Wood Floor meets Rock Fireplace - Help!!!

16 years ago

Our home has a large natural rock fireplace with raised rock hearth. We just had solid 3/4 inch maple flooring installed. Trying to solve the problem of how to finish the edge where the straight wood flooring meets the very irregular stone hearth. Flooring installer first suggested using a piece of rope that was stained to match the floor color (antique maple) to transtition between the flooring and rock as this could be molded to the rock/grout areas...... I hated the look of this. Now installer has suggested trying to match the grout color of the fireplace and grout in the open spaces. The spaces range in size from 1/4 inch to over 1 inch in width. While this may indeed be the only other solution - I am hoping SOMEONE has come up against this problem before and can offer a suggestion of a product designed for this type of problem or has a better idea then just filling the spaces with grout. My concern with the grout is matching the color. The fireplace has been here for 10 yrs. Prior to our having the wood floor installed, the house had carpet in this room. Any ideas will be most appreciated!!!!

Featured Answer

floorguy

16 years ago

Diamond blade on an angle grinder, laid on a scrap of flooring as a height guide, with a vac, running right next to the blade to catch as much dust as possible.

Or you could spend the big bucks and get an electric undercut saw and a diamond blade to mount in it. It has a special adjustable base to adjust the height and some an adjustment for depth.

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Comments (17)

glennsfc
16 years ago
Why are the gaps so irregular?
jerry_t
16 years ago
There is no good way to fix that. The rock should have been undercut with the flooring ran underneath it.
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nitajdg
Original Author
16 years ago
The gaps vary in size because the rocks that anchor the ends of the hearth are larger than the ones used in front/center. I agree, when this house was first built, the rocks should have been undercut so as to allow flooring to go under the edge.... but because the builder used carpet and the irregularities were not a problem for that type of flooring, this was not done and now I am left with trying to solve the problem with my new wood floors. I do appreciate your replies. You would just think that somewhere, someone would develop a product that is designed to solve this exact problem. Oh well..... I do love, love, love my new wood floors..... and if I can't find a perfect solution to the fireplace.... I will just say that the imperfection adds "character". Ha! Thanks again.....
eandhl
16 years ago
Our contractor carved out the wood to fit the uneven stones in our FP. He did it both on the sides and in the front.
glennsfc
16 years ago
Have your floor person fit new material so that the expansion joint is a consistent 1/4". The irregularities should not be a problem for a hardwood floor person. Then fill that gap with whatever will be flexible...either the rope trick or a flexible (non-hardsetting) caulk of the color you want.
floorguy
16 years ago
After the carpet and tackstrips were removed, the hardwood guy should have undercut the stone at that time. Now your left with a hack job, as I call it. It sounds like he didn't even try to conform the boards to leave a nice somewhat even gap. Cut square ends all jagged across the hearth... Unacceptable!!!

Tear it out and then undercut the hearth.
bud_cline
16 years ago
We undercut stone hearths and stone fireplaces and stone walls all the time. The procedure isn't a major trick. This installer has taken the path of least resistance and done a sloppy job of it at that. He can remove enough flooring to undercut the stone and replace the flooring.

If you try to grout that variance you will have a fracture/crack there forever.
raenjapan
16 years ago
Can you get matching stone? I agree that the undercut is the best solution, but if that isn't possible for whatever reason, maybe you could get the wood as close as possible then add stone "trim" to the bottom of the fireplace? Might look better than grout, anyway. Good luck.
oddity
16 years ago
I have the same kind of fireplace in my kitchen. I agree with floorguy, completely unacceptable! Make them tear it out and reinstall. If you just try to fill in gaps that big it will always look like a sloppy floor job.
Shannon01
16 years ago
What about the idea mentioned here about scribbing out the final board to match the rock pattern? I agree that undercutting would be the proper solution but if you are in position where this contractor is not skilled to do it, maybe he will subcontract out for someone else to do it. Or the scribbing. There are really only 2 doable solutions here. Good luck!
clg7067
16 years ago
This is something I've been thinking about because I'll be in the same situation when I have wood floors installed. I'm glad to learn about the undercutting. For my education, can you guys tell me what kind of tool you use for that?
jerry_t
16 years ago
Like this ...(some days this takes about a minute to load up)

Here is a link that might be useful: Undercut hearth
Treva Watkins
2 years ago
We are facing the same thing - installing wood laminate around our rock hearth planning on undercutting but not sure how to keep an expansion joint?
Lisa West
last year
Hello All! I realize that this was fifteen years ago. But if there is anything new, please let me know. I am having the same issue. I did the flooring myself and did undercut. But the carpet was pretty much attached to the bottom of the hearth and much cement came right out when I was ripping out the carpet. My LVP sits much lower than the carpet did as well. My Fireplace installer has passed away, so I cannot ask him. I’ve been researching grout, but am afraid that I cannot match the original color and it would not adhere properly. Could the original poster, please send me photos, if available? Look me up on Facebook please? Lisa Dachel West. And send me a pm? thank you!
HU-874743065
10 months ago
last modified: 10 months ago
I need help with this as well both a kitchen island and hearth both made out of rocks I thought about cutting an even edge then using epoxy paint
HU-445811673
9 months ago
Buy a tool called a contour gauge 💅🏻

Wood Floor meets Rock Fireplace - Help!!!

floorguy

Comments (17)

glennsfc

jerry_t

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nitajdg
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eandhl

glennsfc

floorguy

bud_cline

raenjapan

oddity

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jerry_t

Treva Watkins

Lisa West

HU-874743065

HU-445811673

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Wood Floor meets Rock Fireplace - Help!!!

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