Floor protection question (unlisted stove)

[FanMan]

Had the inspector in for our newly required yearly inspection (long story) and while he signed off our stoves, he said we really should add more floor protection... which I grok means "do it before I come back". Anyway, the wood stove is about 8" elevated, sitting on 2" cinderblocks above a sheet of cement board which extend a few inches past the tray in front, but not 18" from the loading doors.

The inspector wanted to see 18", another row of cinderblocks would do it, but I'd be constantly stubbing my toes. I'm not clear on whether the need is for heat protection, or just ember protection, in which case a covering of sheet metal would suffice, no? The bricks under the front edge don't get hot.

It's not feasible to contact the inspector for clarification at this time (don't ask).

Another option would be to cut a 12" strip out of a rated stove floor board (I have two, unused) and lay that on the wood floor in front of the bricks. Thicker than sheet metal, but some heat protection and not as thick as the bricks.

A similar situation exists for the coal stove, though the geometry is different (and the floor underneath doesn't get hot at all).

 

[Burnin Since 1991]

I will defer to @begreen or one of the other more "experienced" members. I really like that coal stove.

 

[begreen]

The floor beneath and in front of the stove must be protected by a non-combustible hearth pad that extends at least 16 inches in front of the door and 8 inches on each side. If the stove has taller than 6" legs then a metal sheet and 4" of masonry is required. Stoves with shorter than 6" legs need extra hearth insulation. NFPA 211 Section 9.4 states that the hearth pad must limit temperature rise on the combustible subfloor beneath it to no more than 90°F above ambient.

Note that an unlisted stove also needs to be 36" from any and all combustibles in all directions. This is clearly not the case with the present install.