A client in Denver told me my floor transitions looked 'hacked in' and it stung

I was finishing up a laminate install in a split-level house last month, and the homeowner (a retired engineer, go figure) pointed at the transition strip between the kitchen and living room. He said, 'Kelly, that looks hacked in. It's not level with either floor.' I'd been using the same method for years, just cutting the strip to length and nailing it down. But he was right, it was sitting up a little proud on one side. I went home and watched a bunch of videos on proper undercutting of door jambs and scribing transitions. Next job, I spent an extra 45 minutes with my multi-tool undercutting the door casings and sanding the transition edge to match the slight height difference perfectly. The difference was night and day. It looked like one continuous floor. Has anyone else had a specific piece of criticism that made them totally change a routine part of their install?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantp141d ago

Ngl, that undercutting trick is a total game changer. I used to just force the transition strip down and hope for the best. Had a guy point out a similar gap on a tile to wood job and it looked awful once he said it. Now I keep a pack of those plastic shims in my truck just for transitions. You can slide them under to get it dead level before you fasten it down. Makes it look like it grew there.

sage3081d agoMost Upvoted

Sounds like extra work for no real payoff. Most people never even notice a tiny gap. Just glue it down tight and move on to the next thing.

murphy.aaron1d ago

Totally feel that, @grantp14. Nothing worse than seeing a gap once someone points it out.