I’m a DIY, installing 5” rustic oak hardwood flooring on the first floor of a cabin. Installation will be the first flooring on top of a plywood subfloor. I’d like to combine a tile and hardwood pattern in the Kitchen area.

I’d expect to use a concrete or hardy board under the tile to match the vertical ¾” height and to keep it stable. I’m planning on putting the wood frame in first, and then fill with the tile. My question is two-fold. 1) Do I need to be concerned about expansion around the tile and how should I plan for that? 2) What kind of underlayment should be used under the oak when transitioning between the two materials? Thanks in advance for your help and experience.

answer 1..no

just enough space to fit the tile..usually about 1/8" so you can color caulk it if needed....3/16 the most.

i would use1/4 HB or CDX plywood..either will be good..

this should put you near perfect margin

an 1/8th usually works best, I wouldn't go any bigger unless the tiles are really big (20x20) then Id go a bit bigger just to make sure that you can get the tile flat to the wood, and Id use either caulk to mach the tile, or caulk that matches the wood. grout will most likely crack out at some point

we usually trowel glue the boards down eliminating the need for underlayment, if you want to use underlayment for the wood felt paper would be adequate

Here is a 5 inch wide white oak with 24x24 tiles

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hp ... 7229_n.jpg

Thank you very much. Just what I was looking for.

Siliconized grout, in cartridges, works well...

You can also just glue the tile down with something like Bostiks best. Or glue the whole area and fasten the wood down with it. I'd look for some kinda stone that matches height wise. Anything but marble.