Adding Firebrick to a Soapstone Stove

[Rob From Wisconsin]

I would like to add a layer of firebrick to the bottom of my soapstone firebox to
help the floor of my hearth from getting too hot (seems a bit so on mine).
Of course, I could do mod's to my hearth, but they would either require a major
rebuild or a pad/matt would take away from the appearance. My stove requires
a hearth w/ an R-Value of 0.6 - mine is probably more like 0.4

 

[Slow1]

Best (right) thing of course is to upgrade your hearth pad to the correct R-Value.

I would think the next best thing would be to put some sort of heat shield between the bottom of the stove and the hearth. A piece of sheet metal suspended under there with at least 1" of air gap above and below would go a long way toward reducing the temperature of the pad right below the stove.

 

[Valhalla]

Yup, get a proper heat shield for it. Safety first!

Then build a beefy masonry hearth for it. There
is nothing like it, as it will hold and radiate heat long after
your burn has stopped. Just like soapstone!

 

[firefighterjake]

Hmmm . . . not much of a difference there with .6 and .4 . . . but that said when it comes to the safety of my family and the preservation of my property I think I would err on the side of safety and make things right with a rebuilt hearth.

 

[FireWalker]

I would like to add a layer of firebrick to the bottom of my soapstone firebox to
help the floor of my hearth from getting too hot (seems a bit so on mine).
Of course, I could do mod's to my hearth, but they would either require a major
rebuild or a pad/matt would take away from the appearance. My stove requires
a hearth w/ an R-Value of 0.6 - mine is probably more like 0.4

So, how hot is too hot, what kind of temps are you seeing?