We will be floating an engineered wood floor and our installer (well, we haven't hired him yet) says we can do a "picture frame" around the two fireplace hearths instead of a threshold molding piece. Can you do this with a floated floor? (I'm also considering undercutting the hearth but am not sure I can undercut a 3/4-inch marble hearth to accomodate a 3/8-inch floor) I thought one needed expansion space around the entire perimeter of a floated engineered wood floor. Also, do you need that expansion space everywhere? What about up against an entry door or a marble bathroom threshold? Do you need to put a molding piece that allows for expansion there? Does it matter which way the floor is oriented, running parallel or perpendicular to the door/hearth/threshold?

This is my first time posting here and hope my question(s) are clear. I've found the Hardwood Installer web site extremely helpful and it's already answered some of my questions.

With a floating floor you need to leave expansion on all sides and entrys, this is accomplished with transitions that are made to cap the floor edges at doorways and could also be used against the hearth, I would use a square edge cap at the hearth and picture frame that. The flooring can be laid whatever direction you would like, there are several factors to consider; length of rooms, traffic patterns, light sources, etc. You could posssibly undercut the marble but it is not something I would attempt.

You could always add a matching marble bullnose piece after the floater is installed. Glue it on the edge of the marble not the floater.

I'd like to see his method of picture framing, send pic please. You could always let him try it then if a problem starts cut the edge out and put the bull nose on.