Floor Reducers Strips, Borders & Ramps

After installing new flooring, a customer may end up with an uneven floor height between adjacent rooms in a home or commercial building. This uneven height may occur between new outdoor flooring and the ground as well, such as at a playground. For reducing the trip hazard that this height difference can cause, Greatmats offers a floor reducer.

The reducer strip works to create a ramp from the shorter flooring to the taller flooring, This results in less of a trip hazard, as the ramp eliminates the lip on the new floor.

Size and Shape Options

The size of the floor reducer that the customer will want to use depends on the type of floor to which it will connect and just how thick that floor is.

The reducer strips will match the thickness of the taller floor to which they will connect. These thicknesses could range anywhere from 0.25 inch to 2.5 inches.

Some flooring layouts between rooms in a home or office building will need a transition strip that fits in between the two types of floors. Transition strips like this will create a ramp in place of the lip of the taller flooring.

Other options for a reducer will behave more like a border for the layout. If the customer has an island layout in the middle of a room with no other kind of flooring in place, the border piece can fit onto the existing floor and replace the lip with a ramp.

Material Options

A floor reducer can consist of a number of different materials, including:

• Rubber
  
• PVC
  
• Foam
  
• Polypropylene plastic
  
• Polyethylene plastic
  
• Rubber foam

Ideally, the ramp will match the color and material of at least one of the types of flooring where it is providing the transition. By creating a match, it will hide the presence of the floor reducer strip. Customers can use a transition for almost any type of flooring, including laminate, wood grain vinyl, rubber, plastic, or foam.

At Greatmats, some of our flooring options have a specific type of transition strip that fits them. These transition pieces and borders often connect directly to the existing flooring, creating a secure layout. They use the same style of interlocking edges as the existing flooring.

Pattern and Texture Options

The transition strips will not have a specific pattern or texture. The majority of materials in use with these ramped pieces naturally will provide a bit of grip, which reduces the possibility of slipping.

Some of the potential color options available with floor reducer strips and border pieces include:

• Black
  
• Gray
  
• White
  
• Sandstone
  
• Mohave
  
• Yellow
  
• Red
  
• Light blue
  
• Blue
  
• Green
  
• Dark green
  
• Pink
  
• Brown
  
• Tan
  
• Orange

Understand that some models only have one or two colors available, while others have a dozen or more color choices. If you are trying to connect the floor reducer to a specific model of tile flooring for which the reducer specifically fits, you likely will have a color option that matches the tile.

Common Use Options

Making use of a floor reducer can occur in any location where the customer wants to reduce the possibility of someone tripping over the lip of a flooring layout. This can occur in a home where someone in the house is using a walker or a wheelchair, for example.

However, it is more common to see these transition strips in use in public or commercial buildings where the building’s owner wants to reduce the possibility of someone tripping and falling, leading to a potential liability injury.

Some people will choose to install these borders in a location where a trip hazard would be especially dangerous, making use of a yellow safety strip as the border piece to generate a warning about the lip on the flooring.

Installation Options

The majority of people can install these borders and floor reduction strips on their own as a DIY project. If you installed the flooring on your own, you should be able to install the matching border strip just as easily.

Some of these strips have an interlocking edge that matches what’s found on the individual tile pieces, which makes installation easy.

Other strips may simply slide tightly against the existing floor layout, meaning the installer will need to glue them in place.

Some strips may come in a specific length that allows them to connect to an existing tile without needing to cut them. A strip not made for a specific tile model may ship in a length that allows the installer to cut it to fit any space.

Cleaning and Maintenance Requirements

The majority of floor strips will not require any special cleaning or maintenance techniques. Customers should be able to clean and maintain the strips in the same manner that they clean the adjacent flooring tiles and pieces.

To take care of any dry debris or dirt, use a broom to remove these dry materials. If you are using a vacuum cleaner on the flooring materials connected to the reducers, use the vacuum on the strips too.

Mop the strips just as you would mop the connected flooring. These strips are durable enough to stand up to constant foot traffic and any cleaning requirements that your building may have.