How to trim vinyl flooring around fireplace hearth?

Bonnie
by Bonnie

Couldn’t find anything online for this particular problem and it’s because the hearth on my fireplace will be positioned below my vinyl flooring and the guy that’s going to be putting it in says to just trim it in those metal strips for doorways and I don’t think that would look good! So here’s a pic that’s showing what it looks like..

After sub floor the top piece of flooring will set above hearth and I’m wondering what people trim vinyl in? Guy at Home Depot say some silicone.. not sure anyone have this problem?

  7 answers
  • Karen Brunck Karen Brunck on Nov 24, 2018

    Hi Bonnie. I agree with you regarding the metal trim. Yuk! The only things I can think of are 1- use the smallest 1/4 round mouldings you can get, sand them down to the height of the flooring, stain or paint to match, then adhere with some construction adhesive. 2- Locate the smallest pencil or decorative trim tiles to edge the flooring. Use adhesive grout. Keep it darker in color so the transition to the hearth is not visually jarring. Best wishes!

  • 2dogal 2dogal on Nov 24, 2018

    From your picture, it looks like it's a very small are that you could leave alone. If not, I'd use something like a cement made for cracks and infill the area.

  • Dwp7470b Dwp7470b on Nov 24, 2018

    He shoulda asked you to

    A. Use the doorway as a Model to cut the bulk off. After you do that it is easier to trim the Rest off until you get a Perfect fit fof the hearth

    B. Just measure the hearth and cut.

    Maybe A is what he meant.

    Either way, you are best to use a Very Fine Coping Saw that you can maneuvre the Blade and cut slowly.

    Also if you need to seal an edge just use some Brown DAP Silicon Putty which truly: Guests will never really notice DAP, so why should you let it concern you?


  • Seth Seth on Nov 24, 2018

    Bonnie,

    One thing you could try is a flooring store, not Lowe's or Home Depot. They have a variety of transition materials you cannot get anywhere else. You should be able to use a transition strip made by the manufacturer of your floor, but it will add a raised edge to your floor before transitioning down to the hearth. It might look better than the metal. You could try a tube of colored sanded grout or brick mortar and form it to a beveled shape that would ease the transition. Remember that the floor will flex a little and will swell and shink so anything that goes against the flooring will have to be flexible. As suggested, you can customize a piece of trim by sanding it to get the height just right. A more extreme solution would be to raise the hearth using a thin brick veneer and trimming around the raised hearth.

  • Pmono7690 Pmono7690 on Nov 24, 2018

    I have used some oak transition pieces for our laminate flooring where we changed direction going into another room. It may not match what you have, but you could stain it to match.

  • Joanne lueke Joanne lueke on Nov 24, 2018

    You can actually buy laminate trim pieces, even at Home Depot and Lowes. If you know the Manufacturer of your laminate you can easily find trim pieces to match the color and wood grain. They come in several different profiles to match your needs and would look beautiful. Google "vinyl laminate trim" and you will see all your choices. Best wishes.

  • Elaine Elaine on Nov 25, 2018

    Use an overlap transition strip. Everything expands and contracts, you’ll need to allow enough room for this.