How
To Use Tile Transitions
Baseboards:
Most homes have wood trim along the base of the wall known
as baseboard or mopboard. Another common base trim material
is cove base. Cove base is a vinyl material with a curved shoe
at the bottom. The only real option for cove base and any other
material with a cove at the bottom is R & R (remove and
replace). The curved or coved portion at the bottom will interfere
with the tile set, so it must come out. It can be replaced
with the same material or new baseboard can be installed.
With wood base trim, however, there are
several options. You can leave the baseboard in place and
make cuts to the edge tiles to align tightly to the baseboard
leaving a gap or grout line consistent with the other grout
lines in the tile grid. Keep in mind that you will loose
a portion of the height of the baseboard consistent with
the thickness of the tile, mortar bed and underlayment board
you use. This is an easier option since you don’t need
to remove the existing base material.
Some baseboards have multiple components.
They are built from separate pieces of wood molding. A common
piece is called a baseboard “shoe”, which is
a small trim piece, usually quarter round, installed at the
bottom of the base trim piece. This piece can be easily removed,
re-installed, replaced, or just left out. If your baseboard
does not have a shoe and you need to cover some irregular
cut edges, you can add this trim component to your baseboard.
You can also remove the entire baseboard in a room, set the
tile and then re-install the baseboard. To remove existing
baseboard without tearing wallpaper or damaging paint, first
score the top of the baseboard with a utility knife. This will
separate the baseboard from paint and caulk that could stick
and cause damage to the wall. Then with a stiff putty knife
inserted from the top (possibly with the use of a hammer) gently
pry the baseboard from one end to the other until the nails
release the baseboard from the wall.
If you decide on this remove and replace
option, remember that the height of the baseboard will change
and will not match remaining baseboard in other adjacent
rooms. One other problem with removing old baseboard is that
many pieces (especially small pieces) have cracks in them
or may break when you attempt to remove them. Be prepared
to replace some pieces with a matching trim profile and matching
stain or paint. If you remove the baseboard completely, you
might consider installing brand new wood base trim. However,
you’ll need several other tools
and some carpentry skills or you could hire a professional
for this part of the job.
One of my favorite options, especially in kitchens and baths,
is to remove old vinyl or wood baseboard and replace it with
tile baseboard. Many manufacturers have ceramic products specifically
made for baseboard.
You can use a bull-nosed tile (a tile trim piece with one
edge rounded over and glazed at the factory) in a matching
or contrasting color as baseboard. And depending on the coloration
and glazing of your tile selection (this is where porcelain
tile has a benefit), you can use cut pieces of the basic field
tile for baseboard. This option makes use of waste cut pieces
that you might have thrown out otherwise. These pieces can
be cut to any size you like and really dress up the base of
cabinets and vanities. If you use bull-nosed pieces or cut
tiles, use wedge spacers at the base (about 1/8th inch or less)
to leave room for grout and caulk.
Door casings:
Each door in a room will usually have some kind
of vertical trim molding than reaches to the floor. The best
way to prepare this material for tile is to cut it off at the
bottom. Cut enough to allow for the thickness of the underlayment
(if any), the mortar bed, and the tile.
The idea is to allow the tile
to slide under the door casing and to avoid making special
tile cuts to conform to the profile of the trim. Take a piece
of tile (or two if you are using ¼” underlayment) and lay it up against
the door casing. Lay a marking pen or pencil flat against the
tile and perpendicular to the casing. Make a mark on the door
casing. The thickness of the marking tool should leave a line
a little less than a ¼” higher than the top of
the tile.
The installed tile with bedding
mortar should easily slide under the door casing. Any gap
remaining will be filled when you apply grout. If you can’t cut the door casings
for any reason, you’ll need to make extra detailed cuts
to the tile to conform to the profile of the casing.
Door thresholds:
Door thresholds are located primarily at exterior doors. They
are strips of various materials or combinations of materials
that provide a weather seal from the outside elements.
In a few cases you might encounter a threshold strip at interior
doors or between rooms in a house. Determine the height of
the tile and underlayment along the threshold. If the top of
the tile will be higher than the top of the threshold, you
will need to replace the threshold or reduce the height of
the floor.
Replacing the threshold will probably require cutting the
bottom of the door, or you may decide to replace the complete
door system with a pre-hung exterior door, which comes with
the door, doorframe, and the threshold.
Also, many older thresholds protrude into the interior of
the room and will require special cuts or notching to the tile.
If the old threshold is replaced in the future, voids in the
tile job will be left were it was cut to the old threshold.
Consider replacing the threshold along with the tile set.
Stairs:
Some tile projects meet the top of a staircase or extend down
a flight of stairs. Generally, stairs can be tiled on the run
(the horizontal part of a step) or on the rise (the vertical
part of the step) or on both. However, even expert tile setters
cannot guarantee that the edge of a tiled step will be durable.
Any tiled edge on a step is vulnerable
and will probably crack. The edge of the step must be “capped” with
a material designed to take the day in and day out foot pounding
on a stair. Two good options are hardwood stair nosing and
stair caps specifically designed for tile installations.
Stair nosing (primarily in oak) is a board
about three inches wide and ¾ “ thick with a rounded-over “nose”.
It has a notch on the bottom to uniformly install over the
90-degree edge of the stair.
Stair nosing should be installed before you start installing
tile. A few specialty manufacturers make a stair cap specific
to tile work. Usually these are extruded metal with an integrated
rubber tread. For more info visit Schlulter
Systems.
These products are designed to be embedded in the setting
mortar along with the tile. In either of these cases, you must
understand how these materials, along with the tile and any
underlayment, will affect the function of the stair. Shortening
or lengthening either the run or the rise of a stair could
be dangerous.
Transitions:
When you are surveying a floor tile job, you will need to
determine how and where the tile will meet other rooms and
other flooring materials.
First determine each transition’s
elevation relative to the finished tile floor. For example,
if the tile ends along a carpeted room, how much higher or
lower than the carpet will the tile be? If they are equal,
what do you do to protect the tile edge?
Just like a stair edge, the edge of a tile project is vulnerable
and should be protected. The best circumstance is when the
flooring material opposite the tile is slightly higher (1/8th
inch or so) than the tile. Then when a person steps on the
transition, the other flooring material will absorb the impact
and weight of their foot.
If there is a significant difference between
the elevation of the tile floor and the other flooring at
the transition, a complementary reducer strip should be installed.
For example, if the top of your finished kitchen tile is ¾” above
an oak hardwood floor in the dining room, a beveled oak strip
about 2 inches wide and finished to match the dining room floor
will provide a gradual transition to the higher tile surface.
Several metal transition products are manufactured to suit
most any transition. For more info visit Schulter
Systems.
Understand each transition and select an appealing
transition material prior to the start of your project. Proper
planning in this category will make for a better looking and
more durable tile job.
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