Seams in Floor Transition Moldings

molding

I really should blog more often. Be that as it may, today’s entry concerns seams in floor transition moldings. More accurately - the transition trim pieces used to finish floating floors to other floor coverings. Some basic options are shown in the pic to the right.

Transition moldings, end caps, T-molding and the like are manufactured in odd lengths, usually anywhere between 72" to 84" depending on the manufacturer. In cases when longer lengths are needed a seam between two or more pieces is required.

Too often an installer will butt factory edges together and once the adhesive dries the final product might look something like this:

bad seam in laminate floor t-molding

Gapped and offset seam in laminated molding.

If this is an acceptable condition to you then reading the rest of this blog entry will only serve to further waste your time. If you think it could and should be better and would like to know how, then by all means, read on.

Over the years I've utilized and employed a combination of various common sense techniques that solve many of the usual transition molding problems or challenges such as seams, secure attachment, maintaining expansion gaps, transitioning between uneven or unlevel surfaces and curved transitions; to name a few.

To produce a better seam I make a clean beveled cut at 22.5 degrees on each side of the seam prior to installation. See pics below-

Angle cut in laminate floor t-molding

A compound miter saw with a sharp blade does the trick

Adhering a laminate floor t-molding to a concrete subfloor.

Apply a liberal bead of adhesive making sure it doesn’t contaminate your expansion space. 

laminate t-molding seam

Create a tight, professional looking seam in the laminate t-molding.

This enables a clean, tight fit at the seam line, add a drop of wood glue in the seam and it will produce a seam of high integrity. It only takes a few additional minutes to make these simple cuts but I think you’ll agree that the juice is worth the squeeze.

The best way to contact me is by email: ken@floormaven.com
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