We're putting an Alderlea T6 into a house that's under construction. We need the heat to do some of the work that's left. Unfortunately, the flooring's not going in anytime soon. We need something to put this rather LARGE stove on in the meantime. The prefabricated pads are surprisingly expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions for a safe, temporary fix? We'll probably be living with a painted subfloor for a while, until we can afford to put flooring in. Will probably have some sort of tile hearth at that point.
Cheap, Temporary Hearth Pad
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Something like this....
sheet of any metal on the floor
patio blocks, 4" cinderblocks or poured gravel a few inches thick
if using gravel, place stove legs on bricks or blocks for stability.
sheet of any metal on the floor
patio blocks, 4" cinderblocks or poured gravel a few inches thick
if using gravel, place stove legs on bricks or blocks for stability.
Use a sheet of 1/2" , or better 1" Cement Board under the stove. Cement board is used as the underlayer for tile. It's ugly but nonflammable. Paint it if too ugly.
7downeast said:
It also has next to no "R" value, which is why, depending on the requirements of your stove, the first response above is the best and cheapest. Slapping down a piece of cement board, depending on the stove, could be an accident waiting to happen.
The Alderlea requires non-combustible ember protection. A sheet of metal or cement board should be ok for a temporary hearth.
If you're at a point where you know exactly where the stove's gonna be, which it sounds like you must be, since you're talking about hooking it up and burning it, why not just go ahead and build the permanent tile hearth for it now and land it in place? Other flooring will come later around it. Rick
Creek-Chub said:
Of course cement board has no rated R Value, it has another use unrelated to insulation. Builders,and contractors use the stuff for temporary hearths in construction for wood stove and salamander heating protection, and fire departments use it for inexpensive ( read "cheap") fireproofing and testing. It cannot burn, yet will transfer heat less than brick, metal, or stone since the cement board is porous.
Now to hard reality: I use it for wall protection on the two sides of a corner installation for a cat Encore. It has been in place for 5+ years of hard burning 24/7, near 100% use for heat. The cement board is separated from the wallboard ( which is "fire resist" rated ) by ceramic spacers for a 1.5" air space behind and at the base. The rough look of the board is eased by filling the top and cut sides with a cement filler, and the boards are painted flat black. There. When the Encore is at full bore, top temp ~ 600 F, the boards side and rear are too hot to touch, yet the walls remain cool. The UL spacing is now cut to 6" as rated for the specific stove. My science is experiential---no theory. :smirk:
We tried home built vertical tile protectors which did not stand up to the heating cycles; slate or granite boards are too expensive, the cheap metal boards...well, look cheap. A local builder gave us the idea to use the cement boards. They are safe, cheap.
P.S. Every material --even us--has an R value. ;-P
I will have to disagree and state than cement board like durock or wonderboard has a decent R-value relative to other options. It is cheap to buy and very available. Easy to work with. There are members on this site that have stacked 6 layers of the 0.5" durock to get the required R-value.
If the T6 only requires ember protection (no R-value minimum) then lay down one layer for 20 bucks and get on with life. Tile is cheap too if you want to dress up the single layer. I see no reason for sheet metal but if you lay that down couldn't you just use that?
If the T6 only requires ember protection (no R-value minimum) then lay down one layer for 20 bucks and get on with life. Tile is cheap too if you want to dress up the single layer. I see no reason for sheet metal but if you lay that down couldn't you just use that?
A 36" X 48" black Imperial stove board is available at Lowe's for $57. It is UL listed sheet metal over mineral board.
Don't know the r-values but it won't burn.
Don't know the r-values but it won't burn.
![[Hearth.com] Cheap, Temporary Hearth Pad](/talk/data/attachments/11/11162-cbb0e61f8b445b6a8b988db6bdf66d43.jpg?hash=zJnpbkO0dR)
BrotherBart said:
It is buck ugly B².............ugly I tell you. Good for VA. But cheap.
Why do you think it's called "Imperial" ?
downeast said:BrotherBart said:
It is buck ugly B².............ugly I tell you. Good for VA. But cheap.
Yeah but it keeps clumsy Jotul owners from spilling ash all over their carpets. Even when they are sober. :lol:
Agree, definitely not good looking, but the smooth side can be painted with some high-temp paint. I'm just thinking cheap (the first qualification) and temporary. Later on, put on a coat of thinset and tile it.
Fossil, I think you're on to something. Building out the hearth now means one less step in the future. And it wouldn't have to cost much... just building a frame to size with concrete board on top would be enough at this point. I installed my stove on a very unfinished pad. I did tile the critical parts (behind the stove where I couldn't reach and the portion where the stove actually sits) and all the rest of it was done after the stove was installed... and I've taken my time with it (still not 100% done!). Lots easier than having to move the stove and reinstall it at a later date.
We'll be replacing flooring in the same room in the future... the pad is permanent so the flooring will simply go around it, not under it.
We'll be replacing flooring in the same room in the future... the pad is permanent so the flooring will simply go around it, not under it.
[quote author="BrotherBart" date="1223942792
Yeah but it keeps clumsy Jotul owners from spilling ash all over their carpets. Even when they are sober. :lol:[/quote]
Hey Msr. B², why would anyone ever burn ( get it, "Everburn" What an idea for marketing, it'll make $$$$ !!) sober ? Give me that single malt.... "more malt sir, please ?"
When are you getting that Durock ? %-P
Yeah but it keeps clumsy Jotul owners from spilling ash all over their carpets. Even when they are sober. :lol:[/quote]
Hey Msr. B², why would anyone ever burn ( get it, "Everburn" What an idea for marketing, it'll make $$$$ !!) sober ? Give me that single malt.... "more malt sir, please ?"
When are you getting that Durock ? %-P
Years ago we had a wood stove on our deck outside. It was placed on one layer of cement board. In the spring, when I lifted the board, there was a hole directly under the stove that had burned through. I'm not saying that it would happen with your stove, but it's something to think about. We would get that stove pretty hot.
I would use at least 2-3 layers of cement board if you decide to go that route.
I would use at least 2-3 layers of cement board if you decide to go that route.
All depends on the stove. Our cat likes to sleep under the Alderlea. It just gets cozy warm under it.
I purloined a good large river rock from a secret stash of such in the Mountains of NC, somewhere near... oh, never mind.
It's been flawless the last three winters. There will be another for the second VC soon.
It's been flawless the last three winters. There will be another for the second VC soon.
![[Hearth.com] Cheap, Temporary Hearth Pad](/talk/data/attachments/12/12321-ee2d6a3bbcfa8070f11da73b4cfc0cf8.jpg?hash=gOGbGbXQL5)
Thanks for the pic.
I was thinking river rock(s). I'm considering making a frame on the floor under the stove and filling it with river or beach rocks as Craig suggested in his 1st reply.
No more dustpan and brush. Just shuffle the rocks around and let the crap fall through to the bottom. lol
I was thinking river rock(s). I'm considering making a frame on the floor under the stove and filling it with river or beach rocks as Craig suggested in his 1st reply.
No more dustpan and brush. Just shuffle the rocks around and let the crap fall through to the bottom. lol
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