How to transition from concrete to carpet and tile?

crisis

Hello, I recently pulled up the carpet in my living area and polished my concrete slab. I now need a solution for the transition from concrete to tiles (4cm rise) and from concrete to existing carpet. 

I’d like to glue rather than nail and they are next to each other so they need to match. Keen to hear people’s thoughts on the best solution.
cheers

JacobZ

Hi @crisis,

That's a bit of a tricky one because a 4cm height difference is quite a large transition. It’s unlikely you’ll get a clean or safe result using a single off the shelf trim on its own. Most ramp or reducer trims usually only handle around 10mm to 15mm comfortably, sometimes up to about 20mm depending on the profile, so 40mm is well beyond what they’re designed for.

So, for this reason, I think you are going to have to look at some kind of custom trim using timber mouldings to account for that transition. As you are looking to have the transitions look similar, I'd suggest you look at our options for https://www.bunnings.com.au/products/building-hardware/timber/mouldings/hardwood-mouldings , in particular the Tasmanian Oak mouldings, which can be used for a wide variety of purposes and look fantastic.

With the tile to concrete transition, I'd suggest a two-timber approach, using https://www.bunnings.com.au/30-x-30mm-2-4m-tasmanian-oak-edging-round-external-corner_p0084668 directly on the lip of the tiles, then with https://www.bunnings.com.au/27-x-27mm-2-4m-tasmanian-oak-quad_p0084171 to cover the gap at the base.

With the carpet, maybe something like this https://www.bunnings.com.au/porta-45-x-30mm-2-4m-tasmanian-oak-picture-frame_p0145108 can sit over the edge of the carpet, with the same 27x27mm Quad on the outside to cover the gap between the concrete and the moulding and dull the transition.

Gluing can work, especially with a good construction adhesive and clean surfaces, but with that kind of height change and foot traffic, mechanical fixing into the concrete is generally more reliable long term and would be what I would recommend. You can keep it neat with countersunk screws and timber filler if needed.

Allow me to tag our helpful members @Nailbag, @Dave-1 and @TedBear to see if they have any ideas.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob