What's with all the dudes with HERNIAS here??!! Lotsa frozen peas being thawed in a most unique way!!??
It comes in a 55 lb. bag... Mix applicable amount of water, pour... Mizzou is the most cost effective, Kastolite is a little more pricey... Sets up like concrete, just able to reflect heat REAL well! Not at all like regular concrete.
Was it not in this thread that I posted this??!! Anyhow; here's how I did mine, briefly...................... 1. Pulled out POS zero clearance fireplace. 2. Patch wall. 3. Cut out laminate flooring to accommodate new hearth. 4. Build hearth frame from 2x4 lumber..............8" on center 5. Before #4, find which direction floor joists run...........................and build hearth frame with runners 90* to floor joists 6. Attach hearth frame to bare floor with 3" screws 7. Cover frame with 1/2" plywood....................I used "real" plywood...............not OSB/particle board 8. 2 layers of Micore 9. 1 layer of Durock over the Micore anchored down with long "Durock" screws thru the 2 Micore layers 10. 1 layer of Durock on the "face" of the frame of my hearth 11. Joined the seams/corners of durock together with mortar. 12. Attached porcelain tiles to the hearth and rear wall 13. Grouted tiles 14. Sealed grout 15. Positioned Stove
Hardest part for me wasn't building the hearth...................................it was figuring out how/where/if I could do my chimney here or there!!!
I only needed 1.1 R value on my hearth for my Jotul so I put 2 layers of next generation cement board on 2 layers of cement board strips to make 1 inch air space under and it gave me 1.87 R value so if you go one extra layer of cement board @.39 it will put you over 2 R value, hope this helps....
I did a lot of research and then dove in, I think my figures were right but am not positive but I feel safe....
