Q&A Wall air gap for spacing cement board

Question:

Could you tell me what the best method of spacing the cement board from the drywall is (for the wall behind the wood burner)? My contractor wants to cut 1 inch pieces of copper pipe to use as spacers, but I thought copper would conduct too much heat. I'm also not sure how to hold the spacers in place while you attach the cement board. Any advice would be great!



Answer:

Copper is fine, that small amount of surface area will not conduct too much heat. There are also ceramic spacers available at many stove shops. Lastly, strips of the cement board (double thickness) can be used.