How to Butt Trim on an Uneven Floor

Purchase a reducer molding trim piece for use between two solid uneven surfaces, such as laminate flooring and flat vinyl flooring. Use an end molding trim piece between a solid floor surface and a soft surface, such as carpet. Also, use end moldings anywhere that a rigid floor surface, such as hardwood or tile, touches an outdoor surface, such as a porch.

Leave 1 inch of space between two uneven floor surfaces during installation of the two floors. If the two floors meet in the doorway, try to center this open space between the floors as much as possible. If you don’t have 1 inch of space between the floors, cut away some of the flooring by cutting coverings such as vinyl or carpet with a utility knife or coverings such as hardwood or laminate with a circular saw.

Measure the length of the open space between the two uneven floor surfaces. Make this same measurement on the trim piece that you have to place between the flooring and cut the trim with a coping saw. Use more than one trim piece if necessary to fill in a long space between two uneven floors.

Apply the adhesive that the manufacturer recommends onto the subfloor between the two uneven floor surfaces. Apply additional adhesive onto the bottom edges of the flooring trim and press the trim pieces into place so that the higher ledge of the trim sits on the higher of the uneven flooring surfaces and the lower ledge of the trim sits on the lower flooring surface. If the trim manufacturer provides and recommends the use of a trim track, install the track to the subfloor between the two uneven floor surfaces with screws and then snap the trim into place on the rack.