Jotul F3 CB Hearth Build and Install Thread From Start to Finish (Extreme Pic Density)

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Therivermonster

Burning Hunk
Dec 10, 2013
115
Tacoma, WA
As some of you might know, I have been prepping for my first wood stove for some time now. I have read so many great threads, and so many of you have offered advice and answered so many questions. I toast to you all.

It has been a huge challenge deciding which stove to purchase. Fire show or not so much? Soap stone or cast iron or steel, or...? How big? How small? How many BTUs, square footage, etc? Will this one work? Will that one work? Will this one produce too much heat? What about clearances and the hearth? You mean I have to have DRY wood?!!! And on it goes...

At this point I am either the talk of the block, or the geek of the week when it comes to proper fire wood at least, and I have picked up a bit of knowledge about stoves along the way too. After perusing all the local stove shops and asking questions, I decided that I hadn't come any closer to making a decision. In a last ditch effort to maintain my sanity, I decided to head to the local state fair where there are usually a large number of dealers selling this stove and that, with deals that sometimes are too good to pass by. Well, the deals were too good to pass by, and now the decision has been made. Bought and paid for, stove Excell pipe package, and installation at a price no mortal could refuse.



Yes my friends, the Jotul F3 CB is the winner. She is going to look dandy on the hearth.

I had planned to do all the installation myself, but insurance requires a pro to install the stove and pipe, so I guess I'm just left with the hearth to satisfy my DIY desires. You all may be thinking that it is a bummer that I don't get to install it too, but beware what you wish for. I'll have plenty questions about the hearth project, but I promise that I'll repay the masses with a deluge of fine pics of the process. I'll also try to get some good pics of the actual install process if the installer is the type to be pestered.

On With the Hearth...





I have been kicking around some ideas of how to place the stove. I know generally where it is going to go, but it is difficult to decide how to place it, in my experience anyway. On paper, the distances to combustables and hearth size seem to be overly large. No layout that I drew up seemed to seem to fit very well in the room without seemingly sticking out into the middle of the living room.

I had had enough of drawing it out, so I decided to go with the layout that I liked the most and tape it out onto the floor. I found a tote in the garage almost the same width and depth as the stove, so I set it on my tapped out hearth, and sat a toddler chair on top in order to give the whole contraption some height for perspective. This is how it all turned out and I love it. It turns out to be much less intrusive than it looked on paper.



The F3 requires a hearth minimum of 39"x39". For a corner install with protected surfaces, we can move those back corners only 6" away from those back walls. However, and here is where I am perplexed to begin, you have to leave an inch air gap between the hearth pad and the bottom edge of the protection wall. How have all of you approached this dilemma while maintaining the look of a smooth transition from hearth deck to wall? And how did you finish the top to look somewhat normal due to the gap required there?

I plan to frame the hearth out of framing 2x4s, then deck with a number of layers of Durock to get the insulative R value of 1.1 required by Jotul for the F3. On top of the Durock I plan to use Thin Set or mortar to attach slate, or some such material. I have never done any type of tile work before, so this should be interesting. Anyhow, would 4 layers of Durock provide the R value necessary, or do I need more or less, or something else entirely?

Thanks again, everyone! More to come just around the corner. We gotta get this thing installed before the frost bites. : )
 
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Looking good! I like seeing how other people install their stoves.

Just one criticism from me - Durock. When I called the manufacturer directly, they said that their product is no longer rated for hearth use based on a formula change that happened a couple years back. Micore 300 was the only similar product I could find that was rated for it.

Edited to add: I used one layer of Micore 300 because it has an R value of about 1.03. By the time I added the 1/2" of mortar and tile on top, I had exceeded the necessary R value.
 
Looking good! I like seeing how other people install their stoves.

Just one criticism from me - Durock. When I called the manufacturer directly, they said that their product is no longer rated for hearth use based on a formula change that happened a couple years back. Micore 300 was the only similar product I could find that was rated for it.

Edited to add: I used one layer of Micore 300 because it has an R value of about 1.03. By the time I added the 1/2" of mortar and tile on top, I had exceeded the necessary R value.

It is interesting to see how other hearths are constructed.

So no Durock, eh. From a quick search it appears that Micore is not the easiest material to get ahold of. What else could be used in place of Durock to get the R value?
 
Three layers of 1/2" Durock NexGen will bring the hearth insulation up to R= 1.17. That will suffice and the material should be easy to get. There's no need for thinset between the cement board layers. Just screw them down per mfg. directions.
 
Three layers of 1/2" Durock NexGen will bring the hearth insulation up to R= 1.17. That will suffice and the material should be easy to get. There's no need for thinset between the cement board layers. Just screw them down per mfg. directions.

Very good. Thanks for the info.

I'll start in earnest this coming weekend on the hearth construction, so lots of pics to come.

