Durock Question?

[FireAnt]

I was thinking about putting Durock up my wall above my fireplace. I noticed the sheet rock above my stove gets pretty hot above my hearth-mount stove. To hot to touch it. I have been reading that Durock isn't as heat resistant as it was/or could lead to gasses being emitted. I want to do some tile work around the stove and also put a wood beam mantle a little higher up the wall away from the heat... Could Durock work in this situation or should I leave it alone? I attached a pic of the wall.

 

[begreen]

If the wall is too hot to touch it would be good to understand why. Is it the heat radiating from the top of the stove or could it be from the flue? If the liner is fully insulated, the flue should be less of a concern. It would be good to know.

Maybe put up a temporary heat shield above the stove to figure this out? It can be attached to the bottom of the lintel. If the liner is not insulated or the stove just stubbed in and the wall is still too hot, even with the heatshield, then I would open it up and look for a breech in the chimney and direct contact with the drywall and wood.

Durock NextGen is certified for wall shields and should work. We've had confusion about this product that has caused some hand-wringing. One of the concerns was that they might have used styrofoam beads in the product. USG says no, it is perlite. That should alleviate the outgassing concerns.

 

[FireAnt]

Thanks. I would say it's 99% from the front/top of the stove. The brick gets real hot and the wall gets pretty darn hot. I should have specified that it is only hot about half way up the imprint of the old mantle. I also have a fully insulated liner.

 

[begreen]

That's a good start. I would still consider addressing the problem at the source with a heat shield. If there is wood in contact with the brick behind the sheetrock (likely), there is a risk of pyrolysis happening over time. Addressing this with durock won't hurt, but it may also take replacing some wood wall structure there with metal studs for greater peace of mind.

 

[FireAnt]

Where can I find a shield that would work in this situation?

 

[begreen]

Either this one or just get one made up at a sheetmetal shop or fab your own.

http://www.amazon.com/Copperfield-54110-HomeSaver-Mantel-Shield/dp/B001D1DU3O

 

[FireAnt]

Do you think that the temps I am looking at would be safe to put the Durock up with a shield? Thanks for all your help and putting up with the barrage of questions...

 

[begreen]

It's all just speculation without some actual temperature readings with an IR thermometer. And even then, the temperature of what's behind the walls is unknown. I think the heat shield is a good first step. It's inexpensive and should make a significant difference. If not, then I'd open up the wall. It could be the sheetrock is in direct contact with the brick. In our house, they used a form of plaster over the flue. The rest of the wall was sheetrock. I didn't know this until we removed the fireplace.

Bottom line is you should do what makes the installation safe for the long haul and gives you the best peace of mind.