A sheet of plywood is just about wide enough for the depth; front to rear. If I band it with some wood that will give me dimensions of what I need. Top it with tile. The tile gives the ember protection. Would that work? It is not going to be the quick job I wanted to tie me over until after the heating season.
Do you plan to plunk the plywood straight down, or come up at least the height of 2 x material? Say a 2 x 4 on the flat (1 -1/2") on edge (3-1/2")? Does the living room have carpet? Linoleum? If laying right to the floor, 2 pieces 1/2" 3 x 5 hardiboard + mortar + tile/grout should do you swell. Of course, there's 4 pages of discussion on this topic to reference as well..... I need to build a hearth | Firewood Hoarders Club
Wonder/Hardie board, then some really cheap tile would work just fine. Maybe trim it with some pallet wood strips. This is my 6th burning season with the tile I put down and there are no cracks in the grout. 16" is 16", and like ww said, you don't want to have a house fire without all those little duckies in a row for the Ins. Co. We called it "the dog and pony show".
Yes, I knew I started that thread but that was when I needed the hearth to have an R value of 2 for the hearth. I started to add to that one but figured there would be confusion on what I needed so it was better to start a new thread.
I suppose it works, but I've never seen grout that runny. I also don't get the plastic, or the T&G boards. He used a LOT of screws. Jeesh. Get some cheap plywood, at least 1/2", 1/4" hardie board screwed on top of that should be fine, then whatever tile you want. We use thinset to set the tiles, but for a project this small, a tube of whatever that guy had might work. I don't like the idea of voids under the tile, so I don't like that method. Buy a torn bag (cheap) of grout, and you're good. I do like how he did the trim.
x2, a manufactured home can have more floor movement, the hardie backer to prevent the grout/tiles from cracking. And whats up with the grout?!?
I don't think they had ever done any tile work. I am not sure about the adhesive they were using; I guess for a hearth pad it would be OK. I would use thinset and regular grout.
When we moved here the previous owner had a construction sign from a scrap yard, just thinking outloud here.....
I can just hear the tile cracking from the voids underneath as they put a few hundred pounds concentrated on the pedestal footprint down
I am sure you have read my posts making this same suggestion before and hope you will consider and or respond. No offense intended. BUT, you really have to get some help! Please check out what programs you qualify for. You have mentioned in other posts that your income is unreliable along with your employment. With everything you have going on, you need more than just advice. Don't end up doing something good enough or low cost approach, ok?
Ember protection only...? I have seen a few people just get a 1/8" to 1/4" sheet of steel, paint it with black paint (sheen of your choosing) throw that down on the floor, roll stove onto it, hook up chimney, burn wood! And it looks great! You can often find scrap sheet metal at fab shops (weld shops) or scrap yards, even CL for pennies on the dollar from new. Example, I can buy scrap metal from my work for $0.10 per pound...100 # sheet...$10
Nice avatar, lady. I like it. Brings a little personal feeling to it. Thank you yooperdave for your concern and suggestion about assistance programs. As I said above, I couldn't have put it any better. We come here to share stories, pics, concerns, advice, needs, and most importantly friendship. Dave, your's and so many others is what makes this group so worth spending a lot of time with, day in, day out. May we all arrive at and visit your success Kim, and may it be soon. Everyone here continues to warmly encourage you.
