Building your own....Hearth size

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neumsky

Minister of Fire
Dec 25, 2011
629
Oklahoma City
Ok...I think I've pretty much nailed down hearth size for my unit with maintaining a required 18 inches to the front & 9 inches to the back corners of the stove. It puts the point of a 4'X4' sheet of plywood right at the 18 inches in front. Ok...so decided that I need to extend that plywood out a little. I'm thinking 2 pieces now. How do you hold them together? Or is this where a guy builds a raised hearth and than attach plywood to it? My stove is 24"X24". Thanx Jeff
 
We built a 2x4 frame, then covered with ply (screwed the ply to the frame), then covered with Hardiboard. I like it a little raised, so the 2x's were the right way for us to go. We built straight on top of our plywood decking since we haven't laid a floor yet (we had to rip out the whole floor including the studs due to water and rot damage).

I built ours to the dimentions and requirements of our stove, but now am thinking I should have added more to it (I did actually, about 5", but really in retrospect it should have been more like 10") so just something to think about. The reason is, eventually (hopefully years from now of course) I will need to replace the stove and I don't know if it will be big enough for clearances on whatever I replace with. Since ours is quite custom (natural stones) it won't be too easy to add to if needed.

Here is ours:
Pre stove install:

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With the stove:

index.php
 
Ok...I've got it figured out...I'm not restricted to stickin out the sides as I thought...so could still use a 4'x8' sheet and just cut the angles at say 56" or so instead of the 48" like I was hopin to! Thanx...Jeff @ eclecticcottage...love you hearth. Where did you get those stones? The tile I see at HD or Lowes are expensive! BTW...this is a corner installment. @ mrwhoopi...I'm just laying the plywood on top of my laminated flooring which is on concrete. On top of the plywood I'm laying some kind of crete board. Than either tile or rock...I'm not sure yet.
 
The pieces of plywood could be "biscut" jointed together. The other thing is you could use an angle iron boarder like the hearth pads you can buy. If you are just building the hearth in place I would consider using hardie backer or concrete board right on the floor. You are just installing tile or stone right?
 
Correct RNLA... The only concern I have with putting the crete board directly on the laminated floor is that I don't want to scratch it up as where the plywood won't if I need to take this stove out in the future. Where do you get that angle iron border at? My next question...how do I get pics on here small enough...it won't take my pics straight from my photo files. I was going to post the room I built where my PE is going.
 
We happen to have access to as many as we need, on our property :D It still took several hours to find ones that were about the same thickness, then haul them up to the Cottage. Actually laying it took about 10 hours for grout (because even though I sealed them twice the grout wanted to stick to the stones so I had to use a rag and "scrub' off each stone) and 2-3 to actually lay them (I dry fitted to get an idea of whether I wanted all large, all small or mix). The $$ was one motivating factor to using them, we only had to buy the mastic, sealer and grout. Plus I didn't want tile.
 
Holy Crap...EC...that's alot of work...but your right...cost effective. haha
 
Rather than plywood id use cement board. You can butt the seams and mortar or mud them over.
 
neumsky said:
Holy Crap...EC...that's alot of work...but your right...cost effective. haha

Yeah, it took longer than I expected. But as you can see, it's bigger than it needs to be on the side(s). We weren't sure where we wanted the stove in that area, so we covered our bases. It's about 5' long. It worked well for (visual) balance though, since the stove is offset to the center of the room, we used the wood box to balance it. Plus we plan on living here for a LONG time, and using it for as long as we are here-do it once, and do it the way you want it so you don't have to do it again!
 
neumsky said:
My next question...how do I get pics on here small enough...it won't take my pics straight from my photo files. I was going to post the room I built where my PE is going.

You'll need to resize them. I use the program that came with my camera, but I know others will work...I just don't know which ones :p
 
Thanx gang...just bought 1 piece of 3/4 inch plywood...2 sheets of Durarock( why can't they make that stuff in 4x8's ) & one box(10) 12x12 slate tiles and I've cut the design for the hearth pad already...hope I can figure how to downsize my pics. I don't believe I can do that on the camera itself...gotta be able to do it on this fancy fandangled Apple desktop somehow! Jeff
 
neumsky said:
Thanx gang...just bought 1 piece of 3/4 inch plywood...2 sheets of Durarock( why can't they make that stuff in 4x8's ) & one box(10) 12x12 slate tiles and I've cut the design for the hearth pad already...hope I can figure how to downsize my pics. I don't believe I can do that on the camera itself...gotta be able to do it on this fancy fandangled Apple desktop somehow! Jeff

Because (A) it's flimsy and (B) it's HEAVY. a 4x8 sheet would be over 100lbs..
 
