expansion gap with glue down

[songbird23]

I'll soon be laying engineered herringbone through the ground floor of my house.
It currently has floorboards.
The plan is to screw down 9mm ply and glue the engineered boards on top.

I get that floating floor has freedom to expand and therefore requires 10mm expansion gap.
I want to run the boards close to the hearth without using an unsightly trim.
If the floor is glued down can the 10mm not be reduced?

Can any wise souls our there recommend a glue for this purpose.
There are many options out there.

Thanks!

 

[Mr diy a lot.]

It’s fine to cut the boards to but up to the hearth nice and snug. And then have your 10mm gap everywhere else running under your skirtings.

 

[crazydaze]

If you don't run sufficient expansion gaps around all sides of the floor and it does move, the floor will either lift/buckle or at best with herringbone, you risk losing the straightness/definition of the pattern The floor is not as stable re: expansion as a plank engineered due to the high number of pieces and the importance of the individuals all laying straight and true to keep the design uniform. i.e. if you lay straight to the edge of the fireplace and the floor expands against it, it will push the pattern wonky even if it doesnt lift.

 

[songbird23]

Thanks!
So *if* expansion occurs the floor is ruined.
There will be a tongue of flooring parallel to the hearth stone.
I'll leave a few mm gap there & silicone it down.
I'll keep and eye on it, if a problem appears I can then pull it up and trim a bit off to increase the gap.

 

[crazydaze]

If the herringbone floor moves, it won't automatically 'spring back' if you ease an edge. Herringbone is a different animal to regular rectangle plank engineered flooring, that's why installation in the professional trade is charged at twice the price of regular plank straight laid.

There are lots of options to cover the correct gap around the fireplace, flat beading or a decorative lip from Stairrods UK would be my go to assuming the fireplace hearth is immovable etc.

 

[songbird23]

Thank you for the advice, appreciated.