Adding to hearth transition?

[amansa342]

Hi all - total newbie here. We recently got new carpet professionally installed and I had no idea that the original carpet went under the hearth otherwise we would have removed the hearth then had the carpet installed, then put the hearth back on top. (You live, you learn. Right?)

The new carpet that was installed was cut to go around it, and it looks awful - you can still see some of the old carpet poking out and you can see the edge of the new carpet.

What I'm hoping to do is to find a way to extend the transition/edge a bit further out (0.5-1 inch maybe?) to cover the unsightly carpet edges.

Seems like the transition strip is made of metal. Any suggestions on how to even approach this? My husband is a metal fabricator if that's helpful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[EbS-P]

What does your baseboard/shoe molding look like?

 

[amansa342]

What does your baseboard/shoe molding look like?

Here's a pic!

 

[begreen]

The hearth fit looks ok on the sides. Any added on is going to look, well, added on. Have you called the carpet company and asked them to remedy the sloppy fitting in front? Seems like a decent craftsperson might be able to hide that gap with a strip of the new carpet glued in.

 

[amansa342]

The hearth fit looks ok on the sides. Any added on is going to look, well, added on. Have you called the carpet company and asked them to remedy the sloppy fitting in front? Seems like a decent craftsperson might be able to hide that gap with a strip of the new carpet glued in.

Hi there - unfortunately the company is saying they can't do anything about it since I signed off on it during the time of installation. Also, I don't really know what they could do because the old carpet is still underneath the hearth so the new carpet has nowhere to be 'tucked in'. It looks better on the one side, but unfortunately it does look sloppy on all 3 sides where the carpet is (up against the wall looks fine). I'm at the point where I'd need to buy/make a larger hearth (it's already at the largest size I could find pre-made, so it would be a custom job probably). OR, find a way to extend the trim.

 

[begreen]

It looks like it could be undercut with a knife at a 45º angle. Then glue in a thin strip of the new carpet.

Or, just move the hearth pad forward 1/2". The gap in the back could be filled in or just leave it.

 

[EbS-P]

walk down the trim aisle. Maybe a piece of 1-2” crown molding might fit. Covering the lower half of the metal. It would be worth a stick just to try.

 

[amansa342]

It looks like it could be undercut with a knife at a 45º angle. Then glue in a thin strip of the new carpet.

Or, just move the hearth pad forward 1/2". The gap in the back could be filled in or just leave it.

Both interesting ideas, hadn't thought about moving it forward. That wouldn't help the issue on both sides though. I'm not sure what's going on underneath the hearth. Typically... would it be glued to the old carpet or just sitting on top? Undercutting might be a good way to go if we can manage that.

 

[begreen]

The sides look pretty good in the pictures.

 

[EbS-P]

It looks like it could be undercut with a knife at a 45º angle. Then glue in a thin strip of the new carpet.

Or, just move the hearth pad forward 1/2". The gap in the back could be filled in or just leave it.

I think would work really well.

 

[amansa342]

The sides look pretty good in the pictures.

I'll admit, I'm probably being way too critical. Here are some more angles. The old carpet is the white stuff poking out.

It's not enough room to put a new strip of carpet I don't think. I'll have to look more into that route. I just want it to look neat and tidy

I very much appreciate the suggestions! Open to others if you think of anything.

 

[amansa342]

walk down the trim aisle. Maybe a piece of 1-2” crown molding might fit. Covering the lower half of the metal. It would be worth a stick just to try.

That was my original thought, wasn't sure if anyone had tried it or had suggestions on type of trim... can it be painted to match? Basically the most seamless looking option.

 

[EbS-P]

That was my original thought, wasn't sure if anyone had tried it or had suggestions on type of trim... can it be painted to match? Basically the most seamless looking option.

I’d do white to match baseboard or find the closest matching color of spray paint.

 

[FPX Dude]

No, you're not being critical, that's just crappy work. Sign-off or not, call them again and send pics of what you see, you're the one that'll always see it, hope they make it right.

 

[Rob_Red]

No, you're not being critical, that's just crappy work. Sign-off or not, call them again and send pics of what you see, you're the one that'll always see it, hope they make it right.

I’m with you in this. Just because you signed off doesn’t mean they can just throw their hands up and say “not my problem”.

 

[begreen]

To be fair, you can't expect a carpeter to remove a woodstove and hearth. This should have been done in advance. That said, they could have undercut the old carpet better so that the new carpet pushed under the hearth lip a half inch. The question is now, what would they do to fix this?

If no response, another simple fix might be to get some 1" wide black sharpies and run them over the exposed white edge of the old carpet.