gluing and grouting, and finishing up. The finished effect is durable and provides a beautiful, unique look for any room. With this tutorial, making a tile and laminate flooring joint is easy and provides a satisfying result.

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If different floor coverings are used in adjacent rooms, the joint between them should be properly decorated. In this article we will talk about the methods of connecting floor coverings, including those at different levels, and describe the installation process step by step..

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

When renovating, there is often a need for interior zoning. This can be partly achieved by laying out an unpretentious pattern on the floor, in some areas of which floor coverings of different types or colors are laid. This can also make practical sense: for example, at the front door and in other areas with high traffic, it is much more rational to lay more wear-resistant materials..

Technically, such a whim is easy to implement, it is much more difficult to correctly choose the color scheme of coatings and their separator. For joining different floor coverings, special sills are used: metal or aluminum, straight and bending, with a different shape and profile size.

Varieties of butt sills

The tracks are divided into two types depending on the stage at which they are installed. The most popular and easy-to-use sills are (as a rule, metal), which are installed after installing the floor covering in a previously left seam with a width of about 20 mm. This is most often done to organize expansion joints for wooden floors or when laying different types of flooring in adjacent rooms. For example, when entering the bathroom from the corridor with a corner sill, you can block the joint between the laminate and the tiles..

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

If the transition between the coatings is planned in advance as part of the interior design, first a sill is attached to the subfloor, which forms the corresponding pattern or figure and serves as a guide when laying the coatings in different zones. It is more difficult to arrange such joints, and it is almost impossible to replace, therefore, most often manufacturers either make the sills aluminum, or divide them into a mounting profile with a replaceable plastic plate. This is the most expensive class of products, which is usually used when zoning by floor. Two-piece profiles can be metal, plastic or wood, depending on the coverings to be joined. In a number of products, the installation profile is replaced by dowels with a lock-shaped head.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

The sills also differ in the method of fastening. The most primitive ones are with through fastening with screws; in more advanced dowel-nails, they are inserted into the secret on the inside of the metal profile and hammered into the corks along with it. Self-adhesive profiles are installed on heated floors; it is also possible to attach ordinary sills to durable construction glue.

Application features with different types of flooring

The joint between laminate and linoleum is easy to arrange, since both coatings have approximately the same thickness, which means that they can be laid on one solid base. This is the main specificity of threshold profiles of various shapes: their shelves can be lowered to a certain height in accordance with the difference between the two sections. Rigid metal and wood profiles need to be selected more carefully, but PVC linings calmly tolerate a size discrepancy of 1.5-2 mm.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

It is much easier to join homogeneous coatings, but for linoleum, parquet or laminate flooring, you need to choose a threshold profile for a specific purpose. For different types of coatings, a profile is used that differs in shape, method of fastening, the presence of flexible edges or a wear-resistant surface. A typical example of misuse is when the linoleum sill wears out before the laminate flooring. It is optimal if the manufacturer of the profile, skirting boards and laminate is the same: the cover sets are easy to install, have the same service life and do not differ in color or texture.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

Separately, it is worth mentioning about the joining of the carpet to each other or to other coatings. Do not use sill profiles with equal shelves: the carpet is soft and over time the sill will bend towards it, and the gaps on the side of the hard floor will increase. Carpet is joined to other coverings with L-shaped sills or adaptive movable shelves, and between themselves – by welding or hidden sills.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

Installation in the process of laying the flooring

The tracks, which are mounted during the laying of the floor, are attached to the rough surface with self-tapping screws, which, in the case of a concrete base, are screwed into plastic plugs.

First, an accurate marking is done: on the floor, you need to draw a figure or drawing in full scale and in accordance with the project. Then the profile is laid out along the marking lines, the attachment points are marked through the mounting holes with a pencil. The profile has a wide bottom shelf and is not only rigidly attached to the floor, but also pressed by coverings on both sides.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

When laying under a tile, such a profile needs a symbolic fastening, which excludes displacement during installation. Under a laminate or parquet, the profile is fixed on both sides in a checkerboard pattern, the distance between the attachment points in each row is no more than 30 cm, and under linoleum – 20-25 cm.

Installation of straight docking sills

The gaps that cover the expansion joints are installed after the coating is laid. The seam must be even and have a width of no more than 20 mm so that the shelves of the nut cover the covering by at least 10-15 mm.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

These sills are fixed on dowel-nails 6×60 mm to concrete bases or on self-tapping screws 45 mm when attached to a wooden floor. When installing sills with hidden fastening, 6 mm holes are drilled in the wooden floor and a quick-fix dowel with a “mushroom” side is hammered into them.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

If the base of the floor at the joint is not strong enough and is not suitable for fastening, self-adhesive sills are installed. Before attaching them, the surface of the coatings must be cleaned and degreased, the glue is of sufficient quality and very adhesive, which may cause problems during dismantling..

Two-piece products from some manufacturers have a special orientation and profile fixing scheme. For example, Quick Step wooden and aluminum sills are initially suitable for joining any coverings and change shape depending on the height of the drop by removing some of the profile segments.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

Installation of flexible docking profile

Curved partitions are made with flexible sills with a PVC or brass profile, fastening is carried out during the installation of the floor covering. Before installation, the nut is shaped along the line marking on the floor. Metal profiles can be bent up to 45-60 ° due to the deformable plastic upper part.

How to make a joint for tiles, laminate and other flooring

Another type of threshold has a PVC trim and an installation profile. The profile is placed in the seam after installation of the floor covering and is fixed with a step of 15–20 cm. Then the bitumen polymer insert is placed in hot water (50–70 ° С) for 15 minutes, removed and inserted into the fastening groove, simultaneously shaping. You can also heat the insert with a building hairdryer directly during the installation process. The heated polymer profile can be bent up to 30 °. After cooling, the profile hardens and solidifies in the seat groove, it can be dismantled only after reheating.

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Comments: 1
  1. Josiah Brooks

    What is the best method or product to use in order to create a seamless and durable joint between tiles and laminate flooring or any other type of flooring?

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