Installing a laminate floor is a daunting project for a do-it-yourself homeowner, and it's often difficult to figure out how to finish the edges. Laminate flooring is a "floating" floor that needs a quarter inch of space where the flooring meets walls and other surfaces such as doorways and fireplaces, and it's important that you use the right trim and technique to finish the edge if you want to achieve a professional look to your project. The key to trimming a laminate floor around a fireplace is in choosing the correct transition piece.

  • Installing a laminate floor is a daunting project for a do-it-yourself homeowner, and it's often difficult to figure out how to finish the edges.
  • Laminate flooring is a "floating" floor that needs a quarter inch of space where the flooring meets walls and other surfaces such as doorways and fireplaces, and it's important that you use the right trim and technique to finish the edge if you want to achieve a professional look to your project.

End your laminate plank installation edge 1 1/8 inch from the fireplace brickwork so that the area meeting the brick has a gap just over an inch instead of the 1/4 inch expansion gap where the planks meet the wall.

Cut the trim track and end moulding the length of the brick, using a hack saw for the trim track and a mitre saw for the end moulding.

Place the trim track in the centre of 1 1/8 inch space and fit the end moulding on top of it. You will be able to feel the edge where the grooves of the moulding will fit into the trim track; it is not necessary to snap the end moulding into place.

Adjust the trim until the lip of the end moulding overlaps the laminate planks by 1/4 inch evenly the length of the strip.

Mark the subfloor on both edges of the trim track on both the left and right sides of the track. Remove the end moulding and set aside.

Screw the trim track into place, taking care to keep the edges on the marks you made on the floor.

Snap the end moulding into place by inserting one edge of the groove into the trim track and gently pushing into place along the length of the track. Your laminate floor is now trimmed around the fireplace.

TIP

If the fireplace juts out from the wall, cut the end moulding pieces with a mitre box and saw at a 90 degree outside angle on all three sides.

WARNING

Always use eye protection when using a saw.