What is the best/preffered method: Lay the laminate floor then place Hearth on top ? or put Hearth down and and floor round it ? Laminate is going on top of 7mm woodfibre underlay on top of concrete floor. thanks for help Bry
Bry, i may be corrected on this but all of the laminate flooring i have seen actually goes round the hearth, so the hearth is therefore on a solid base, i.e the concrete floor.
They tend to leave a 10mm gap between laminate floor and walls for expansion, so I'm wondring if placing the hearth on top may restrict the expansion, and cause the floor to buckle. So I'd agree with Inzaman and lay it around if that's the case. Gary.
I just don't want a nasty edging strip tho I have got new skirting to cover the expansion gap round the walls and dont want anything to look nasty to cover the expansion gap that would be round the black granite hearth. What do you reackon to using quadrant beading painted gloss black ? to cover the expansion gap which would be round hearth. Or as a friend suggested to morter the hearth down so it just sits a tiny fraction above the laminate which goes under the hearth by about an inch ? Cheers Bry
I think that is what i would do rather than paint the quadrant beading, you will need to be careful with your measurements though
Thanks for replies things are never easy are they. If I do it the first way with beeding then the focal point inset fire I have bought fits perfectly. If I do it the second way with hearth slightly raised with laminate just going underneath then I would need to knock out the top of the fireplace opening by about 20mm. I have a flat wall with a pre cast flu so not a lot of options. First would be a lot easier but im not sure on the finish around the hearth. second would definately look better I think but a lot more hassle. Also knocking out that 20mm may damage the flu ? What do you think ? Thanks Bry
if the hearth is not to heavy then put it on top if you ever decide to change the fire surround then the floor will be complete and its less cutting for you to do
I sat my hearth on the original hearth slab on 2"x1" battens (exact size 44mm x 19mm). The 9.5mm laminate flooring and 7mm fibre underlay slipped underneath about 1" with about 2-3mm gap between the top of flooring and the underside of the hearth. Looks excellent with no cut edges showing. Hope this helps !! Si
Thanks for the replies I have a couple of 13 amp sockets to left to fit then I will be ready for laying the floor and installing the fireplace. Will let yo know which way I do when its all done. Cheers Bry
I put a laminate floor down in my brother's lounge. The fireplace was already installed. We got a stonemason to supply some lengths of marble to match the fireplace which we then use to cover the gap between the flooring and the fireplace. It looked absolutely fine. You just have to be careful not to break the thin strips of marble. You might also be able to get a stonemason to rebate the bottom of the hearth to provide a lip for covering the expansion gap. Regards, Steve
I have a similar dilemma...however i have 20mm Hardwood flooring which has been nailed in..i take this should be fine to put a fireplace on?
I put my hearth on top of the laminate, but used a 4 in hole cutter to cut several 'foundatiom 'islands' which then provided a link to the concrete floor below, making sure the the cement does nt completely fill the hole to allow floor expansion. No problems and very neat.
I just went under about 20mm with the flooring and used concrete to support and hold the hearth. Just gotta get someone out to fit the fire now. Not got much more to do, just fit some of that skirting which hides cables, which is smaller than the other skirting on the other walls so ive got 25mm trunking to go under it to make it the same height of 95mm. Can't wait now the finish is in sight and I can get all me AV and PJ back up and running Bry
I'm doing a quick (10 second) survey on laminate flooring options, can you guys help me out? http://laminateflooring.oncloud8.com/viewtopic.php?t=3