Flooring question

[Maureen B.]

Hi Everyone!

We’ve always found good advice on this site and are hoping you all have some good ideas on helping making our plan a reality.

We bought a foreclosure/destress sale house a few years ago on 8 and ½ acres of mostly woods in South Carolina. It came with a beat-up fireplace in the middle of the house that we knocked down to the pedestal, put a Tractor Supply wood burning stove on it, and found that heated our 1200 sq. ft. home quite well.

As we are going to finish the inside of the house, we are replacing the old workhorse with our old Hampton H300 stove and want to keep it in the middle of the house. The good news is we can keep it in the middle of the house. The bad news is that we see lots of stubbed toes and trips if we put it on a conventional pad above the floor.

We would like to put in tile flooring so that the stove sits on a flush floor. We were wondering if anyone has any experience with this or has any ideas on how to make this work. Thank you in advance!

Maureen

 

[blades]

Maureen, in order to comply code wise the area under stove needs the fire resistance specs met. So either that area has to be sunk down and then built back up flush with the fire code components or you will need to raise the rest of floor to that to make it flush. an alternative to either of these would be to make a tapered sections extending out from the fire pad to match into the new flooring.

 

[Maureen B.]

Maureen, in order to comply code wise the area under stove needs the fire resistance specs met. So either that area has to be sunk down and then built back up flush with the fire code components or you will need to raise the rest of floor to that to make it flush. an alternative to either of these would be to make a tapered sections extending out from the fire pad to match into the new flooring.

Thank you, Blades. We kind of figured we would have to build up from underneath to meet the specs--which poses its own set of challenges along the way. If we can pull this off, it would make a lovely room with windows at each end that face the woods that would be very cozy. It doesn't get cold enough here that we would get any benefit from heated tiles so that's one less thing to worry about, but I'm sure there are other things we haven't considered. The devil is always in the details that get overlooked. Thank you again for your response!

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I think the place to start with is the stove’s requirements. From there figure out what you’d like to be looking at. With that knowledge, you can figure out what has to go underneath it.

 

[Maureen B.]

I think the place to start with is the stove’s requirements. From there figure out what you’d like to be looking at. With that knowledge, you can figure out what has to go underneath it.

Thank you for your advice, Eaten. I have to admit that figuring out the K value has me a little off. My husband gets but I would still like to understand it. I will also admit that I'm not happy about working in the crawl space under the house after finding a snake skin down there. Yikes!

 

[Ctwoodtick]

I bet making the edges of a hearth pad beveled would help, as mentioned above. As long as the beveled section isn’t within the clearances needed for stove.

 

[fvhowler]

Good to see another H300 user here. That little stove heats my 2600 sq ft NC home just fine. The open floor plan helps. I wanted my stone hearth to be even with wood floor but was too much of a hassle. My hearth sits one inch above finished floor. Thought about the trip hazard but its not really. Just watch the young'uns around the stove. If I had to do all over, I would build the hearth 10-12 inches above finish floor for ease of access. The older you get, ease of access matters.

 

[Maureen B.]

I bet making the edges of a hearth pad beveled would help, as mentioned above. As long as the beveled section isn’t within the clearances needed for stove.

Thank you Ct. We will certainly revisit the idea as the project moves along.

 

[Maureen B.]

Good to see another H300 user here. That little stove heats my 2600 sq ft NC home just fine. The open floor plan helps. I wanted my stone hearth to be even with wood floor but was too much of a hassle. My hearth sits one inch above finished floor. Thought about the trip hazard but its not really. Just watch the young'uns around the stove. If I had to do all over, I would build the hearth 10-12 inches above finish floor for ease of access. The older you get, ease of access matters.

We first got our H300 when we lived in Colorado in a 2200 sq ft house and it was great! The house we have now needs a lot of work so trying to get the stove on a flush floor is just part of the hassle of a much-needed renovation. We're going to have to tear up floors anyway so we might as well put the hearth in while we are at it. Our plan is to use tile floors to accommodate the stove, our dogs, and our hot summers. I know it goes against conventional wisdom, but it fits our needs. I just wondered if anyone else went this route and what advice they might have. Thank you for your reply!