Well it's almost 4x8.. It's 3x5 and I don't think that sheet was but 20lbs. So another 8 sq ft's gonna weight that much. OTH...I think you nailed it with flimsey thinking cause even with the 3x5 if'n I was'nt careful... you could hear it complaining haha. Now...should I screw that durarock down or glue it down? Thanx
 
Your going to want to screw durorock down. While the make special screws for it, you can get away with drywall type screws. If you double stack the layers of duro give a skim coat of motar between them.
When you tile it helps to "butter" the backside of tile before setting it on your troweled motar base. This helps with leveling the tiles. You dont want to go through all this work and have to shove a washer under a wobbly leg.
I love the looks of a stove on a raised slate hearth. But im biased.
 
neumsky said:
Thanx gang...just bought 1 piece of 3/4 inch plywood...2 sheets of Durarock( why can't they make that stuff in 4x8's ) & one box(10) 12x12 slate tiles and I've cut the design for the hearth pad already...hope I can figure how to downsize my pics. I don't believe I can do that on the camera itself...gotta be able to do it on this fancy fandangled Apple desktop somehow! Jeff

Durock cement board can be gotten in 4'x8' sheets. Here's a link for example:

http://www.menards.com/main/buildin...-x-8-durock-cement-board/p-1288596-c-5705.htm
 
Dakotas Dad said:
neumsky said:
Thanx gang...just bought 1 piece of 3/4 inch plywood...2 sheets of Durarock( why can't they make that stuff in 4x8's ) & one box(10) 12x12 slate tiles and I've cut the design for the hearth pad already...hope I can figure how to downsize my pics. I don't believe I can do that on the camera itself...gotta be able to do it on this fancy fandangled Apple desktop somehow! Jeff

Because (A) it's flimsy and (B) it's HEAVY. a 4x8 sheet would be over 100lbs..
They do! I made my raised hearth out of a 4'x8'x 5/8" piece of durock on top of a piece of pyroguard plywood.
 

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neumsky said:
Ok...I've got it figured out...I'm not restricted to stickin out the sides as I thought...so could still use a 4'x8' sheet and just cut the angles at say 56" or so instead of the 48" like I was hopin to! Thanx...Jeff @ eclecticcottage...love you hearth. Where did you get those stones? The tile I see at HD or Lowes are expensive! BTW...this is a corner installment. @ mrwhoopi...I'm just laying the plywood on top of my laminated flooring which is on concrete. On top of the plywood I'm laying some kind of crete board. Than either tile or rock...I'm not sure yet.

Corner, huh? You could do something like this (only with proper clearances, the corners were actually set in the morter), this is what we had when we bought the Cottage (I'm partial to stone):
 

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neumsky said:
Well it's almost 4x8.. It's 3x5 and I don't think that sheet was but 20lbs. So another 8 sq ft's gonna weight that much. OTH...I think you nailed it with flimsey thinking cause even with the 3x5 if'n I was'nt careful... you could hear it complaining haha. Now...should I screw that durarock down or glue it down? Thanx

well... a 3x5 sheet is 15 sqft and a 4x8 sheet is 32 sqft.. so it would weigh more than twice as much. But I am guessing you are working with "next gen" I don't have any experience with that version, but trust me, the old stuff and "wonderboard" is quite a bit heavier. Just as flimsy though, I am sure.

I just screwed mine down. But I used two layers and I did put a thin layer of mortar down between them.
 
Nuemsky, you want to be sure to check your stove specs and your local building codes for proper fire protection. Keep in mind that Durok or Cement board does not insulate combustible materials. Any stone or tile will transfer heat right down to any wood material you have below there. If you order some Micore from you lumber yard (fireboard) it comes in 4x8 sheets. Put that down first, then your cement board, then stone or tile. You be good to go with your inspector, and it wont scratch your laminate.
(sorry if my input is too late!)
I'm surprised no one has mentioned thermal protection for the hearth. Maybe I missed something, but just speaking from experience when I built mine. My hearth is subfloor, one sheet 5/8 Micore, one layer Durok, 1/2" soapstone tile. When the stove cranks, I can go to the basement and feel the subfloor below the stove is noticeably warmer. I'm certain without that Micore it would be HOT! Now, its likely not going to burn up on you (god willing), but the codes are mainly to prevent long term degradation to wood structures as a result of prolonged heat exposure. (so don't sweat it too much)


good luck!
 
When I built the hearth for the basement stove, I extended it out front a couple inches. when we had the heart built for the fireplace, an 18" hearth would have looked weird. Plus, with the huge door on the Opel 3, we were concerned about embers dropping off the door onto the carpet. So we extended the hearth such that the door is fully over it when open. With the floor to ceiling stonework for the fireplace, it looks just right to have an oversized hearth. As well, fewer concerns with embers popping out of the firebox

Basement is tile over concrete board. Main floor is tile on 3/8" ply. Both are more or less level with the surrounding carpet.
 
Oh sure WoodNstuff...now you tell me haha...well I'm stuck with the 3x5's and It'll work. Now... @ CRC where is the micore procured from? & that's amazing you can feel that in the basement. @ eclectacottage...that's beautiful...in fact...I would have any one of these. I did raise mine 4 inches off of the floor. and that will make me happy enough.
 
Micore is a brand of special fireboard material that is non-flammable and has a very high R value or insulating properties for use in hearths. It comes in 4x8 sheets, very light and easy to cut or work with. Should be covered by something like durok and tile. Thermal protection was a huge deal in my hearth design based on the stove manual and local code. You can just slap up a stove on top of wood without considering thermal protection and clearances. And you wont be covered by insurance without a permit if you put it up in flames (God forbid of course)......

I apologize if I seem to be trying to raise concern, but I realize I have no idea what your stove is or the requirements for that particular set-up...So just consider the info what I used for my VC 1450 and my hearth build.

good luck
 
My manual didn't actually list a required R value. I spoke to the hearth dealer before we built ours and they said that the hardiboard and stone was good enough for the Lopi. I think the hardiboard is like .13 R value or something like that. All the install guide said on mine was a "non-combustible surface" was required. It gets warm to the touch, but not hot, even when the stove is running 24/7. The PITA about it is if I want to replace the stove ever, I'll need something similar or have to rebuild the whole darn thing.
 
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