new fireplace and new wood flooring - sequence of events

[damouse]

Hi there

We are going to have some engineered wood flooring laid in about 4 weeks and we are considering replacing our tired and unloved wooden fireplace surround and stone hearth for a swanky new limestone set.

My understanding is that in an ideal world you lay the hearth first and then fit the flooring - right?! So we'd remove the existing hearth and fire surround, have the new limestone set fitted and then have the wood flooring laid so as to not have any expansion gaps showing around the hearth area.

If as looks likely, we won't get the fireplace fitted prior to our flooring coming in what should we do from a floor laying perspective so that in future when do get the fireplace in there are little / no gaps showing around the hearth?

Any tips or advice on this? Is there a right order in setting a hearth/laying a floor even or am I over worrying here?

 

[Newboy]

I think you answered your own question - Fit the fireplace and then fit the flooring

 

[foxhole]

If you don't have the new fireplace remove existing and run flooring over, then you can cut out the flooring to accept the new fireplace, you can sit the old one on top until you have the replacement.[protect the new floor with a piece of hardboard under the old hearth.]

 

[EightyTwo]

We did hearth first, then flooring. I used oak scotia to hide the expansion gap. I don't think it looks very nice as the hearth now looks too "shallow".

Ten years on, I'm getting used to it but I'm not sure that I'd do it that way again. (We secret-nailed solid "rustic" oak on top of the existing floorboards.)

 

[damouse]

We did hearth first, then flooring. I used oak scotia to hide the expansion gap. I don't think it looks very nice as the hearth now looks too "shallow".

Ten years on, I'm getting used to it but I'm not sure that I'd do it that way again. (We secret-nailed solid "rustic" oak on top of the existing floorboards.)

Interesting! I thought that most hearths have a rebate and a protruding lip so that the flooring can run underneath AND you still have an expansion area which is not visible.

 

[foxhole]

You can always create a rebate, just mount hearth on a smaller plinth of suitable dimensions.

 

[EightyTwo]

Thanks, foxhole. If I ever need to do it again, I'll do that!