I have to build the 1" offset protected wall areas. What have people used for 1" standoffs, and what are some good ideas on hiding the vent holes required for this type of installation?
 
Evening fellow wood chucks!

This weekend I wanted to light a fire under this hearth install project. I had settled on a layout, drawn up the plans, so early Saturday morning it was off to Home Depot for supplies.
Once back home, I unloaded and got down to business. First the frame of the hearth needed to be cut and screwed. To answer your question, no, none of the oil on the driveway got on the wood.


Once I had finished framing the hearth, I brought it in and set it in the corner where it is going to live. I shimmed it to level, then, with a pencil laid flat against the face of the structure I traced it onto the blue masking tape on the floor. With a nice clean trace line, I cut the flooring with a circular saw and recip saw.


And that was that. The flooring came up without a hitch.


Now it was time to shim up the whole platform and secure it permanently. I shimmed with strips of 3/4 ply, and regular shims. Then I screwed the platform to all wall studs available, and used steel L brackets to secure it to the floor in a number of places.


When I build structures like this that have a good chance of being part of the house for a long time to come, I like to add a little surprise for the person that might demo the structure and find the surprise. Each of my kids added a favorite toy and a hand drawn picture. My wife added a pod of her favorite Starbucks coffee, and I added an X 27 splitting axe head that freed itself from its handle while I was splitting wood for the stove that will sit upon this hearth. I wrote a meaningful message on the axe head in Sharpi. With the treasures securely tucked in their tomb, it was time to apply some construction adhesive to the hearth frame, and screw down some 3/4 ply.


Plywood installed. This hearth is 55" on the long sides, so I had to install a full 4' width, plus a strip in the back. I had planned the framing for this, so it is as solid as a tank.


Cement board time. I laid the cement board onto the platform, then traced from below with a pencil to get my cut lines. Then it was back outside for some easy cuts with the circular saw.


Then all that is left to do is screw on the cement board pieces. Install with the seam going one direction, then switch it up 90 degrees with the next layer. There will be 3 layers of 1/2' Durock in this hearth.


All 3 layers of Durock installed.


Here is a shot of all the layers just before I installed the last piece of skirting in the front.


And after two days of work, we were able to look at our new hearth with the mock up stove sitting proud upon it. The hearth is big enough to allow the F3 to be installed without the need for protection on the walls. I may still install stone on the wall in the future, but I would like to give this look a shot first.


So that's done now. Next weekend I'll tackle installing the stone and finishing the hearth. I have never done stone or tile install before, so this should be interesting. Stay tuned.
 
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Tile is easy! Looking good so far.

Hi Rickb! I'm sure it will go smoothly. I'll take a look at YouTube University this week to gather some technique. I can't wait to see the finished product.
 
So you entombed an ax head with a lifetime guarantee in the time capsule. Guy that demos the house will send it in for a new ax.
 
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So you entombed an ax head with a lifetime guarantee in the time capsule. Guy that demos the house will send it in for a new ax.

Ha! Little does that lucky guy know that Heather with Fiskars will be waiting for his long lost phone call only to tell him that the previous owner (me) has already cashed in on that prize. Are you kidding me? I wasn't going Fiskarless, but I wasn't going to pay for another one either. :)
 
Ha! Little does that lucky guy know that Heather with Fiskars will be waiting for his long lost phone call only to tell him that the previous owner (me) has already cashed in on that prize. Are you kidding me? I wasn't going Fiskarless, but I wasn't going to pay for another one either. :)

You da man!
 
I always enjoy reading and looking at pics of projects from start to finish . . . me . . . I never remember to take pics . . . then again most of my construction projects look like a battle zone . . . nothing I really want to show off.

Love the idea of including bits and pieces from your life for future owners to discover . . . that's one of the few fun things with demolition . . . finding things from previous owners that were in most cases left behind accidentally.
 
Update...

We have settled on the tile for the hearth which I'll be installing this weekend. This will be my first time doing tile, so cross your fingers. This is the stuff.


I am also prepping a spot on the carport for a 8 foot wood rack that will hold wood ready for burning. I don't want to keep a lot of wood inside the house, so this rack will hold a face cord just a few steps from the side door. First I had to repair some rot in the sill plate and a few of the studs. New siding will go back up, then the rack construction will start. I'll post pics of the process.


The kiddos are eager to start stacking wood to keep us warm through the winter. They might be more excited than I am. :)


More to come soon...
 
On Friday after work I ran around picking up the tile and all the other little supplies that I needed to get the tile job done. Early Saturday morning I got to work snapping some chalk lines needed in order to properly lay the initial tiles.


After a couple of hours it looked something like this. There is a bit of a learning curve, however I think that the most critical aspect to getting it right was in the initial layout and planning.Cutting the tile wasn't too hard, however I broke my buddies wet saw, so I'm in to the bank for a new one for him.


