Has anyone used a slab of granite or any other stone for building a hearth pad? I did a search on Google about using granite and found a couple people that had their granite crack on them. Does anyone have a recommendation for a single piece of stone that I can use to build a hearth pad? I am looking for something that is durable, won't crack (if properly level and supported) and somewhat scratch resistant. I would like to build my own hearth pad but I do not think that I want to get involved with tiling. I would use a 2X4 frame with lots of cross beams, plywood layer, enough cement board to achieve the required r-value, then put the slab of stone on top. I would then trim the outside with wood. Any thoughts or ideas would be great.