 

[blades]

Did a 2000 sqft home that way here in Wisconsin. worked out fine for me ( the carpet and padding in that place were original to build date of 1960 along with asbestos laced linoleum ) Snap to clean up, from dust to spills or whatever. Ceramic or natural tile or terracotta stuff can look really great but you must seal the tiles & grout lines, not cheap out on that aspect. Down side is a hard surfce like that is tough on breakables if they are dropped and sometimes can crack or chip a tile also, too much weigh in one spot can also cause a problem . Depends on the quality of the subfloor. Self stick tiles of vinyl look geat for awhile but they shrink and will walk with heavier items placed on top of they, even the glue down ones do this as well as the roll out stuff. A lot of the engineered flooring is not friendly with damp mopping or the steam units. Solid hardwood floors are nice but pricy and the key here is how good the finish is applied. High humidity areas I would not recommend solid wood unless it has been totally sealed prior to installation and in reality applies to the engineered stuff as well. Frankly both of these should be glued down as well as the nailing Something the mfg do not do and most installation co. won't tell you this . I have done 5 homes of my own and numerous projects for others over the years. One place was a bank repo, took that down to the studs and sub floor through out. ( mold remediation was part of the reason).

 

[Maureen B.]

Did a 2000 sqft home that way here in Wisconsin. worked out fine for me ( the carpet and padding in that place were original to build date of 1960 along with asbestos laced linoleum ) Snap to clean up, from dust to spills or whatever. Ceramic or natural tile or terracotta stuff can look really great but you must seal the tiles & grout lines, not cheap out on that aspect. Down side is a hard surfce like that is tough on breakables if they are dropped and sometimes can crack or chip a tile also, too much weigh in one spot can also cause a problem . Depends on the quality of the subfloor. Self stick tiles of vinyl look geat for awhile but they shrink and will walk with heavier items placed on top of they, even the glue down ones do this as well as the roll out stuff. A lot of the engineered flooring is not friendly with damp mopping or the steam units. Solid hardwood floors are nice but pricy and the key here is how good the finish is applied. High humidity areas I would not recommend solid wood unless it has been totally sealed prior to installation and in reality applies to the engineered stuff as well. Frankly both of these should be glued down as well as the nailing Something the mfg do not do and most installation co. won't tell you this . I have done 5 homes of my own and numerous projects for others over the years. One place was a bank repo, took that down to the studs and sub floor through out. ( mold remediation was part of the reason).

Thank you, Blades. The house was built on the cheap side with particle board subflooring that feels like it's disintegrating with every step which is why building a strong pad underneath isn't all that overwhelming. We're trying to stay middle-of-the-road while keeping in mind things you mentioned like high humidity which the stove helps to mitigate. We were looking at ceramic or porcelain tile as the place doesn't warrant high end nice natural stone. Thanks for the tip on the grout lines and buying more tiles than we need to replace any chipped ones down the road. Little things like that are a big help. We have a 100 lb Rhodesian Ridgeback that is not really destructive, but the old roll out vinyl in the kitchen is in shreds from him just walking on it and tearing up the nicks that were already there. You wouldn't be planning a trip to SC in the near future to look the place over, would you? Thank you, again!

 

[blades]

unfortunately I am not planning any trips, My shop that I have in Wisconsin keeps me quite busy. ( small machine shop) I do tool repair and regrinding of carbide edged equipment among a lot of other odds and ends that show up. You could call it a modern day blacksmith shop. Right now there is a old Ford 8N farm tractor, some where around 70-80 years old, here for some repairs. Likely have it up and running next week sometime. There are 3 buckets of chainsaw chains to be sharpen for various tree service companies and the list goes on. Sometimes I even get to work on my own stuff.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

My God, that sounds like my warehouse, lol. I spent the day doing inventory and organizing. I don’t see much of a change. *sigh*

If the flooring/sheathing is in bad shape, I’d tear it out and put new down. Don’t cover something that’s deteriorating over as it’ll cause issues later as it deteriorates further.

A few years ago we redid a bathroom at a campsite my family belongs to. There were 6 layers of flooring. Not like a layer of linoleum, like 6 layers of sheathing. It’s an extreme example, but this is what happens when grandparents were young and set free with power tools, lol.

Anyway, build your hearth, then you can build up the floor to whatever height you need to without issue. Plywood can be purchased easily in all sorts of odd xx/32nds of an inch sizes. It should be real easy to get close to perfectly level.

