# Anyone made their own T moulding?



## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

We are getting ready to lay engineered hardwood flooring in the near future, and were considering saving a little $ by making our own T moulding. I think the color of the finish can be matched. Has anyone tried this before? Am I better off just buying it? Any tips on how to??


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## bb71 (Jan 22, 2010)

I've made more floor transition mouldings than I care to remember. The nice thing about doing it yourself is you can get the thicknesses perfect for either side of the transition. If your hardwood floor is higher than what you're transitioning to (for example - vinyl) you can just cut the backside out (on the appropriate angle) of a piece of the hardwood so you preserve the finish. You'll still have to do a bit of stain / finish on the edge but it wont be noticable. If the non hardwood side is high (as is usually the case with tile) then you'll probably need a T moudling. The problem with doing the T's is many times you can't preserve the finish. Then it becomes a pain to match not only the stain but the sheen of the finish. This can sometimes be glaringly obvious if there's a lot of sunshine in the room, etc.

Obviously, the best finish match will be to buy from the manufacturer. Having said that, after laying 10's of thousands of feet of hardwood, I think I've only done it once or twice.


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## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

bb71

thanks for your response. what is the process for making them? I understand the 2 dadoes on the back, forming the T, but what is the best way to get the little chamfered effect on top?


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

I just made three pieces for a customer who couldn't get what he needed from the flooring supplier. Not much to it if you take careful measurements and cut the profiles correctly.

The hard part is matching the floor color. I got lucky on this one - Minwax had a perfect match.


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## bb71 (Jan 22, 2010)

Depending on the angle I wanted and the size of it, I would either use the router table or the table saw. Just remember, if you can get away with not cutting the finished side at all, then you save the finishing hassle.
Perhaps the topside of the T could be flat without any chamfers. Measure your height differences and draw it out.


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## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks for the input! We're gonna give it a try. If we arent' happy, we're only out a little bit of wood, so it's worth the effort.


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## bb71 (Jan 22, 2010)

You're right - if you have the time, its worth a try. Good luck. Just remember to plan your cuts to not mess with the finish!!


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## Sawkerf (Dec 31, 2009)

Expanding on my earlier post, "T" moldings are quite easy. If the two floor surfaces are in the same plane, you only need to decide how wide you need to make the vertical part of the "T". I do mine just like cutting rabbets on the TS and go for 3/16" - 1/4" for the thickness of the horizontal part. I like to put a roundover or chamfer on the edges and that's a little easier before cutting the rabbets.

If the floors are different heights, it takes a bit more planning, but it's all about careful setup on the cuts.

These were sized to hide some rough spots on the edges of the customers existing floors.


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## sarahss (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks sawkerf. the pix really help. I hope ours looks as good as yous when we're done.


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