I’ve decided to renovate my lakefront cottage/home and make it more rustic looking to include adding a stone look wherever it makes sense. In addition, I have a brick fireplace that I plan to convert to utilize a free standing woodstove. Over the last few years I’ve been thinking about modifying/rebuilding the hearth so I can place a Hearthstone Heritage woodstove on it and pipe it through the chimney using stainless steel chimney liner. In addition, I plan to reface the brick with a cultured or perhaps a natural stone look.
Recently, I talked to an older fella who owns land way out in the sticks that contains an old a granite rock quarry. He tells me he has all kinds of spectacular granite stone in every size, shape, and form. Yesterday I took a ride out to the quarry and it was very interesting to say the least. The quarry was mined from the early 1900’s to the 1940’s and today there is granite rock everywhere….and like he said, in every size, shape, and form. The granite bluff was blasted many years ago and there is considerable rock that would be suitable for building a natural rock fireplace, wall, or whatever. In addition, there’s thousands of large rock chunks with some as large as a car. I started thinking about the possibility of searching through his large quarry and perhaps see if I could find a granite chunk/slab that I could use as a hearth for the stove to sit on. I might be able to find something approximately 48”x42” with a thickness of anywhere from 4 to 6 inches that is relatively flat on the top and bottom. The owner also tells me that I may be able to find a suitable rock hearth slab from the larger chunks by finding one that has natural fractures with the approximate thickness I need. He says I could use a 5 lb hammer and chisel and use the natural fractures to split off the rock to create a slab with two flat sides with the correct thickness. The owner charges about $80 a ton for the rock.
Was wondering if anyone has made their hearth using a big chunk of natural granite stone. Even if I can find something somewhat flat on the top and bottom, I’m wondering if it would be flat enough for the stove to correctly sit on. Perhaps, I may even be able to find someone in the area who can grind/polish the slabs top and bottom flat and smooth. Am I nuts for even considering this as a hearth? Any ideas or comments would be appreciated.
Recently, I talked to an older fella who owns land way out in the sticks that contains an old a granite rock quarry. He tells me he has all kinds of spectacular granite stone in every size, shape, and form. Yesterday I took a ride out to the quarry and it was very interesting to say the least. The quarry was mined from the early 1900’s to the 1940’s and today there is granite rock everywhere….and like he said, in every size, shape, and form. The granite bluff was blasted many years ago and there is considerable rock that would be suitable for building a natural rock fireplace, wall, or whatever. In addition, there’s thousands of large rock chunks with some as large as a car. I started thinking about the possibility of searching through his large quarry and perhaps see if I could find a granite chunk/slab that I could use as a hearth for the stove to sit on. I might be able to find something approximately 48”x42” with a thickness of anywhere from 4 to 6 inches that is relatively flat on the top and bottom. The owner also tells me that I may be able to find a suitable rock hearth slab from the larger chunks by finding one that has natural fractures with the approximate thickness I need. He says I could use a 5 lb hammer and chisel and use the natural fractures to split off the rock to create a slab with two flat sides with the correct thickness. The owner charges about $80 a ton for the rock.
Was wondering if anyone has made their hearth using a big chunk of natural granite stone. Even if I can find something somewhat flat on the top and bottom, I’m wondering if it would be flat enough for the stove to correctly sit on. Perhaps, I may even be able to find someone in the area who can grind/polish the slabs top and bottom flat and smooth. Am I nuts for even considering this as a hearth? Any ideas or comments would be appreciated.
