Installing so two rooms transition at the same level

Q: I have laminate tiles in my mud room. I want to replace with tile. The room is next to hardwood floors (kitchen) and I would like to have the transition at the same level as the kitchen floor. What do I have to do to the subfloor of mud/laundry room? How thin could it be to withstand the weight of washer and dryer and sink?

A: If the floor in the kitchen is 3/4 thick you would probably have to peel off the mud room down to the sub floor. Then the concrete-mesh or which ever base method is used for the tile is about half an inch and the tile is 1/4 to 3/8 thick – and that should get you very close to the same level.

Related Q: We got new wood flooring for our living room, dining room and kitchen, but when the carpet was ripped up near the kitchen we found out the entire kitchen is elevated on 1/2 plywood. We’re not sure if the island and cabinets are on the plywood. Guessing yes. Our hardwood is about 3/4″ thick.

Is there anyway to not have to rip up the 1/2″ plywood? Besides being a big job, we’re worried that it’s glued and will require replacing/fixing the subfloor too.

A: The easiest, least costly solution would be to install 1/2 plywood in the other areas to have hardwood, so those areas are all the same level.