Combustible vs. Non-Combustible Walls

[Swamp_Yankee]

I will be replacing this stove (not sure with what yet) and I'm trying to determine what my clearances will need to be. The wall behind the stove is actual brick, not brick facing or veneer. Behind that is a layer of sheetrock, which presumably has the studs of the outside wall of the house behind it. If there is a gap between the brick and the sheetrock its a small one. From what I've read, this does not count as a non-combustible wall because there is no air gap between the brick and the sheetrock. If that's correct, what about doing another layer of brick (or stone) with a 1" air gap between that layer and the brick? Disregard the couch-the current stove is not used and once we install a new stove the couch will be gone.

 

[begreen]

For some stoves this will be a non-issue. Full brick does count for a clearance reduction but not less than to 12" which some stoves already allow a closer clearance. Remember that the clearance is to the sheetrock, not the brick.

 

[Highbeam]

People get all hung upon wall shields when it is not needed. Very rarely will a manufacturer offer further reductions in clearances with a fancy wall shield.

You can put a sheet of plywood behind your stove so long as it is outside of the minimum clearance to combustibles. My stove only needs 6” to plywood!

It won’t hurt to do more than is required of course.

 

[Swamp_Yankee]

People get all hung upon wall shields when it is not needed. Very rarely will a manufacturer offer further reductions in clearances with a fancy wall shield.

You can put a sheet of plywood behind your stove so long as it is outside of the minimum clearance to combustibles. My stove only needs 6” to plywood!

It won’t hurt to do more than is required of course.

My issue is floor protection up front as you can see. I want to be able to keep the stove as tight to the back wall as I can. However, thanks to BeGreen I now know that I pick up 3.5" because I'm measuring to the sheetrock and not the brick.

 

[Highbeam]

Yes, you measure to the first combustible surface.

 

[begreen]

What is the current hearth depth to the sheetrock?

Here are a couple instances of clearance and hearth depth for a few 3 cu ft stoves:

The Drolet Legend II requires 8" rear clearance with double-wall stove pipe. The stove is about 26" deep (door to rear) and needs 16" hearth in front of the glass. It needs a hearth depth of 50".

The Drolet Austral II requires 6" rear clearance with double-wall stove pipe. The stove is about 26" deep (door to rear) and needs 16" hearth in front of the glass. It needs a hearth depth of 48".

The Englander 50-SSW02 needs 7" rear clearance with double-wall stove pipe. The stove is about 24" deep (door to rear) and needs 16" hearth in front of the glass. It needs a hearth depth of 47".

 

[Swamp_Yankee]

The Drolet Austral II requires 6" rear clearance with double-wall stove pipe. The stove is about 26" deep (door to rear) and needs 16" hearth in front of the glass. It needs a hearth depth of 48"

I think the Austral II is the winner. The hearth depth (to the brick) is 48", so to the combustible wall it's 51 and 3/8". That said I think I'd have to locate the stove about 6" off of the brick in order to make the 90° bend into the wall thimble. That will leave me a hair short in the front for floor protection, but I have to beef up the hearth anyway, so I can just put a small lip on it to make it a full 16". For the hearth I plan to pull up the old slate, screw down steel studs, face it all off with cement board, and then do some sort of stone/stone veneer finish. I really like the look of the Austral II-very simple styling.

 

[begreen]

Before tearing anything up, review dimensions and requirements. The Austral II only needs ember protection so the hearth looks ok in that regard. Maybe just add a metal plate in front of the slate. This could be a narrow 6" strip of copper, or dark painted steel. That would be a lot less work.