Your Guide to Floor Transition Strips | Wayfair (2024)

Planning a flooring project? While deciding between hardwood, tile, vinyl, and laminate, don't forget about floor transition strips, the unsung heroes of your home improvement project. Read on to learn more about these essential elements of your flooring installation.

A floor transition strip is a raised piece of material that's installed between two types of flooring or at the place where your flooring ends (e.g., walls, stairs, doors, etc.). Unless your flooring flows seamlessly from room to room, you'll need floor transition strips (aka flooring trim) to cover the seams and even out differences between varying heights of flooring. Transition strips provide an aesthetically-pleasing way to accommodate the shift from one type of flooring to another (e.g., carpet to tile, tile to hardwood, etc.). Not only that, but transition strips can prevent trip-and-falls by making it easy to see where the floor type changes.

If you're transitioning between two floors of the same height and type (e.g., hardwood to hardwood), you may not need a transition strip. However, most types of flooring will expand and contract during fluctuations in temperature and humidity, so your flooring installer may leave expansion gaps (aka seams) between rooms to make space for those changes. Transition strips can cover these seams and provide an attractive visual break from one room to the next.

Here's a handy cheat sheet of when you'll need floor transition strips in your home:

• To transition from one type of flooring to another (e.g., a doorway from a hardwood floor in one room to carpeting in another room)
• To change the direction of plank flooring (e.g., in an L-shaped hallway)
• To terminate flooring next to walls, fireplaces, and exterior doors (this type of transition strip is commonly known as a baseboard)
• To terminate flooring at a level change (e.g., a step)

Different transition strips are used for different flooring scenarios. Keep reading to learn the most common types of floor transition strips for your home.

Wall Base

Also known as a baseboard, this transition strip provides a transition from the flooring to the wall, giving the perimeter of the room a finished look and covering any expansion gap along the wall.

Quarter Round

This transition strip is used around the perimeter of a room to fill any expansion gaps between your flooring and your baseboards. Quarter-round strips are typically used with hard flooring materials and in tight spaces, such as beneath kitchen cabinets.

Threshold

Also known as an end cap, a threshold transition strip is typically used when your flooring meets a door, a step, or a different type of flooring. End caps are particularly useful when a higher floor meets a lower one (e.g., plush carpeting to vinyl flooring).

T-Molding

As you would expect, T-molding is shaped like a T, and it's used as a bridge between two hard-surface floors of the same height. This floor transition strip is typically used in doorways without thresholds, or to change the direction of the planks in L-shaped rooms or hallways.

Flush Reducer

This transition strip is designed to reduce the height difference between two floors, ensuring a smooth transition from one to the other. It mounts flush to the floor's surface, making a ramp from the upper floor down to the lower floor with no overlap or raised portion. You might see a flush reducer between your hardwood hallway and your vinyl kitchen or bathroom floor.

Overlap Reducer

Like a flush reducer, an overlap reducer is used to transition from a higher floor down to a lower one. But overlap reducers are specifically used to transition from a floating floor (one that's not secured to the subfloor) to another type of flooring. You might see an overlap reducer between your floating engineered-wood dining room floor and your low-pile carpet living room floor.

Stair Nose

Stair-nose molding is used on the front edge of each step to protect your stairs and provide a finished look. Stair-nose molding makes each tread a little longer, offering better footing and safety on the stairs.

Transition strips are available in a variety of materials to fit different floor types and aesthetics. Here are the most common materials used:

Hardwood: This is an excellent choice when transitioning between two hard floors, such as wood and laminate. Hardwood transition strips can be made of woods like oak, hickory, maple, birch, and more. You can even get hardwood transition strips that match the color of your flooring.

Engineered Wood: Engineered-wood transition strips are a great way to get the look of hardwood at a slightly lower price. The grain of each layer of these strips runs in different directions, making them very stable and resistant to moisture and humidity.

Laminate: This is an eco-friendly, low-cost, durable option for your floor transition strips. Laminate strips consists of several layers, including a decorative layer featuring a realistic, high-definition image of the texture and grain of hardwood.

Vinyl: This is a budget-friendly option for transitioning between various types of hard flooring. Vinyl transition strips are a good choice when moisture control is a priority, and they're available in many different colors to complement your decor.

Plastic: Typically constructed of polystyrene or flexible polyurethane, these transition strips are generally water-resistant and can be glued down. They're a durable, versatile, and affordable option for your floor transition strips.

Rubber: While this transition strip material is common in commercial settings, it can also be used in your home. Rubber strips are typically used between two hard floors or between carpet and hard flooring. These flexible, moisture-resistant transition strips are available in a wide range of colors and styles.

Metal: This transition strip can be used with any flooring type, but it's most often used when transitioning between two hard surfaces (e.g., vinyl and concrete). Typically made of aluminum, this transition strip may be available in different finishes to accentuate your flooring.

Now that you know all about these versatile and visually-appealing accessories, you can shop for the ones that are just right for your home improvement project.

Article by Robyn Tellefsen.