Hearth rug?

[HatCityIAFF]

So my hearth is a piece of slate that is 18" wide. But my insert thats coming this week sticks out 9" onto that. I need 18" to combustables for the Napoleon 1402. Would a "hearth rug" meet inspection? or would i have to build something quickly out of backerboard and tile?

 

[soupy1957]

To "me" a hearth rug is an add on that helps with the mess, and that's about it. The solid 2" thick hearth pad that was put down before the stove was installed is enough "protection" on some level, for errant sparks and that occasional chunk of ash wood that manages to jump out when stirring a hot fire around.

Having said that, I didn't ask the Inspector if he was keeping score with the hearth pad, but I doubt he was very interested in whether or not I had a hearth rug or not. I'm sure he was reviewing the whole package, along with the stove installation itself ("meeting Code"). I have my doubts that a hearth rug is part of "Code" regulations.

I remember the Inspector being impressed that we seemed to "cover all the bases," and made note of the presence of our fire extinguisher (for example).

Deciding what to add on should be driven by the "Code" requirements in your area, and your own sense of sensibility.

-Soupy1957

 

[EJL923]

I don't believe a hearth rug would cover the requirements, but i could be wrong. Stop and think what you would want there. The 18" is mostly for ember protection, although my manual does mention that it has to have some r value, although very small at .5. The manual is what you want to look at first, followed by a question to your fire inspector.

 

[Wood Duck]

I dont think a carpet is good enough. I would worry about code and about embers. First you need to meet code so that you can feel safe and your insurance will pay if you have a fire. Even if the fire starts somewhere besides the stove room, an install that isn't to code could be a problem. I don't imagine that a hearth rug meets any part of any code. Second, you will want a non-combustible floor because at least occasionally embers will fall or explode out of the stove onto the floor. It would be a lot better to have a nice, ember-proof floor than a carpet full of burn marks. With my stove the heating up of the floor is not an issue- mine barely gets warm.

 

[rwhite]

Ahhh welcome to my world. I struggle with the exact issue for the past couple weeks. And the fact that my wife did not want me cutting into the hardwood floor to extend the hearth. Search my threads and you can see the floating hearth that I built. I can tell you that before coming to this forum I would have said it was good enough. These guys here are super helpful and will assist you in anyway to do it right.

This is what I was dealing with (18" tile hearth):

This was the solution (24" floating hearth with an r value of about 1.44)

 

[HatCityIAFF]

thanks guys. the only thing my manual says is:

HEARTH EXTENSION / FLOOR PROTECTION:
Must be non-combustible and extend in front of
the insert 16" and 8†on both sides with a minimum
thickness of .500†and a thermal conductivity factor
(K) 0.84.

the slate hearth now is about 75"x20" built up on bricks about 6" off the wood floor. But the new stove will sit flush on the slate hearth and stick out 9". So right now I only have 11" infront of the stove, then it drops 6" down to the wood floor, so i'm around 5" too short. I'll see if I can add a picture when I get home from work tonight. a quick google search turned up a pretty close picture that I attached. But mine is made out of brick instead of stone.

 

[HatCityIAFF]

so building something out of durock and then tileing it, maybe a tile and a half wide/the length of the hearth and just throwing it down on the wood floor infront of the hearth. I'm still thinking a carpet thrown down in front would be sufficent enough just to pass inspection.

 

[rwhite]

I would call Napolean and give them your hearth dimensions. Most of the insert manuals I looked at had some clearance reductions for the height of the hearth (i.e. if the hearth is over 4" tall then only ember protection is needed). They don't mention anythin in there manual about it so it may not be valid in this case but it's worth a call.