The fireplace is one of the most iconic features in a home. It’s often the focal point for family gatherings and it can be an essential component in making your living space cozy and warm. That’s why it’s so important to hire a professional when installing flooring around a fireplace.
The fireplace adds a lot of character to your space, and it’s an interesting piece of architecture. But what happens when you want to modernize that piece of architecture with hardwood or laminate flooring?
That hurdle has stopped many homeowners from moving forward with their plans. The biggest concern is the big gap you will see between your flooring and the fireplace.
It’s not difficult to install flooring around the fireplace, but you do need some experience or to hire somebody that has some experience if you want the appearance of your new floor to disappear underneath your existing fireplace.
What are your options when installing flooring around a fireplace?
When undercutting fireplaces for laminate flooring, it can be a very dusty job. Most fireplaces are made of some sort of masonry product, such as bricks, concrete, ceramic tile or stones. When cutting this type of material it produces a lot of fine powder, which gets everywhere.
The other alternative is to install a trim mold around the fireplace, which is not very attractive. Or install the laminate or hardwood up to the fireplace and fill the gap with matching putty. For fireplaces made of rock or stone, the irregular shapes would require you to scribe around each one.
Undercutting a fireplace
We always prefer to undercut the fireplace to make it look professionally done. It also makes future repairs easier, since you have solid flooring under the fireplace.
To undercut a fireplace, you will need a specialized tool. The best tool to use is a jamb saw used for undercutting door jambs.
You can use a blade that will cut the masonry with the jamb saw. There are a couple different types of these blades.
The best type would be a diamond blade. This is the same type of blade used to cut ceramic tile.
How much is installing flooring around a fireplace going to cost?
Honestly, not very much. The biggest cost will be in labor. Labor for this project is pretty messy, but not expensive. The materials we will need are standard sizes and should only cost you a few dollars. It will typically take around 2-3 hours, – depending on the size of your fireplace.
We recommend contacting us for pricing. We can come out and give you a quote on the cost of your undercutting project.
Summary
Undercutting a fireplace to install laminate or hardwood flooring under it.The objective when cutting fireplaces for laminate flooring is to remove the bottom of the fireplace so that the laminate or hardwood flooring may be installed completely beneath the fireplace.
“When undercutting fireplaces for laminate flooring, it can be a very dusty job.”
Installing laminate plank around your fireplace is a great way to modernize an outdated design and create the illusion of seamless, uninterrupted flooring. The biggest concern homeowners may have with this project is cutting into their brick or concrete to install new boards that will seamlessly go from one surface to another. Installing undercutting for your home’s floors can seem daunting at first, but we’ll walk you through how it works so you can confidently take on any project like this in the future without fear!
