Hey I have been working the past couple of days on my fireview install, and my goal was to install this stove on a raised hearth pad, when everthing is said and done my hearth pad will be abount 15 inches off the floor. the only problem with my hearth pad is that it sticks out so far in the room and my wife does not like it , so i was wondering by having the stove raised so high from a combustible surface could a man shorten the hearth pad a little? I have already torn out the back wall removed the drywall and wood studs, replaced it with metal studs a layer of 1/2in cement board and put another layer of cement board with a 1inch air space between the two layers this will allow me to get the back of the stove 12inches from the wall using double wall pipe. why does this stove have such huge clearance issues it seems like overkill to me. they are steel stoves out on the market with closer clearances. I love this stove and want to use but having a hearth pad big enough for a equinox and putting such a small stoveit just looks funny. if this stove puts off a soft heat and not a blast you out the house kind of heat. I 'am going to shorten the pad little to help the looks of the install. so what do you fireview owners think will this work I really cannot see were this would be a fir hazard.