Do I need a hearth pad if I have a tile floor?

As long as it is real ceramic, porcelein, or stone based tile, not "peel'n'stick" vinyl, you should be all set with your existing floor. under every "hearth pad" there is wood somewhere... framing, subfloor, etc

Hi Diana, that is the setup i'm running in my kitchen/dining room with my St Croix stove. This installation was ok by the manual and the installer.
I've had this set-up for 3 years with no issues. Honestly the floor does not even get hot under my stove, but I suppose the floor needs to be non-combustable in case some hot ash were to fly out as I was scraping the burn pot.

Call the code enforcement guys that are going to be inspecting your installation and ask them. My code guys are black and white. Even though it says non-combustible, tile is not "listed", so I have to be sure I have cement board under the tile instead of plywood. Cement board is "listed". I was pretty dumbfounded with that phone conversation, rock is not listed, so I now have to add another layer to my hearth pad.

I'm just glad I called them before I had them come out and before I started building it. Just call them and find out. It should be an adventure.

Resc5cue: That is rediculous. There is no gray area in the "non-combustible" statement. Non-combustible is what it is - a surface that does not support combustion. The Intent of building inspectors is to aid and protect the layperson, so they don't get "burned" literally and figuratively. As an architect/construction manager, I deal with inspectors on a daily basis. 95% of them are spot on, but every now and then you get a jerk on a powertrip.

orangecrushcj7: It is ridiculous, I don't have a wood stove and I don't want something 3" thick. My suggestion was to just call your code guys because they are the ones that will inspect it, if its required in your town. In my city I'm required a permit and city inspection, so ridiculous as it seems, if their interpretation is stupid, better to deal with it now, then later. I was pulling my hair out during the conversation because it was like talking in circles. I still don't know what the heck he meant by "listed". But it is very clear to me, when I build my pad I better be tiling over cement board.


Here is another one, a bit off topic though. Their definition of non-opening window, for the purpose of clearance for the terminal vent, was "a window that was manufactured as non-opening". You can not modify an existing window to make it, non-opening.
Apparently in the towns around me, that's perfectly acceptable, according to installers, but not in my city.