Solid wood flooring around a limestone fireplace?

[brettjbuckley]

We have started to consider fitting solid oak flooring in our lounge / dining room. I have successfully fitted laminate before and feel capable of doing this.

But how do I fit the flooring around our limestone fireplace? No problem cutting at the necessary angles, but if I leave an expansion gap, it will show and I can't fix edging onto the limestone.

Worse still, the limestone hearth edges have a kind of "overhang" which would prevent the fitting of edging strips anyway.

Any suggestions?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Flat beading an idea? (5mm thick solid Oak strips, 25mm wide, fixed to floorboards with littly pins - or grippfill if needed - to cover needed expansion gap). We use that 99 times out of the 100.

 

[brettjbuckley]

Thanks for the reply WoodYouLike.

I like the idea of oak beading - I think it would fit OK and I could pin/glue it onto the edge of the solid wood without any problems.

But if the floor did expand, wouldn't it push the beading up against the fireplace edge? If this happened and the beading already sat flush to the fireplace then we might have problems!

I think when I did the laminate (in our old house), I fastened the batons onto the skirting so that the floor could "slide" under the batons if it needed to expand.

Maybe I have misunderstood the concept?

 

[WoodYouLike]

With expanding the beading would come loose (makes it also an early warning sign ). No harm done, fix the flat beading (which you can't fix the same way as scotia, becaus it's flat) again to the floor. Happens once in a while, mostly only in the beginning. The floor will settle to its 'normal' size in a matter of months.

 

[brettjbuckley]

I suppose that if the floor will "settle" in a matter of months, I could simply delay putting the beading on - we could live with a gap for a while

 

[WoodYouLike]

That's the porogative of a DIY-er (Don't try that with a GSI-er = Get-Someone-In, customers that want us to install the floor for them hate it when you leave gaps!)

 

[mattysupra]

Flat beading an idea? (5mm thick solid Oak strips, 25mm wide, fixed to floorboards with littly pins - or grippfill if needed - to cover needed expansion gap). We use that 99 times out of the 100.

not sure if your not making yourself fully clear here or if you do it different to me. When you say fix to floor boards do you mean flooring or subfloor? Anyway i will try to clear it up a bit.(With out trying to sound rude) . Myself i fit a battern same thickness to floor your installing to subfloor! And then you can leave exspansion gap up to battern and pin/glue your flat beading to this battern. Not the floor ! Hence leaving exspansion . Does that make sense?

 

[WoodYouLike]

Perhaps a picture will make things clearer. It's the one one the right: flat beading 5 x 25 x 2000mm lengths, pinned on the floorboards to cover expansion gap. Works differently than scotias or quadrants and our customers really love them because it finishes of the floor neatly, in keep with the wood type and even makes it look like a picture frame (but normally you harldy notice the beading is there).

 

[gcol]

Woody, I think where the confusion is coming in is that it's unclear whether you're advising pinning the beading to the floorboards (subfloor) or whether you suggest pinning them to the actual new flooring you are laying.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Woody, I think where the confusion is coming in is that it's unclear whether you're advising pinning the beading to the floorboards (subfloor) or whether you suggest pinning them to the actual new flooring you are laying.

Who's talking about subfloors? Don't think Brettbuckley is confused. If any confusing was caused I do appologise: flat beading always goes on top of the new floor, otherwise where's the expansion gap you cover?

 

[gcol]

Who's talking about subfloors? Don't think Brettbuckley is confused. ?

I never said he was.

not sure if your not making yourself fully clear here or if you do it different to me. When you say fix to floor boards do you mean flooring or subfloor?

Flat beading always goes on top of the new floor, otherwise where's the expansion gap you cover?

I thought you might have meant to do it like this.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Gcol, you're thinking too 'deep'
Small tiny pins in a 5mm tick beading does the trick (the size of a pin needed to cover 18mm wood + 5mm beading and connect in the subfloor will crack the beading)

 

[gcol]

Hey it wasn't me that suggested sub floors - it was our flooring hero. I was just trying to explain how there could be an element of confusion.

 

[mattysupra]

yep that clears it up. The verdict is you do it different to me! i like to stick piece of flooring/battern etc to sub floor and then leave expansion between the battern and the flooring. Then glue profile to battern not the floor you fitted. Hence you end up with expansion and nothing bonded to the new floor.Does that make sense? Could do with drawing one of them pictures but out of my league

 

[WoodYouLike]

I understand the principle you work on Matty and as you say: we do things a bit different than you (different countries from origin = different solutions )