The tiling took most of Saturday including setup, thinking, layout, cutting, and applying tiles, moving tiles, thinking some more, and finally setting the last tile and cleanup. I was more sore on Saturday evening than I usually am after splitting wood. I let the Thinset set up overnight. This is the project ready for grouting Sunday morning.


The grout job wasn't too hard. Here is the finished product. I'm happy with it. In the future, we will build a peninsula counter top which will place a wall along the open area of the hearth on the right. I think that this will really help tie the hearth into the room. As it stands right now, that portion of it really sticks out.


A close up of the tile and joints. I really like the tile. I probably would have gone a bit darker with the grout, but it will pass.


To finish the project I need to apply wall trim, and some sort of mantel shelving along the walls. We'll see what the wife wants to do here. More to come soon...
 
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Great job on the tile. I've done a few tile jobs. One tip is where the tile meets the wall, to grout it with "grout caulk" that you can find in most home stores to match the grout color you have, often made by the same company that made your premix grout (if you used premix). The idea is that that caulk will give so that when the grout and tiles experience heating and cooling, the grout will not crack.

So in the future if you see some cracked grout - look for the grout caulk. It may or may not be an issue you encounter.

Also, It appears to me you used a natural stone - check to see if they were pre-sealed. You may wish to get a sealer - its just a liquid that you wipe on liberally and it keeps the stone from getting stained, etc.

Overall, a great looking tile job.
 
Great job on the tile. I've done a few tile jobs. One tip is where the tile meets the wall, to grout it with "grout caulk" that you can find in most home stores to match the grout color you have, often made by the same company that made your premix grout (if you used premix). The idea is that that caulk will give so that when the grout and tiles experience heating and cooling, the grout will not crack.

So in the future if you see some cracked grout - look for the grout caulk. It may or may not be an issue you encounter.

Also, It appears to me you used a natural stone - check to see if they were pre-sealed. You may wish to get a sealer - its just a liquid that you wipe on liberally and it keeps the stone from getting stained, etc.

Overall, a great looking tile job.

Great tips! Thanks Laxin! And thank you for the compliment on the tile job. It was a great experience and I look forward to doing some more tiling in the future.

I left a 1/8" gap between the tile and the walls because I'm going to cover with trim, so hopefully the grout won't crack. The tile is actually a porcelain tile which is completely sealed from the factory, so no issues there.
 
Great tips! Thanks Laxin! And thank you for the compliment on the tile job. It was a great experience and I look forward to doing some more tiling in the future.

I left a 1/8" gap between the tile and the walls because I'm going to cover with trim, so hopefully the grout won't crack. The tile is actually a porcelain tile which is completely sealed from the factory, so no issues there.

WOW - that is some good looking porcelain tile! You left a gap so you should be fine there.

For your next tile job if you tackle a back- splash or something with an exposed edge, check out tile edging - really takes your work up a notch in terms of looking professionally finished
 
WOW - that is some good looking porcelain tile! You left a gap so you should be fine there.

For your next tile job if you tackle a back- splash or something with an exposed edge, check out tile edging - really takes your work up a notch in terms of looking professionally finished

Thanks! I'll take a look at the tile edging.

Edit: I just took a quick look and I can see how this could create a very nice finish on an exposed edge. Thanks a bunch!
 
Looks very sharp . . . porcelain tile is really amazing . . . some of the stuff they've come up with is incredible in terms of detail and lack of repetition in the pattern.

If the grout doesn't darken down enough to your liking you can pick up colored grout stain . . . or do what I did and use Old English lemon oil. It soaks into the grout and stains it. The tile guy said I may have to re-apply it at some point, but said it will stain the grout and make it darker for some time.
 
Looks very sharp . . . porcelain tile is really amazing . . . some of the stuff they've come up with is incredible in terms of detail and lack of repetition in the pattern.

If the grout doesn't darken down enough to your liking you can pick up colored grout stain . . . or do what I did and use Old English lemon oil. It soaks into the grout and stains it. The tile guy said I may have to re-apply it at some point, but said it will stain the grout and make it darker for some time.

Thanks, Jake! I was wondering if some kind of stain would work, so you answered that question.

What do you all think? Darker grout, or it's fine as it is?
 
Well . . . thinking like my wife who tends to have an eye for things like this . . . the color selected does pick up some of the tones of gray in the tile . . . so it would work.

Me . . . I would like it to be a bit darker to blend into the tile a little more . . . but in the end . . . I would do the smart thing and not ask us . . . ask your significant other what THEY think. ;)
 
Thanks, Jeff!

I'm trying to figure out how to trim the hearth to the wall. Any ideas? I tried some smaller white trim, maybe an inch high and it just didn't look right.
 
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