I have tile floors and in the middle of the tile in the living room there was carpet. I had the carpet taken out and laminate floors put in. The trim between the tile and the laminate keeps popping out. When I had the flooring guy come out to fix it for the third time he said it was always going to do that because the wood was thicker (higher) than the tile. Is there something else I can do besides this stupid piece of trim?
As a flooring installer, I have made transitions from tile to laminate hundreds of times. Your flooring guy is either woefully ignorant or doesn't want to fix your problem properly. If the laminate is thicker than the tile, your tile must be quite thin, possibly on a concrete floor without backerboard? If this is the case the difference in height can easily be accommodated by a simple t-molding that will fit between the tile and wood and bridge one to the other. Wooden t-moldings must be nailed to the floor and if your floor is concrete this will require drilling into the concrete and providing dowels to nail into. However you can also buy a 4-in-1 laminate molding at any home improvement store. This 4-in-1 provides not only a t-molding, but two different kinds of reducer that will help you if the height difference between your floors is more than 1/4. This molding works by screwing a track to the floor and then snapping the molding into it. If you would like more specific help, feel free to e-mail.
There are pieces of trim that have one thickness on one side and another thickness on the other for this exact reason where one floor is higher than the other. This trim allows for a smooth transition from one height floor to another. I have had it in my house for years and it never popped out. Mine is oak. Your installers obviously are using the wrong trim for this application as there is a trim for this transition. Go to your local home improvement store and you can see what I am talking about. I wish I had the correct name of this trim to make asking for it easier for you. But, I am sure once you describe the problem, they will know where to direct you. Good Luck
