Replies

1. 
   RW | Jul 23, 2003 02:36am | #1

   1: cliche - caulking is not a piece of trim

   2: you can scribe fit it. Take a compass and use either a mechanical pencil or grind one to a very fine point. Take the time to be tedious. Use a file if you have to. You may be surprised at how tight you can make that joint. It's probably not as uncommon as you suspect, just time consuming.

   3: the easy way out - shoe mold. You can't nail to the brick, but you can come at it from about 2/3rds of the way up and angle your nails through the mold, the floor, and into the subfloor. You're still left with small gaps at the mortar joints.

   4: if I read you right, the brick sits up above the floor level forming the hearth. Box the hearth in on its edges, and use a molding to just lip over the top enough to cover. I've seen it done with cabinet ply and a thick chair rail mold which was recessed to rabbet over the ply and the brick. It sounds screwy, but it actually looked quite reasonable.

   "The child is grown / The dream is gone / And I have become / Comfortably numb "      lyrics by Roger Waters

2. 
   mercury | Jul 23, 2003 03:11am | #2

   Hi Mike,

   I just completed the same project as you, so I have some first hand experience. On my fireplace the brick hearth is a full brick higher than the level of the laminate floor. I can't tell from your post if your fireplace is contructed the same way, but I did the same thing as you and left a one inch gap between laminate and brick for insertion of transition molding.

   I made my moulding from 1x2 oak with a simple rabbet on the bottom to go over the laminate. Imagine an upside down L. I used construction adhesive to hold the piece to the plywood subfloor so that the laminate could float underneath the front lip of the moulding.

   The back of the L was against brick, but I didn't bother scribing the moulding to fit the brick. I plan on sitting in the room facing the fireplace rather than sitting on the hearth facing the room <grin>.  So who's going to see that the back side of the moulding isn't scribed to fit the brick?

   There's my two cents.

3. 
   Steinmetz | Jul 23, 2003 05:59am | #3

   Mike, do what Mercury suggests, but make that 'L' shape out of two lengths of wood. Don't glue the pieces of the 'L'together yet, but position the upper most mould against the brick, adjust this piece to be parallel to your I" gap, then scribe and cut/file/carve to the contours of the brick . When you are satisfied with the match, glue the pieces together,and drill and toenail to the floor. Stein.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 7/22/2003 11:45:53 PM ET by steinmetz

4. 
   TXJon | Jul 23, 2003 09:21pm | #4

   I am looking at doing the same thing, and I had the same question.

   What about under cutting your brick about 1/2" deep and slightly higher than the laminate.  Run the laminate 1/4" under the brick, caulk with clear silicone (or that color matched stuff).  I don't think it would be any harder than scribing each board, and you won't have to worry about chipout on the scribed ends.

   Bonus for me is I get to justify a new tool (4 1/2" grinder with diamond blade)

   Jon

1. 
   Germey | Jul 24, 2003 01:18am | #5

   I did the same project last year, but didn't even bother with the molding.  I just brought the Pergo right up to the brick (also full brick height above the floor).  To fill the gap, I used concrete colored silicone, then while still wet, I sprinkled dry mortar mix on it, pressed it in, molded the shape a bit and let it cure.  The next day I vacuumed up the excess.  The result is a very clean look, as if the mortar from the hearth just flows out into the flooring gap to form a perfect seal with the floor.  I realize this is probably blasphemy by some people's standards and is not very "touchable", but when I drop my large glass of beer on the hearth, I do not need to worry about ruining the flooring.

   Good luck.

1. 
   mercury | Jul 24, 2003 07:47pm | #6

   Now that's a creative idea. I have another transition between laminate and slate floor that I've been trying to decide how to finish. I ran the laminate within a 1/4 inch of the slate, and both materials are roughly the same height. I was debating using a flat T-mold 3/16" thick, but I like the idea of using coloured silicone and dry grout mix.

   Not blasphemy in my books. I think it will look good, and will avoid a tripping hazard in the hallway between kitchen and front entrance. Thanks for the tip.

1. 
   Germey | Jul 24, 2003 08:25pm | #7

   Mercury,

   Not to be a downer, but you may find that transition difficult.  I tried a similar appoach from the main floor to a closet, but the fact that the two surfaces were the same height, and both essentially smooth, made the transition look like Ca-Ca.  I tore it out and did the "T" molding.

   The good news is that trying it and doing it again was not much effort.  I guess it depends on how many linear feet of interface you have between the laminate and the tile.  Have fun, at any cost!