Q: Is the new hearth ready for heat? (now with pix and desperate plea for advice)

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MtMitchellSnowGFI018.jpg


Here is my copper heat shield. It is held off from the wall 1 inch, using 2 inch long copper nails.
I bought a 3x5 foot sheet of copper at the local sheet metal shop.
I laid the copper down on a big wooden beam and hammered every square inch of it with a ball peen hammer. Hammered copper really looks cool. It is thick copper, I don't know what gauge it is but it is not as thick as a penny.

Buy a sheet of copper, cut it so that it extends the proper amount from under your wood stove, cut holes to allow for the legs. Lay 4 red bricks down flat on your hearth and lay your copper heat shield on top of the bricks, you will have a 2 1/2 inch air space between the heat shield and the hearth
 
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Lyndenbrook Farm said:
Anyone else with two cents to toss in about my lack of r-value?

Happy to hear more ideas

And please, feel free to call me a dummy. Kinda feelin that right now. So much for consulting a "professional"
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Nothing to really add except for two things . . .

1) Credit goes to you for not taking offense to folks' concern about the lack of the needed R value. Some folks could and would take offense and just figure that folks here were being overly critical and would just poo-poo their concerns . . . you obviously have chosen to instead see if folks could offer up some viable solution to fix this issue and err on the side of caution, safety and commonsense.

2) Don't beat yourself up too much . . . we're all dummies when we don't know much about a subject whether it be French literature of the 17th Century, History of the Aztec Empire or woodstove installation . . . the problem in my opinion is unfortunately a so-called "professional" that you thought you could trust steered you wrong.

Hang in there . . . there are good folks here who will try to help you out and salvage your great looking hearth and the good work.

Always remember . . . there is always Plan B (as mentioned) where you can start looking at woodstoves that only require ember protection.
 
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I think I would try using pry bars and hammers to see if I could get under the cement board and bust it out around the screws to bring it all up as one unit. This way you could get some insulation down and then slide your beautiful rock hearth onto the top of it.

Really not sure what I'm saying here since I'm not there to see it first hand so I could be giving you bad advice but if you decide to start over and was going to tear it out anyway I would definatly give it a try.

Anyway you go, you and your family are creative and have done some good work. I'm sure with some advice from some of the fine folks here, whatever you do should turn out nice, and safe.
 
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Thanks again to you all. I take no offense at being cured of my ignorance. I would rather look dumb on a forum online than standing outside the smoldering remains of a house

I appreciate all the options. If anyone else has some to add, keep it coming. Y'all rock
 
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tarzan said:
I think I would try using pry bars and hammers to see if I could get under the cement board and bust it out around the screws to bring it all up as one unit. This way you could get some insulation down and then slide your beautiful rock hearth onto the top of it.

Really not sure what I'm saying here since I'm not there to see it first hand so I could be giving you bad advice but if you decide to start over and was going to tear it out anyway I would definatly give it a try.

Anyway you go, you and your family are creative and have done some good work. I'm sure with some advice from some of the fine folks here, whatever you do should turn out nice, and safe.
Click to expand...

In the off-chance you just screwed the hardibacker around the edges, you might be able to get a reciprocating saw blade underneath if you first pry at it a bit.
 
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Hardibacker has a lower yet insulation value than Durock (.26 vs .39). Essentially this is an ember-protection-only hearth. In case you decide to redo the hearth, it will require three 1/2" sheets of Durock Nex Gen (not hardibacker) cement board to achieve the proper R value. This is going to make it higher than the present hearth, but the stone topping could be continued into the fireplace for a continuous look.
 
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I gotta say an Oslo (Jotul 500) would look beautiful on that hearth. I'm not sure about the other clearances (for example to the mantle), but it is rear vent and ember protection only.
 
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If I was looking at the correct manual for the 2003 model of this stove it showed a hearth requirement of 47 inches wide by 37.5 inches deep. There are hearth pads available in that size but they cost in the neighborhood of $400 to $500. And they do not look as good as your stone work. No one likes to tear out work they have done especially when it looks so good. But $30 worth of Duroc and a fair amount of more sweat equity and you are safe and legal.
 
