Building hearth

[madbri44]

Hi all, just a few questions before I start my project. In a nutshell I bought a small cottage where the hearth already there with wood stove was not legal. So therefore I am building a new hearth. I have a good idea on what to use as I have researched this for some time but am looking for some professional advice. I have a Century S244 stove. Do I have to have it raised with 2 x 4's or can I just use 3/4" plywood with 1" of Durock? The floor is I believe 1/2" plywood with pine hardwood flooring now. I prefer to keep it low but if necessary I will raise it. Also, I have been told many different opinions on the size of the hearth, it will be going into a corner. If anyone can fill me in on the size as well it would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[firefighterjake]

Welcome to hearth.com.

First, just a FYI (in case you decide to hang around a bit) . . . your best bet is to ask this question in the hearth section. This section tends to be more about questions involving the website. Perhaps a kindly administrator will move this for you.

To answer your question . . .

(broken link removed to http://www.century-heating.com/upload/documents/manuels/45596A_16-06-2014.pdf)

If you haven't read this . . . do so. This is one of the better written manuals . . . explaining a lot of stuff about seasoned wood, using moisture meters, how to light fires, etc. In my honest opinion, Century has done a fantastic job explaining stuff that we often "preach" about here over and over.

In any case . . . to answer your questions.

According to the manual all you need is non-combustible material for a hearth . . . they then go on to suggest steel at least .015 thick or ceramic tile that is grouted. My own take is to beef things up a bit, but no . . . you do not have to use 2 x 4s to raise it. In truth, you could get away with just putting down ceramic tile and grouting it . . . although I am of the mindset that grout sometimes cracks and it is a really, really good idea to go with non-combustible cement board and then tile over that.

In my own case, I did just what you suggested . . . laid down 3/4 inch plywood, screwed on the cement board and then put down slate tile. It was a little more than needed for my Jotul install . . . but I sleep better at night . . . and not a single piece of slate has cracked, popped up, etc. as there is no flex.

As to the size . . . there are sizing requirements listed in the manual -- see link above.

 

[Jags]

Moved to hearth room.

 

[begreen]

It looks like this stove only needs ember protection. You can put down two sheets of 1/2" cement board if desired, but only one 1/2" sheet is needed. according to the manual here are the required corner clearances. However it doesn't hurt to exceed them and sometimes it helps to bring the stove a bit more out of the corner in order to align the stove pipe support box with the overhead ceiling joists.


Note that you can extend out the sides and back of the hearth to completely fill the corner if desired. That will give you a clean look. Here is an example:

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

how can that stove in the picture be so close to the wall? I don't see any shielding on the wall. I don't get it

 

[begreen]

It's the camera angle. The corners of the stove are 7" which is 2" more than the 5" requirement for double-wall pipe. The walls are significantly cooler with the Alderlea in this location than they were with the Jotul F400.