As soon as Im done burning this year Im going to be moving the wood stove and tearing out the el cheapo non safe hearth floor that it sits on. I have been using these under the stove but they are ugly and the wife hates them so its time to redo it and get her what she wants. http://www.lowes.com/pd_41283-85334...serSearch=hearth+pad&productId=3033235&rpp=32 My question is according to woodstock stoves they say to lay 3/4'' plywood, 24 gauge sheetmetal, 1/2'' durock, and then 1/4'' tile, slate or something of that nature. So yesterday we bought the tile, quickset, and grout but my question is can I skip the sheetmetal and plywood if I just build the floor up from the subfloor with the durock probably an inch or more? I am going to call woodstock about this also but wanted to get yalls opinion too. Also would you screw the durock to the subfloor and to each other? If I go with the plywood sheetmetal durock combo would you screw it all together? Are there any other suggestions for what I should do here?
Sheet metal prevents embers which could get down to plywood should a crack develop in the tile or grout. Plywood would give you a good base if subfloor is questionable.
fishingpol nailed it. The seamless metal layer protects you in the event that the tile or cement board become cracked. If a hot ember was to penetrate through a crack and no ember strip was present, you could end up with a big problem of thst ember was to make it to the substrate floor The only way you could POSSIBLY not use metal is if your substrate is concrete. Sheet metal is very cheap, so don't skip out on that!!
As said above, the steel sheet is for ember control only, not so much of a heat shield. The Ply is the subfloor for the floors finish. I'm not sure how your FV heats the floor around it but I tell you the IS keeps te floor in front and the sides very warm alot warmer than my Jostul Oslo ever did.
Alright sheet metal is on the list. The stove throws some serious heat out in front of it not to much on the sides or directly underneath. Im just guessing right now but assuming that the subfloor is in good order with no problems could I start building the hearth up from that or should I put in another piece of plywood? I dont want the hearth floor to get built up to high as Im limited with the space where the stove pipe comes through the existing fire place opening.
What is the subfloor made of? Is it particle board or plywood, or is this an older house with solid wood strip subflooring? Durock won't hold screw threads; you'll have to drill through both layers and drive the screws into wood below. It's important to get all the layers pulled tight together so there aren't air gaps in-between, because gaps allow the upper layers to flex, which will crack grout and pop tiles loose. It's sometimes necessary to use thinset between layers to accommodate unevenness.
Our last home we ended up building a raised hearth and shortening the pipe inside and extending it higher above the roof. That was much easier to load than bending down to check the fire (though that stove did not have glass to see, so we had to open the doors frequently.). Just a thought.
Ive thought of that and would love to have a raised hearth but its just not an option I would have to go through the wall and the existing chimney to do that and thats just not doable.
I see, ours was straight up through the roof, too bad it wont work for you. I'd really like to replace our NEW fireplace insert with a stove, but not willing to demo the short fireplace opening after all the money we spent already. We had something similar to what you first posted when we moved in here, like a large mat with metal on the back and a lovely 1970's print on the top. Good luck, update us!
The other thing to consider with a raised hearth is the distance to combustibles allowed around the stove - just make the footprint at least that+ fudge factor, the raised hearth will keep any future homeowner from placing furniture on it. As for the sheet metal - it's cheap insurance
Weve got the tile Im going to wait until demo time to order the sheetmetal so that I can get an exact measurement its a little hard to measure around a hot stove. Now for spring to come and burning season to end so we can move the stove and get to work. http://www.lowes.com/pd_591544-1813...ch=white+pecan+tile&productId=50252833&rpp=48
This is a great (and often overlooked) tip......I'll add that if the subfloor is unevenness made of tongue and groove or planking, I use a layer of thinset on the actual floor itself, before the first layer of during is put down. Put the during directly in the wet thinner and anchor it down good. Slope that layer to set up good before walking on or proceeding with work on the floor
+1....... When I did my installed I deliberately added to the clearances by an inch or two, you never know if down the road you want to install a different stove that may require additional clearances... Plus the insurance can never come back on you and say the clearances were insufficient...
mattjm1017, How about a pic of your current setup? X2 on EVERYONE's advice above- especially Scotty Overkill's tip about laying thinset straight to the existing subfloor, and definitely between each consecutive layer of Durorock(if you choose to use more than one layer). Too, be sure to hold this new hearth system back from the flooring that will remain in place, in case there's any expansion/contraction(hardwood or laminated)... Eric VW
Still using the woodstove so nothing has happened yet, but rest assured it cant be much longer although it was snowing this morning but it was 75* on Thursday so we should be done burning pretty soon. Ill keep ya updated as soon I get into the work.
Maybe you have already but have you got your code enforcement department (if there is any) blessing? If down the road your insurance company were to ask whether it was an approved install it may help to have the approval in writing
Just an FYI as well on a raised hearth stove install.....some stoves require a certain distance between the top of stove and the ceiling. I raised mine a foot, but it wouldn't have worked with another stove I had in mind.
It has begun I started demo today and have run into a snag already. Under the old hearth floor is two or more layers of brick. I need to bring this up to the existing subfloor now how to do it? I thought about a self leveler but I'm afraid that it will all run through the bricks and disappear so now I'm thinking if I put down a piece of plywood that would work but I don't see anyway to secure it to anything. Any ideas would be great.
