installing a small mud area - looking for tips

[WVCowboy]

A very simple project in abstract terms, I am looking into installing a small (3' x 5') mud area just as you come into the living room, through the sliding glass door, from the patio. This way I'll have an area to take off shoes and wipe the dog's paws off without getting that section of carpet dirty over time.

My only previous experience with tile is when my pa-in-law and I tiled around the tub/shower, and when we remodeled the other bathroom, installing a tile floor there. This new project will be fairly simple in that it's a straight forward rectangle with no need to cut any tile. I also plan to do a wood transition strip to seperate the tile from the carpet so my carpet edges don't get dirty from what I may track in.

What I'd like to know in particular is....Is there anything I need to know before I cut into the carpet, thus committing myself? Do I just cut the carpet from above? What is a good transition strip to lay down? Do I put down cement board (I assume I do) and what does that do the height of the tiled area relative to the carpet? Any other comments and tips in addition to these questions are always welcomed.

[Wgoodrich]

I would take a knife and cut the carpet out that you need cut. Remove the carpet pad for that area too. You can do this from the surface of the carpet. Then I would buy carpet edging, pull back the carpet and nail down the carpet edging so the receiving part of that edging is about 1/8" causing the carpet to restretch a bit. This edging will have a lip that will close over the top of the carpet to make a finished edge. Once the edging is nailed down then use a knee kicker to restretch the carpet to the carpet edging. Then tap down the covering finished edging over the carpet to make a finished product.

I would nail down the thin luon that is normally used for linoleum. Then glue the tile to that. The thickness of the luon is so thin it makes little difference in raising the tile. Once the tile is glued to the luon and grouted to the carpet edging you are done.

The luon allows you to easily remove this tile if later you don't like it without damaging your subfloor surface.

I would not install any wood separater between the carpet edging and the tile. Instead I would grout that really small space between the edge of the tile and the edge of the carpet edging. You would just be creating more difficulty and creating a wood that will wear more quickly then the tile to edging.

Just my opinion

Wg