 

[Maureen B.]

unfortunately I am not planning any trips, My shop that I have in Wisconsin keeps me quite busy. ( small machine shop) I do tool repair and regrinding of carbide edged equipment among a lot of other odds and ends that show up. You could call it a modern day blacksmith shop. Right now there is a old Ford 8N farm tractor, some where around 70-80 years old, here for some repairs. Likely have it up and running next week sometime. There are 3 buckets of chainsaw chains to be sharpen for various tree service companies and the list goes on. Sometimes I even get to work on my own stuff.

Oh well . . . it was worth asking! I know the feeling of no rest for the wicked. Good luck with the tractor. I helped my husband put in remote controls for his Kubota B26 so he could have a top and tilt for the box blade. I get the chainsaws too. We cleared about a 1/3 of a new driveway and I ran the winch. I did not laugh out loud when a tree he was cutting fell the wrong way and caught his chainsaw. Best wishes and hope your luck is running better than ours!

 

[Maureen B.]

My God, that sounds like my warehouse, lol. I spent the day doing inventory and organizing. I don’t see much of a change. *sigh*

If the flooring/sheathing is in bad shape, I’d tear it out and put new down. Don’t cover something that’s deteriorating over as it’ll cause issues later as it deteriorates further.

A few years ago we redid a bathroom at a campsite my family belongs to. There were 6 layers of flooring. Not like a layer of linoleum, like 6 layers of sheathing. It’s an extreme example, but this is what happens when grandparents were young and set free with power tools, lol.

Anyway, build your hearth, then you can build up the floor to whatever height you need to without issue. Plywood can be purchased easily in all sorts of odd xx/32nds of an inch sizes. It should be real easy to get close to perfectly level.

Thank you, Eaten. I'm not sure that anything in this house is even or square. I keep wondering if these guys were doing acid when they built this place! Yikes! 6 layers? Ok then. I am beginning to think our long level will soon become our favorite tool. The people that had the place before us did so much damage that it was a cash only deal so it sat empty for 3 years with no one caring for it. I make it sound awful but it has a lot of potential and, with the 8 &1/2 acres, it could be a very nice little country cottage. My attempts at growing different food plants have had a very favorable impression on the local deer and rabbits. We are trying to do it right which is why I posted here. I knew I would get great advice. Thank you!!

 

[marty319]

When I bought my place it was a real mess I ripped out all the old disgusting carpet and installed this black ash wood floor,I used a darker wood stain and 4 coats of minwax poly,it's held up decently for 10 years now.

 

[Maureen B.]

When I bought my place it was a real mess I ripped out all the old disgusting carpet and installed this black ash wood floor,I used a darker wood stain and 4 coats of minwax poly,it's held up decently for 10 years now.

View attachment 314414

That looks beautiful, Marty! We used that type of stove placement in Colorado and it worked great. Given our present house's design, we can place the stove in the middle of the house and depend on it entirely for heat. But being in the middle of the house, it will be in a high traffic area which is why we want to have it on a pad that is flush to a tile floor. I know this will sound strange, but where we really want to use wood is on the ceiling to cover up the popcorn ceiling that is there now. I have a feeling that there is a multitude of sins under that popcorn. Thank you for sharing the picture of your beautiful stove set up!

 

[marty319]

T+g pine works well on ceilings and relatively inexpensive. I'll do my place one day before I croak,maybe🤣

 

[Maureen B.]

T+g pine works well on ceilings and relatively inexpensive. I'll do my place one day before I croak,maybe🤣

I hope you get to it before you kick the bucket, Marty! Especially with the beautiful set up you already have. Right now we have hanging wagon wheel light fixtures on a sloped ceiling that look like they came from the renovation at the Golden Corral--with that nasty popcorn. On top of all our nontraditional plans, we have a projector and screen instead of a TV. I'm hoping that we finish this before I croak too!

 

[marty319]

Have fun Maureen lol.i got my walls done in whitewashed pine.

 

[Maureen B.]

Have fun Maureen lol.i got my walls done in whitewashed pine.

View attachment 314417

That's really nice! I have the perfect pair of light fixtures for you

 

[marty319]

Shipping would be too much lol

 

[joop]

it might be easier and cheaper to knock it down and build fresh on the foundation

 

[Maureen B.]

it might be easier and cheaper to knock it down and build fresh on the foundation

We're going, at least in part, in that direction. We think that's why it is possible to have the stove flush with the floor but no one really goes in that direction so we don't have a good template to follow.

 

[Maureen B.]

Shipping would be too much lol

I can't even give these things away!!