Hi All - I'm a newby at all of this and I'm in the process of installing my first wood stove. With the help of this forum, I have a much better understanding of what the install will require, and how big/what kind of stove I should get, so I've finally settled on a Napoleon 1100 as my stove of choice. But my local building dept. has been characteristically vague on what is required to make sure I meet code, saying only that I must follow the manufacturer's installation instructions. That's all well and good for most of the installation, however the owners manual for the 1100 only says I must use an "approved hearth pad". I really don't want to purchase a hearth pad and would prefer to build my own since I could better match the other materials I'll be using to finish out the room. So I guess I first need to know how to determine the R value needed for the 1100...AND what materials to layer into the construction to meet that value Finally, how would a building inspector even know how to determine if my DIY hearth pad would meet those requirements? I just don't want the inspector to arrive when all is said and done only to say, "Nope, sorry, this won't do......you need an "approved" hearth pad". Thanks very much for any and all info!