# Installing baseboard on tile to hardwood step down at rounded corner



## islanti (Aug 4, 2015)

Not sure the proper way to approach this. i think it probably involves a few angled cuts and multiple pieces glued together.

Attached is top view to kind of get a visualization. tile is blue and hardwood is brown. hardwood sits 1/4" lower than tile, and the transition is 4" long and 3.5 degree slope.

At first i thought the corner piece should be cut at 22.5 at 3.5 degrees on the left side, and then have a 4" transition piece of base at 22.5 and 3.5 on the right and 0 and 3.5 on the left, but i think there's probably more to it than that?

Is there supposed to be a little piece or two in between the transition piece of base and the corner piece to adjust the angles? how would you approach this?

This house has many tile to hardwood transitions. when it's flat against the wall, i just run a 4" step down at 3.5 degrees and continue on. but the transitions that are right at the corner are tricking me.

Thanks.


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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

There is a reason baseboard has been put on before flooring for a century. The problem is, these days, installers don't seem to be able to cut flooring to fit. Homeowners and some installers are looking for a quick fix and now try to install baseboard after flooring, there will even be folks arguing this. Obviously folks who don't work in the trade everyday. Next time you need to replace or repair the flooring, baseboard first will start to make sense, as it does, now, with your question.


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## mikeswoods (May 18, 2009)

You have a couple of choices---
The first would be to rip the baseboard by 1/4" for the raised tile area---cope the sloped reducer area to the full width--

In this area, shoe molding is traditional--which would hide the gap in the lower area----

Are you going to attempt this without a shoe molding?

Just for the record---I always do the floors first--then the base molding---


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## Chamfer (Sep 6, 2014)

I agree wholeheartedly with Hammer, and I'm one of those folks in the trade for living.

If you're coming from the tiled room you could leave it a 1/4 high and 3/4 shoe would easily cover the gap. If you're coming from the hardwood room I'd probably find an aesthetic way to kill it and pick it back up in the tiled room.


Is there any threshold over the transition? An actual picture or two might help us out more.


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## islanti (Aug 4, 2015)

mikeswoods said:


> You have a couple of choices---
> The first would be to rip the baseboard by 1/4" for the raised tile area---cope the sloped reducer area to the full width--
> 
> In this area, shoe molding is traditional--which would hide the gap in the lower area----
> ...


Shoe molding isn't an option.

I could possibly scribe the slope and shorten the corner piece by 1/4", then have a proper step up after the corner to get back to the original baseboard height...

I'd like to figure what piece(s) i need to a cut at that corner to make the transition, but i don't know the geometry.

I will try to get a picture tomorrow.

I've always installed baseboard before carpet is installed so painters can spray bomb everything along with the doors and trim. then they lay out and hit the remaining base and i install it after flooring and tile to get a snug fit and make all the transitions without using shoe moldings. but i can see the pros and cons for both ways.


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## johnmark (Jul 21, 2012)

picture would really help, but you could just cut the trim going over the tile 1/4" short and your trim would be level for the entire building's floor. it might look funny going up and down 3.5 deg all over the place. just scribe that transition slope for those pieces. 

i scribe almost everything. put in the pieces that are on the wood floor and tiled floor. take your transition trim and flip it upside down and moulding faced in, scribe a line from the top of the wood side trim to the tile side trim. rip it on a table saw or whatever. 

trim before flooring kinda seems like putting on a toilet first and then sticking your tile underneath it, but i'm a maintenance person and have never built new. 

the one time i installed a new bath floor, i definitely did the ply, thinset and tile, cabinets, baseboard, then toilet. usually the flooring is already there.


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## personalt (Mar 10, 2008)

I am not sure exactly what you are dealing with here but dont forget to set this up in a way that allows floor to expand.


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