Soapstone or granite hearth?

BeGreen said:

nojo said:

You may be right about that. I might just build it to the specs of this stove. Its on a tile floor, then a wooden frames hearth was built on top of that.

I cant find the required floor protection R value for the englander 30..

Also I have a masonry wall thimble. Do I need to protect the wall above it at all? Is this flue-type dependent? The local building inspector does not return my calls and is never in the office when I go down there. The fire department has no idea about the codes.

thanks!

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From the manual http://www.englanderstoves.com/manuals/30-NC.pdf :

"There are many floor and wall board manufacturers, and you should be very cautious in choosing the proper protection. The type board you choose should be U.L. rated and listed. After examining the area you plan to place your stove and determining it requires a board, the next step is to select the proper size. The stove you choose will determine the size board that is required. The approved protector board should be large enough to provide a minimum of eight inches (8”) behind the unit, eight inches (8”) on either side and sixteen inches (16”) in the front where the door is located. The protection must have an R-value of 1.5 (English units) or equivalent (See “Installation on a Combustible Floor”). This stove requires a minimum 48” x 48” floor protection."
The granite will need some insulation between it and the wood framing.

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The flue to ceiling clearance depends on the connector pipe. A minimum of 18" is required for single-wall, 6" for double-wall, but there's no harm in exceeding the requirement.

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Harley said:

Back to the one of the original questions you had, and a lot of good input. Ultimately you probably need to make the decision on the cover material for the hearth based on what you think looks best (assuming you have the R-value underneath the hearth).

As far as the oiling, and it being close to the stove... the recommended oil for the soapstone (un-polished tiles) is mineral oil. I'm not saying it's non-combustible, but before I oiled my hearth with it - I did take a torch to some, and I couldn't get it to ignite. It looks real nice when its oiled, and it really brings out the color, but I do prefer the less glossy look of it not being oiled. Also the drawback of oiling is that it doesn't last all that long, so it will be back to the less glossy look in a few weeks if you like that look..... also if you have pets - they seem to like it (my dogs have sometimes licked the hearth after oiling... it is certainly not harmful to them at all)

On the sctratching and softness of the soapstone itself. Even though I move the stove on the hearth and try to be real careful for cleaning - sometimes you will scratch it. It is soft, but very easy to work with. If the stone is unpolished, some very fine steel wool will take them out easily. The harder, polished stone might be difficult to cover up scatches, but it probably would be less likely to sctatch it in the first place. Just go for the look you want.

If you haven't made your decision yet... below is an old link to the thread that does contain some beofre and after pictures of oiled and non-oiled.... though the thread was on a different topic.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/5580/

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