Install Hardwood Floor to Linoleum Reducer

Project Description

For a customer in Hope, BC, Canada, we needed to install a reducer between hardwood floor and linoleum. It's a bathroom door, hardwood floor 3/4 inch thick on one side, linoleum on the other. See the picture below.

Hardwood flooring is golden oak. I'd like the joint to be made of the same material. Length of the reducer required - 30.5 inches. Here is another picture with the entire bathroom door visible.

Vertical drop is approximately 0.42 inches between top of hardwood floor and linoleum. Below is a close-up picture of this drop.

Completion Notes

This project was completed in Hope, BC as follows:

• Sourced an oak reducer.
• Cut and stained it.
• Applied semi-gloss clear finish.
• Nailed the reducer down on the edge between hardwood floor and linoleum.
• Applied wood putty to mask nail heads.

Each step is described below with illustrations.

Getting Reducer

I obtained a 3 feet long of unfinished oak reducer with the profile as on the picture below. Vendor: Windsor Plywood. Their part name: 01025 Oak Reducer Small 7-8 ml Laminate. Price on July 17, 2015: CAD 2.15 / foot.

Cutting and Staining Reducer

The reducer was cut to fit into the available space and then stained with Varathane golden oak Wood Stain. Photo below depicts the staining process. Stained reducer is on the workbench behind a can of wood stain.

Applying Finish to Reducer

Then 3 layers of clear, water-based finish were applied on top of stained wood. I used Varathane Professional Semi-Gloss clear finish with light sanding between a couple of layers, when there was enough drying time between layers (like overnight). The finish I used is shown on the picture below.

Below is picture of a finished golden oak reducer lying on workbench.

Nailing Reducer Down

Now it's time to nail the reducer down. I used RDK air compressor for this, as on the picture below.

And a 16-gauge nailer with 2" Passlode finish nails shown here.

Here is how a nailed down reducer looks like.

Applying Wood Putty

We are almost done. The last part is to apply wood putty into places where nails went through. I used Minwax brand, purchased in Home Depot.

Here is how installed reducer looks like.

Below is another picture of finished and installed golden oak reducer.

It looks and feels good to me. I hope you enjoyed reading about it as I enjoyed working on it.