Mandated Clearances for Stoves

New Jotul Rangely just delivered. The stove shop guys said that the floor clearance for the front load is 2" short.
16" is the Jotul and U.S. standard clearance to combustibles for front loading.
BUT: Maine and Canada specify 18" for protection.
The stove guy said that he "has to" write down in the report for the dealer that we're 2" short.

Our options:
1. Live with the 16" to the end of the hearth.
2. Insert stone or tile into the wood floor around the hearth end to meet the extra 2" mandate. I'd rout out the wood flooring then insert a strip of tile or stone to match the hearth. PITA.
3. Get one of those hearth rugs ( ugly and clutzy). Or some fibreglass pad.
Ideas ?

 

Type 1 hearth extender board or pad. Pick it up and put it behind the stove in the Summer.

I'd find a piece of slate or soapstone to cantilever over that whopping two inches before I started effing up the floor.

 

Get some felt or fleece and glue it to the bottom of whatever you put on it too.

 

I'd take door #1, live with it.

 

Will your insurance company cover you if you stay with the 16"?

 

Fleece?

That's sort of vague.

What kind of fleece? Not sure I've heard of any type of natural fleece, thought it may exist and I am not aware of it.

If a person doesn't know what you're referring too, then they may be inclined to think you're talking about the type of fleece like is in clothing or blankets...which is almost always a manmade material...usually of plastic origin.

Fleece clothing is highly flammable...it melts...and when it does melt it sticks like glue to whatever it's touching.

I have a hearth rug. It's not a high quality one of wool, it's the cheap type I bought at Tractor Supply. Had a piece of nut coal roll out of the stove on a couple occasions and both times it nearly melted right through that rug. Saved my carpet though. LOL! In reality, the 16" OR 18" are just minimum clearances. I can tell you that at any time a hot ember could pop out of a wood stove much further than that. As well a piece of hot coal (literal black coal if that's what a person is burning...like me) can easily roll out a hand fed stove and roll much further than either of those distances.

That said, if every detail is followed by an installer to the letter of the law then it's highly likely an clean install can by far cost more than the stove itself. Pays to have a stove dealer/installer look at the stove location BEFORE any purchase of the stove itself. Might save you a lot of unexpected expenses.




I would tend to go with putting down a hard type hearth extender and when the season is over place it behind the stove.

 

Does it need a specific r value, or can it be ember protection only?
If you just need ember protection then you can set the whole thing on a sheet of steel...or tempered glass... assuming that everything is on the same level...

 

BP wins on "door #1". It is what I want since it is safe.
Skip those hearth rugs unless there're FG. We have used wood stoves for decades for heating following clearance specs. This 18" front protection is a new one.
The question is however about insurance ( would they find out and cover a loss ? ), and Ms. Parochial school who likes the law and is a SWMBO MBA .
( There, got you more TLA )

 

A hearth rug doesn't quality as a hearth. I always prefer a larger hearth honestly I never build any to the minimum. And yes chances are an insurance company will deny a claim because it is a noncompliant new install. Even if the hearth isn't involved. I have been involved in enough insurance claims to know they will many times try to find a way out of paying. Why give them an easy out?

 

Can you slide the hearth out from the rear wall 2" and fill that gap with trim?

 

No. I inserted the hearth into the wood floor on a slab foundation.
Thx.

 

I'm wondering why in the world would you be involved with insurance claims in the first place? Having trouble wondering just why an insurance company would bring in a chimney sweeper to help settle/deny their claims.

Care to explain?

 

Here goes. It's an if thing.
No involvement with insurance claims. But if there was a claim, would the adjuster look over the clearances ?
Where did the sweeper come into this ? Chimney sweeps ( me in this place ) do chimneys.

 

Clearances are only a suggestion......................

 

I was not directing this post to you. I had quoted BHoller and his post about being involved with insurance company claims. I wonder why the insurance companies would call in a chimney sweep for his input regarding such things?

 

In what state ?
Every state has a regulatory agency that manages insurance companies rates, policies, claim processes, etc.. What might be a usual procedure in one state might not even be close in another. Same with code utilizations, every state and municipality is different. Same with state tax codes. Every state is different.

 

Good idea.
Not having one, I'd assume it would come with one, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't. Course, there's always the do-it-yourselfer that would make their own.

 

We get called in to do full inspections by insurance companies because adjusters just don't know enough about it. We also work with the state fire inspector occasionally on incidents in our area. And I have testified several times as an expert witness in court.

 

We do chimneys, realestate and insurance inspections, stove installs masonry repair flashing etc. It is pretty much all chimney related but that covers allot.