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Hearthstone is showing two versions of the heritage 8021, standard and tall foot. The tall foot is ember protection only. You might try to get a set of tall foot legs or if the legs for a 8022 would work.
 
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Dairyman said:
Hearthstone is showing two versions of the heritage 8021, standard and tall foot. The tall foot is ember protection only. You might try to get a set of tall foot legs or if the legs for a 8022 would work.
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Where would I find this info? I had not run across it

That would certainly be the ideal solution!!!!
 
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Dairyman said:
The manuals I found are here. The good news is the legs are available the bad is the cheapest I found online are $100 per leg.:eek: Matte black part # 2010-910.

http://woodheatstoves.com/foot-mattehep-p-18851.html?cPath=499_507

http://a1stoves.com/matte-heritage-pellet-p-17869.html
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Ok, now I am super-confused.

My serial number falls within the first group on that link, and it does NOT include the r-value requirement. Only ember protection

Older versions of the manual include the insulation requirement. My stove was produced before this version

Perhaps testing has shown older ones do not have the stringent requirement?

I am calling Hearthstone as soon as I can
 
Lyndenbrook Farm said:
Ok, now I am super-confused.

My serial number falls within the first group on that link, and it does NOT include the r-value requirement. Only ember protection

Older versions of the manual include the insulation requirement. My stove was produced before this version

Perhaps testing has shown older ones do not have the stringent requirement?

I am calling Hearthstone as soon as I can
Click to expand...

The first link for me is serial #001001 to 29130. On page 8 of the manual it states a hearth with a r-value of 1.2 is required.

Serial #30000+ is the tall foot. A call in to hearthstone is probably a good idea regardless.
 
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If there is a chance of elevating the stove with new legs and if that would lower the hearth insulation requirement then that could be a very helpful call.
 
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OK, so here is what I have learned:

The stove when it left the manufacturer had the shorter legs, requiring the protection as indicated in the manual that went with that model/serial no.

After it was purchased by the guy I bought it from, he installed taller legs as with the model that needs ember-protection only. The stove's current dimensions match the manual for the tall-leg model linked by Dairyman, and do not match the manual for the serial no. I have.

So it seems our professional was working with that information when advising us (so it could be that you guys were right in a way and so was he in a way).

I spoke again with the guy that I got it from and he told me that he had it on a pad that was plywood topped with 1/2" Durock and ceramic tile (as per the tall-loeg model's manual requiring ember-only protection). The tile never got hotter than "warm to the touch" while he had it burning for ten years.

I am going to check with Hearthstone to make sure that I am correct that the legs are the only difference between the Heritage 1 8021 that DOES need the r 1.2 protection, and the Heritage 1 8021 tall-leg model that DOES NOT need that, and needs ember-protection only.

So it may well be that our new hearth is compliant with my stove as currently configured. Boy, oh, boy would I be happy to confirm that!:cool:

If not, I will probably go with the extender that begreen kindly linked to for me, and then maybe embark on a better long-term fix next year (either tearout or new stove).

I am very grateful for all who have provided their input. I have learned a lot. (And forgot to mention, Simonkenton, that the beaten copper is a really nice look.)

So ... any thoughts to share?
 
Hope Hearthstone has good news and it all works out well for you in the end. You did a nice job and it was a great family project. Keep us posted.
 
Posted so I can find later
 
WOOHOO!
:cool:
Finally got in touch with a nice fellow at Hearthstone. The news is very very good!

The only difference between the short-leg version of my stove and the long-leg version is the length of the legs.

So, with the long legs that I have on my stove, I only need ember protection!!!!!!

With the dimensions as they are, we are completely compliant!

Thank you all so much for your help through this. I have learned a lot and I am very very grateful for the education and the happy resolution.

Now tell me how pretty it is ;)
 
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Congrats on the news!

Pics with fire are the prettiest ;)
 
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tarzan said:
Congrats on the news!

Pics with fire are the prettiest ;)
Click to expand...
To come soon. But the dog, wife and daughter are all piled in front of it right now and the lights are down so I will have to wait until later, when things are a bit less cozified ;)

But we are happy! (especially because reading some other threads helped me get the draft going nicely)
 
That is great news[emoji2]you and your family are going to enjoy that beautiful stove on those cold winter days congrats again and pics with fire would be nice
 
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