Hi everyone, I’m new to the forum. I recently ran into a problem when trying to pass rental code inspection for a house we bought that was built in the 60s. We were told the hearth is too narrow, it currently measures at 12 inches and code requires it to be at least 20” if I remember correctly. What are some ways I can extend the hearth? If that’s not doable we are also planning on completely block off the fireplace and place a electric fake fire place within it. What do you guys think?
Extend a raised hearth to pass code
- Thread starter DubZ
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Look up chapter 10 in the irc code book what you need to do is clearly spelled out there. I will warn you it is not a simple project. It needs to be built on a slab that can support it's own weight and it can have no combustibles contacting the bottom side of it.
Hi, thank you for the reply. We have given up the idea of extending the hearth and is looking solely at electric fireplace insert that we can just put into the firebox. But one more question, just by doing that, would that deem this fireplace no longer wood burning, and will we be able to pass code with this as an electric fireplace?
If you blocked fastened the damper shut I think so. But you will have to check with the inspector.
