Making a hearth pad?

[slackercruster]

Checked with this Co to buy a hearth pad.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Wood-Stove-and-Accessories/Rectangular-Hearth-Pads

Could not get answers to my questions even after 3 transfers. Decided for $400+ I would try to make my own.

Anyone make theirs with tile? How did it come out? What type of tile did you use? My sauna stove is 300 pounds. Hearth pad will sit on bamboo wood flooring.

Thanks!

 

[LIBurn1784]

I made mine using 4 sheets of 1/2" durock, covered with thinset and than natural slate tiles. Came out pretty good, I'm at work so dont have any pictures to post at the moment. Lots of people use different materials depending on certain criteria that need to be met by each stove manufacturer. Weight of the stove, specific R or K value that needs to be met, is there a certain height you'd like to attain for your hearth, or will it be flush with the exisiting floor. Those are just a few to consider. I'm sure some others will be along shortly to add their .02. Anyway, i think building your own is the way to go, mine fits my space great and saved a considerable amount of money over those prebuild ones.

 

[begreen]

There are hundreds of posts about building hearths and hearthpads. Try the search function to find "hearth pad" or "build hearth".

Also note that if all you need is ember protection you can pick up a pad on Amazon for under $100.

 

[firefighterjake]

Checked with this Co to buy a hearth pad.

http://www.woodlanddirect.com/Wood-Stove-and-Accessories/Rectangular-Hearth-Pads

Could not get answers to my questions even after 3 transfers. Decided for $400+ I would try to make my own.

Anyone make theirs with tile? How did it come out? What type of tile did you use? My sauna stove is 300 pounds. Hearth pad will sit on bamboo wood flooring.

Thanks!

As mentioned a quick search will bring up lots of hits on how to make a hearth.

To answer your questions though . . . I would guess most folks use tile or stone of some sort on their hearths . . . I used slate tile on my hearth. For a guy who has never done any tile work I thought it came out pretty decent and was not all that hard. Ended up using two sheets of plywood (I forget the thickness -- they were pretty beefy), Durock over the plywood and then slate tile as I only needed ember protection, but was concerned more about flex being an issue and ending up with cracked tiles. Three plus years in and no problems . . . looks pretty good, saved a lot of money building it and I have pride in what I built.

 

[eyefish2]

I built a hearth pad a couple months back (only needed ember protection). I put down 3/4" plywood with 1/2" hardibacker on top of it. The thinset was applied on top of the hardibacker and then the tile. Hardest parts were figuring out the tile configuration so it looked decent and then wiping up the grout when that was complete. This was the first time I ever put down tile and was fairly easy to do. The tile I used was a porcelin type. The folks at Home Depot explained the process pretty good to me and told me what I needed for the job. 56" by 56" pad cost approx $150?? I forget exactly. Do a search on this site for "Building a Hearth pad" and you should find several threads. I have yet to post pics. Like they say "no pictures, it didn't happen".