Q: I’ve bought the material to install 3/4″ Bruce pre-finished hardwood. I’ll install it against the front door, looks like the door threshold will be level with the hardwood How can I install the hardwood floor at this location? Also the hardwood will be in the hallways, what is the best way to transition into the bedrooms since I need to cut the door casing and jambs and the bedrooms for they now will have carpet?
Thank you,
Guillermo
A: We’ll start with your threshold question. What you will most likely have to do here is raise the threshold up some. If the floor sits too level with the threshold, the door opening and closing will wear on your floor’s finish. As you get closer to the door, you will want to have a header of some form (a board running parallel to the threshold) which is primarily under the threshold. Remove the current threshold and block up a new one if you can’t reuse the current one. You will need to then undercut your door (this cut should be done at a 12 degree angle). You will want to raise the threshold up so you have a small gap between it and the floor (most likely you will need to raise it about 1/4″ depending on how flush it sits with the current threshold). Just shim the area of the door up and then install the threshold and install your floor. Remember, measure twice, cut once.
For your hallways, typically you will use an end cap or threshold when transitioning to carpet (unless you are transitioning to the really flat commercial carpet found in most office buildings, then you would use a reducer). You will still need to undercut the jambs of the door to ensure the wood floor has a proper expansion gap. Typically you will have the end of the transition roughly at the center of the door, though adjust it to fit your personal preference. Again, measure twice, cut once and you should have a project to be proud of.
