You’re going to need to post a much wider shot of your fireplace area to get helpful input. It’s impossible to see what’s going on/what you’re worried about with this zoomed in photo.

Here’s a shot from further back. Sorry I’ve got plywood sheets in the way

On seeing the hearth, avoid the issue altogether and tear out the hearth and lay the new flooring in its place. That hearth is just an odd obstacle.

I would check the code for fireplace hearths before deciding what to do with it

Can you expound? We haven’t touched the fireplace yet and didn’t have plans to.

There may be a code that requires you to have time or some other non-combustible beneath the fireplace box. It looks like a gas fireplace, so I doubt there is such a code, but check with your city codes. If you have to have a non-combustible, I’d still rip out what you have and inlay slate to be flush with your new floor to avoid your other issue. You’re doing the floors anyway. Now would be the time.

Thanks. It’s a wood burning fireplace. We don’t use it but would be nice to

Since it’s wood burning, I’m almost certain you’ll need a non combustible surface there, but definitely double check.

Thanks for all your help!

You have a ship lap wall treatment, you don't need baseboards. Baseboards were designed to protect fragile plaster walls... Just use a simple square moulding or shoe at the bottom to hide the gap

I agree to check the code reguarding your fireplace. Safety around a fireplace should not be compromised. Please post pictures when your project is completed!

Then you need a hearth but check maybe a much lower one to match up with the new floor level can happen

Agree with Hallet, undercut the shiplap and slide the flooring under it. Looks more cleaner.

NO baseboard around shiplap or hearth but yes to 1/4 round to cover expansion gap in flooring.

The fireplace is already out of code, covered with combustible wood right up to the firebox. You're going to have to touch it, and remove all of that. How did the home inspector not catch that? It has to be a non combustible surface surrounding the firebox.

The area in red needs to be non combustible material. In some locations it is more than 6".

There is a formula about how far the fireplace mantel can project at various heights above the firebox opening.

Thanks all. We found out it is 8” of non combustible materials here. Our home inspector missed a lot. This house has been a huge headache. We won’t touch the fireplace until it is fixed with the proper materials.