[zerostar]

I am looking to purchase some laminate flooring shortly, we are having the
kitchen re-tiled and have run in to a sub-flooring problem.

I have attached 2 pictures showing the problem, The tile ends at the
original house foundation and the next room is 1 1/4" lower than the tiled
floor.

If I run the laminate up to the edge I will be around 1" lower then the tile
is currently. (This is a guess)

What is the easies remedy to this problem for someone who is not extremely
skilled in this sort of thing?

As you can see there is a rubber ramp thing that the carpet strips were
attached to (This can be removed or replaced it is only 3/8" high at the
highest point). Can this be used under the laminate as a gradual ramp up to
get it level?

Could I possibly just "Feather" out a few pieces of the underlayment to get
up to exactly where I need to be then fade the rest of the room and join the
laminate to the tile with a T-molding?

They will be tearing up the old tile and installing our new tile this week,
and I hope to buy and install the laminate myself.

P.s. This is a "Florida Room" and the rest of the house is all the same
level

Pictures:

[amsalpemkcus]

cant you just dig up that area, fill it up with dirt and some "miraclecrap" and grow some tomatoes there? oh yeah open up the roof so you get some sunshine as well for those. sorry im in a revolutionary mood.

[Rev-O]

Floor looks to be 'crete. How about some selfleveling compound, mixed a bit thick? Feathering some concrete based structural filler (I've used Thorite a bunch) would work as well, but is spendy, tricky, and messy.

Option #2 is have tile guys run a piece of Schluter (name brand) metal edging across the tile edge between the tile and lam flooring and finish nail a matching piece of moulding into the lam to make up the difference to the metal edge. Matching mouldings for most lam flooring are available for a huge variety of situations and if you buy your lam from a flooring store instead of Homeless Depot, you can get a lot of good help. This solution is more hillbilly looking, for sure, but it would work.

I'd try self leveling compound myself. Many self leveling compounds will go over wood, concret and backerboard effectively.

[Macola]

You can get a transition strip that bridges the two different levels, from the maker of the flooring.

[zerostar]

I would like it to be level instead of a step down, how far out for the self leveling stuff would you go? The opening is about 6' wide

Also, how far out width-wise would you go?

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by zerostar

I would like it to be level instead of a step down, how far out for the self leveling stuff would you go? The opening is about 6' wide

Also, how far out width-wise would you go?

I would make it as wide as possible, to make the transition as gradual as possible. Use a straightedge (like a 4 ft level) and run it off the existing tile out onto the 'crete floor (and a plank of lam for elevation) to see how the floor 'breaks', to check for sloping in the floor, and feather to the high spot... if you follow what I mean.

Lam flooring floats over the subfloor, so a perfectly level subfloor isn't absolutely critical, but you want it as level as possible. Unevenness is going to cause an 'hollow' sounding and feeling spot in the floor, and possibly contribute to your seams seperating. Many Laminate floorings have an optional fiber pad (flexible foam sheeting) underlayment. These help with the feel of the floor (makes them sound more substantial) and make them 'softer' feeling to walk on. They also help smooth out irregularities in the subfloor.

Good luck!

[zerostar]

sounds good, I will give it a shot and feather out as gradual as possible, this will be 2 weeks out till the laminate is in I will post pics when it is done.

Also, I should level it up to the hight of the tile subfloor not to the high of the tile correct? I plan to install a T-molding to bridge the laminate to the tile...

[Rev-O]

Originally Posted by zerostar

sounds good, I will give it a shot and feather out as gradual as possible, this will be 2 weeks out till the laminate is in I will post pics when it is done.

Also, I should level it up to the hight of the tile subfloor not to the high of the tile correct? I plan to install a T-molding to bridge the laminate to the tile...

Yes, about up to the elevation of the tile underlayment. Over concrete, the Tile sits on a bed of about 1/8" thinset (if it is 12" x 12" ish tile) plus the thickness of the tile itself (5/16" for most porcelain tile IIRC). That's about 7/16" total elevation total for your tile (if over concrete). Not sure what the thickness of your lam flooring is (I'm guessing around 3/8"), so that everything should be close enough to be made up with the transition strip between the lam and the tile.