Our fireplace has a brick hearth that extends about two feet in front of the fireplace opening, and one foot to each of the sides. It is only 1 brick thick/tall (with at least half an inch of mortar underneath the brick). I could use quarter round to finish off around the brick, but that seems sort of...ghetto. I've heard suggestions on here to undercut the brick, but what in the world would one use to do that? Any tips?

Another option is to install a single board border around the hearth, scribing it as well as possible then caulking between the wood and the brick. I've done this often and it doesn't require using hard to find or expensive undercutting tools.

Gary, do you have any pictures that would show what this would look like?

Go to this link. Pics by floorguy. It's the fourth photo down. He doubled the border. You can do just one board instead of two.

http://www.hardwoodinstaller.com/hardwo ... .php?t=217

I just undercut my first hearth yesterday using a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a diamond blade. About $60 total. I have seen some neat contraptions for adjusting hegiht on the boards here, but all I did was use the dust guard as a rest. I slipped a 1/8 piece of hardboard underneath to get the height correct and let her rip. Went very easy, the hard part was chiseling out after the cut. All in all a minimum investment in tools and time.

Sorry for the old bump, but I'm dealing with this exact situation. I like Floorguy's border, but I am wondering about the recomended gap. I don't see it in that picture. I don't want a 1/2" gap around my firplace, I don't want 1/4 round, but I also don't want nasty buckling from doing it wrong. I suppose I could undercut (I like the grinder method mentioned), but that sure seems like a messy pain in the butt.

My floor is a 1/2" Prefinished Engineered. I'm planning on a nail install.

Thoughts?

You need a gap for expansion for a floating floor, so the only options are to leave a gap around the brick and cover it with trim, undercut the brick (wasn't really messy, just vacuum the dust), or if you want to take a risk, fill the gap with caulk that matches the wood. This would give you much less expansion room than the other two approaches and I think it would be hard to make the caulk match.

It's not going to be a floating install, but a nail down. Does that change the answer any?

That picture is of mortar and tiles, not raised brick. There is a 3/16 expansion, he filled later when he finished off the F/P.


I always undercut brick or stone. With the limestone they use here, you have to use sanded caulk to match the mortar to go back to make it look like the stone is sitting on the mortar bed.

Many of the big name engineered manufacturers installation instructions, clearly state, no expansion is needed with their engineered. The first time I saw that suddenly appear I was skeptical. I still leave something for piece of mind.

They do recommend a 1/2" expansion space on all edges, regardless of installation method.



It does sound like undercut is the way to go. Any tips? I've got the afforementioned 4-1/2" angle grider. Got a sawzall. Hammers, etc. I can envision the cut going OK - Once it is done is it just a matter of chisseling the back out? Any risk of cracking the bricks doing this? Also - where the brick meets the wall, the grinder will have a tough time getting into the corner - All chissel work or is there a trick?

Thanks for the input!

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Crain tools sells a undercut saw that comes with a masonry blade as standard equipment. Just set it to your floor height and let her rip. On the colored silicone there is a laminate company that sells a colored silicone that works really well if you want to scribe it to the bricks while still leaving your expansion gap.

On undercutting - I have only done it once, but I would cut it a second time, lower to make it easier to chisel out. My brick came out very easy. Don't remember what I did in the back corners... I guess just chiseled it without the cut. I cut it pretty tight since the base mold was gone, maybe even went into the drywall. Definitely get teh diamond blade.