Skamotec 225, alternative to micore, hearth pad material

[Hogwildz]

It is some thick stuff, but if you take the 1" air gap and the material into factor it evens out. I got a small sample block of it, what do you guys want seen done to it? Blowtorch? 12ga? Small tile?

Blow torch, smolder test....

 

[begreen]

Howitzer test.

 

[Hogwildz]

The hearth shop i work at recently purchased this stuff to start using. We tried putting stone on it with type S mortar and after 3 days you could easily pull the stones off. We wet the skamotec and scratch coated it, but it still dried insanely fast making it hard to even scratch coat. I would guess your first answer would be more water. But i can hardly see using buckets of water in someones living room with carpet and hard wood and all. Any other suggestions ? The idea of this stuff sounds great and even the faster drying scratch coat is a plus. It just doesnt seem to be working. Should we be using thin set to scratch coat it for stone ??

Wire mesh?

 

[mellow]

Now that it is nice outside I can try the blowtorch test and not have to worry about getting yelled at. I might have some small tile sitting around from the kitchen remodel that I can try adhering to the board.