Hope someone can understand and help?? I am about to install Brazillian Walnut 3/4 inch by 2-1/4 strip flooring in Family Room, Dining room and Living room. All 3 rooms have a full wall or part of a wall that will be butting onto a 2 inch marble trim that finishes off the ceramic tiles in kitchen and hallway. My question is, do I need to leave a 3/4 inch gap between this marble trim and the hardwood for expansion?? Or can I install the hardwood flush against this marble trim leaving the expansion spce on the other 3 walls??

The dining room only has 2 doorways with this marble and the wood strips will be butting lengthwise against the marble at one doorway and the strip-ends cut diagonally against the 2nd doorway. The living room and family rooms have one complete wall (invisble wall of course due to open concept) where the hardwood will butt up against the marble trim.

The family room flooring will butt against the marble mostly lengthwise except for a 3 foot 45 degree angle that will butt against the diagonally cut strip-ends.

The living room will have a 5 foot straight and two 3 foot 45 degree angles all butting against the ends of the hardwood.

Hope this made sense !!!

Thanks and Regards

Dan

I always leave an expansion gap there and fill that with a color matched grout caulk. Don't butt it.
I have some pictures showing that here ....
http://www.custom-surfaces.com/38.html

My server is having "problems" again so you may have to try later.

Jerry,
Appreciate your quick reply. your pics are very helpful. From what I can see, I just need to leave a small gap....looks like 3/16 - 1/4 inch.

I take it that I should start at the marble trim and work my way from there to avoid having to cut my last strip length-wise to fit evenly at the threshold.

Does it matter whether the tongue or the groove should go towards the marble??

Thanks again Jerry !!

That would depend on how the flooring is going to run, but yes, working off the header board is best. Rip off the tongue if it will be against the marble.

Wow Jerry..you're building quite a site there! Good job:)

I am doing something similar only butting up against a piece of edge finished granite. I looked at Jerry's pictures and here is my confusion: If the idea is to leave some expansion space, it seems the grout does not allow for any expansion since it is also solid. So, why not just butt the flooring directly against the marble/granite and then allow an expansion space at the other end of the flooring?
Thanks,

The expansion gap is filled with a color matched grout caulk, not grout. You can't tell it from grout after it is applied.

I added some more photo's to clear up what grout caulk is.

Did y'all know that tile and stone need room for expansion too? Not nearly what wood requires, but you have to leave some all way around.

THANKS! I did not know about grout caulk.

Thank You again for all your help......Jerry !!!

Jerry,
What can I do if the HW does not make a level match to my porcelain tile for a transitition.I did not want to put a transitition piece in the doorways, I had hoped the two floorings would match up closer. I installed the porcelain tile on top of 1/2" cemet board and it appears to be about 1/8" higher than the 3/4" hardwood flooring without paper underneath it.

Try using 1/4" Hardi Board under the tile. That should leave you at more appropriate elevations.

Is your tile already down? Like KG said, use the thinner 1/4"Hardi or 5/16" Durock, depending on how thick the tile is. If already down you could pull the last row up and use a Schluter metal trim to reduce down to the hardwood. It would be easier to just modify a wood transition piece.

Thanks Ken, I did not see your post.