Flooring Transitions 101

Flooring transitions can play an important role in the interior design of any home or commercial building. Understanding the role of transitions and how they can improve the overall aesthetic of your indoor space is important. At first, it can often be challenging to understand not only why transitions are sometimes needed, but what types of transitions are appropriate.

We have outlined some basic explanations that may make this easier for you. Of course, if you have any questions about flooring transitions that we haven’t covered in this article, please feel free to pop into our Chilliwack flooring store at 8080 Evans Road and ask.

What is the Purpose of a Floor Transition?

The purpose of a floor transition is to not only make a cleaner looking seam between different types of flooring, but also to protect the edges of your flooring from damage due to wear and tear and foot traffic. In some cases (like laminate or any other type of floating floor) you may need to install a transition in a doorway to allow for expansion and contraction of your flooring, even though the flooring is the same on either side of the transition.

What are Floor Reducers Used For?

Floor reducers are used to soften the height difference between a hard-surface floor such as hardwood, laminate or tile, to a lower profile floor such as carpet or sheet vinyl.  This type of transition reduces the possibility of tripping when moving from one type of floor to another.

What is T-Moulding Flooring?

T-moulding (T-Moulds) is designed to bridge the gap between two different types of hard-surface flooring. They not only provide a nice finished edge, but protect the edges of the two different types of flooring. They are also necessary sometimes when a floating floor is installed and there is a possibility of gapping or cupping over a large expanse of space.

Offset T-Moulds

Offset T-Moulds are used in the same way as a regular T-Mould, but are useful when there is a height difference between two different types of hard surface flooring.

Flooring End Caps

Flooring end caps provide a nice clean transition between carpet flooring and a hard surface floor, or to trim off an area such as around a staircase railing, or a fireplace hearth.

Flat Metal

When transitioning between two different styles of the same flooring (i.e. vinyl to vinyl) a flat metal will cover those cut edges and provide protection from damage.

Bevel Bar

Bevel bars are a low-cost and effective way to transition between sheet vinyl flooring and low-pile carpet flooring. These are made of metal.

Channel & Cap

Channel & cap is a two piece transition that involves a metal track and a rubber e-cap.  There is a large selection of colours to choose from for the rubber e-cap.

Your Chilliwack flooring experts at Atmosphere Flooring are always available to assist you in choosing the right type of flooring and transitions for your project. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 604-795-5577 or visit us in store at 8080 Evans Road in Chilliwack, BC.