Ya know what is tricky pictures?

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doogiegh

Member
Aug 23, 2011
20
Central NJ
My hearth depth (on the floor) is 13".

I know that's narrow but I had no idea of the 18" minimum per code until I came to this website.

Look at some manufacturers images and I thought (judging strictly by the pics) that everything would be fine.

For example:

http://catalogue.sbi-international.com/images/poeles/photos/500_332112622009265.jpg

Clearly that has no where's near a 18" hearth on the floor. Dang..

Now I need to hire a masonary to expand mine 5" (minimum) to get me out to the code requirement..
 
I totally agree with you. Sales people Photoshop or stage these stove settings without any regard to the stove requirements. That is really misleading.

There is an alternative of putting a hearth board pad down for the winter and removing it off season.
 
Amen to that...you look at most stove pictures and there is no way it would pass code.
I was looking at Lopi Republic 1250 stove and the pic they have would never meet code.
Says min of 19" hearth...
 

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BeGreen said:
I totally agree with you. Sales people Photoshop or stage these stove settings without any regard to the stove requirements. That is really misleading.

There is an alternative of putting a hearth board pad down for the winter and removing it off season.
Click to expand...
That's what I have to do - my hearth is flush and the current hearth is built on kind of a cantilever wedge of masonry - quite solid, but adding to it would not be a small matter. It's easy enough to put down a hearth pad and take it up in the off season and the inspector seemed to think it was just fine.
 
tickbitty said:
It's easy enough to put down a hearth pad and take it up in the off season and the inspector seemed to think it was just fine.
Click to expand...

Been doing that for close to thirty years. The only problem is embers falling in the crack between the hearth and the pad. One word, tinfoil. put it under the crack.
 
Please excuse my ignorance since I have been burning on a concrete pad for the last 21 years and a dirt floor for five years before that...

... What is a hearth pad? I may need to know this since several of the homes we will be looking at show interior shots of fireplaces that don't look close to passing clearance specs.

BTW real estate listing agents apparently are just as clever with their photos of homes as stove makers are. Many of the photos of home exteriors look a hell of a lot better in the photo than they do in real life. We spent the day doing drive-bys of several listings that looked interesting. Man, some of those lots were tiny, and stuck right against another house you can't even see in the photo. We have looked at one beauty that sits on over an acre and is a peach of a home to look at. Price is right, everything we could ask for, 10 minutes from the grandkids, 15 minutes from Lady BK's job. We're so nervous that the inside will suck compared to the pics we're almost afraid to have a look.
 
Battenkiller said:
Please excuse my ignorance since I have been burning on a concrete pad for the last 21 years and a dirt floor for five years before that...

... What is a hearth pad? I may need to know this since several of the homes we will be looking at show interior shots of fireplaces that don't look close to passing clearance specs.

BTW real estate listing agents apparently are just as clever with their photos of homes as stove makers are. Many of the photos of home exteriors look a hell of a lot better in the photo than they do in real life. We spent the day doing drive-bys of several listings that looked interesting. Man, some of those lots were tiny, and stuck right against another house you can't even see in the photo. We have looked at one beauty that sits on over an acre and is a peach of a home to look at. Price is right, everything we could ask for, 10 minutes from the grandkids, 15 minutes from Lady BK's job. We're so nervous that the inside will suck compared to the pics we're almost afraid to have a look.
Click to expand...

This is what my hearth pad looks like
 

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... What is a hearth pad? I may need to know this since several of the homes we will be looking at show interior shots of fireplaces that don't look close to passing clearance specs.

This company sells them:
http://www.northlineex.com/wood-stove/wood-stove-accessories/hearth-pads.html

My stove sits on one, it came with the stove.

Notice inspector approving. ;-)

A pre-made pad for the stove to sit on.
Probably most appropriate for stove that only require ember protection.

Easy to set up and easily moved.
 

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WES999 said:
... What is a hearth pad? I may need to know this since several of the homes we will be looking at show interior shots of fireplaces that don't look close to passing clearance specs.

This company sells them:
http://www.northlineex.com/wood-stove/wood-stove-accessories/hearth-pads.html

My stove sits on one, it came with the stove.

Notice inspector approving. ;-)

A pre-made pad for the stove to sit on.
Probably most appropriate for stove that only require ember protection.

Easy to set up and easily moved.
Click to expand...

Nice looking setup. That thermostat looks a little close though.
 
Nice looking setup. That thermostat looks a little close though.

Seems to work OK, I usually keep it set around 57 °F. The furnace only runs if it get really cold.
We don't want that nasty old oil furnace running now, do we.
 
This is the cheapie kind of hearth pad - $50 or so

Ya know what is tricky pictures?
 
I have see a lot of insert photo's without the blower in place. I guess they do that to make the unit seem more flush.
 
A similar problem was met with my stove insert. The masonry fireplace has a 16 inch hearth but the stove opening takes up 4 inches of that. I wasn't comfortable with the clearance to the carpet before even reading all the great info here. We gave up some carpet to install half inch Durock over the plywood flooring followed by tile on top extending the protection an additional 29 inches. That odd distance was chosen for cosmetic reasons to match the tile pattern. The distance is perfect because now all foot traffic in front of the stove transporting wood and ashes is off the carpet and easy to sweep up. I believe a stove is a lot safer than a fireplace anyway because the door is always closed unless I'm there servicing the process. I did have one "hedge" sparkler fly over me and land on the carpet though! :(
 
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