questions building a hearth pad

Ok so I want to build a hearth pad for my new 25-pah. In the manual it says it would be okay to use 2 1/2" concrete boards and then tile over that.

I was wondering, that would be kind of rough on the existing floor. what should go on the bottom of the hearth pad?

or i was thinking, can i build a frame out of 2x4's then install the concrete boards on top of that and then tile over it?

does anyone see a problem with the hearth pad having a wood frame? otherwise if i just use the concrete board what can i put under it to not scratch up the floor?

thanks in advance

 

I've googled it and some do build with 2x4 or 2x3 0r 2x2 underneath it, or go the extra mile and do it like Don222's and have a built in drawer for all your cleaning tools

 

You plan on sliding that thing back and forth for a sandpaper effect ? I would think once it is in place that it would be fine. I'm unsure what is under mine, on my hardwood floors, so maybe it has a lower layer of plywood for all I know - but it is a prefab so don't imagine so. Can you use a thin sheet of metal instead of wood?

 

How about a couple layers of rosin paper?

 

My Accentra has a cast iron pad that Harman makes for it , what I did was cut a piece of high traffic carpet to fit the shape of the pad turn it up side down carpet facing hardwood foam backing facing the pad . I can slide it on my hardwood floor no issues. You can see a little of the carpet fuzz .

 

well i wont be sliding it back and forth repeatedly but from time to time it will be slid for the occasional repair, maintenance or deep cleaning. I think i'm going to use a simple sheet of 1/2 or 3/4 plywood under it. I was just concerned that enough heat could transfer through to catch the wood underneath. but then i was thinking. If the manual specifies the 2 sheets of concrete board plus tile to cover a combustible, then the wood frame is the combustible being covered by the concrete. so it should work just fine.

 

Hey man I see it's your B Day today have a Great one and enjoy that new stove

 

X3

 

Build your riser frame...

Fasten a layer of OSB sheeting to the bottom of the frame.

Install a good grid in the riser riser/hearth frame.

Install OSB on the top of the frame followed by the double layer of cement board and then tile that.

If you make the frame from 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 wood you will be fine.

Run the sander over the bottom sheet to remove any roughness.

Use sheet rock screws and set them below the surface of the OSB so you don't have anything to scratch the floor.

If you are worried you can glue some strips of felt across the bottom of your hearth to be real sure of not scratching the floor.

Or use some 4 inch wide rubber belting at the edges and in the middle.

The rubber will also make it a no skid.


Good luck

 

Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It was a great birthday. Wife made a great dinner and got me the Honeywell wifi touch screen thermostat for the new 25-PAH. It has a cellphone app and i can change temp and turn the stove on or off from work. I havent opened it yet but I am now thinking i need a 24 volt transformer to make it work with a pellet stove since there is no C wire. Easy enough.

I spent the day making my hearth pad. just finished grouting it. I went simple. I made a cardboard cutout of the thing to verify it would look alright. transferred to a sheet of plywood. Thinset then concrete board then thinset then more concrete board. screwed it together. made sure no screws can touch the floor. then some more thinset on top and finally the tile. Just used 12" ceramic tiles nothing special. Then grout after it was dry. its in place now. IT came out very heavy and sturdy. The stove is of course not on it yet. I didnt tile the vertical edges yet. I might do those after the stove is on. The stove is heavy and its going to be a real show to get it on top of the pad.

I might tilt it back, put a 4x4 under the stove then let it down so that now the stove is balancing on the 4x4. then the Mrs can slide the pad up to the 4x4 and then i can remove the 4x4. after that should be a gentle slide to get it right. I'll post some pics as soon as its finished and the area is cleaned up.

I also took advantage of the stove not being connected to really seal up the duravent pipe with hi temp rtv. That duravent venting is terrible. I did a few test burns using a good flashlight back there and smoke just pours out of the seams. Its all sealed up now and curing in the garage. maybe on the way home from work i'll pick up some hi temp black paint and make it look nice.

 

The plan worked great with the 4x4 except the Mrs didn't have enough mustard to slide the hearth pad! oops. So once i got the stove "balancing" on the 4x4 she was able to keep it that way so i could slide the hearth pad under it.

I got it all connected and ran a test burn turning it on and off with the t-stat. fantastic how that works. I also learned you have to push the stoves on button before the stat will take over, and you can use the off button to override the stat. I'll be using it basically as a timer in the shoulder seasons to turn the stove on at 4 am and off at 7:30 am to take out the morning chill. so at 4 am stat turns to 90 and 7:30 am it turns to 40. later on in the winter i'll switch to hi/lo mode to save the ignitor.

 

I liked the Honeywell wi-Fi stat too, but needing a separate transformer for power made me go with the Lux Geo......can be powered by c-wire, or battery.
GEO - LUX Products

Comes in white or black. Has Geo-Fencing too.

 

I like that it can use batteries. On the other hand, I think that while the transformer is a mild pita to install, i can hide the thing in the basement and run thermostat wire in the wall so its "invisible". Also once the transformer is installed, its done. No batteries to buy.

besides, since the honeywell is already here (it was a bday present) and the transformer shows up tomorrow, im going to go with that. Luckily there wont be any learning curve. I have 33 of these at work.

 

Pete...do you currently use the Geo?

 

Yes, I do. I got it last fall.

 

Is there a swing setting on it?

 

Yes. Interestingly enough, the installation instructions don't even mention it, but it's there.

 

Here's a pic of the swing screen, and I attached a copy of the Install instructions for you to browse.