We are having a brand new Castleton Soapstone wood stone installed next month and are doing the hearth pad ourselves. Looking for information on using a solid slab of black granite as the hearth pad. A Google search has turned up little info on using granite under a wood stove and the few references I found recommended a slab 2 or 3 inches thick which seems a bit excessive. The stove has built in heat shields etc so my question does NOT revolve around heat protection but around supporting the weight of a 475 pound stove. The slab will be laid directly on the subfloor and be fully supported.
Granite hearth pad
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The key will be having a perfectly flat surface for the stone so that the weight is evenly supported. 1" stone will be ok. This may take a layer of cement board on the subfloor. Use a good leveling compound to fill any minor gaps.
It's not granite, but I have a 500 lb soapstone stove sitting on 3/8" porcelain tiles with no issue. I did put a layer of backerboard down under them to make sure everything was completely flat. I would guess 3/4" or 1 1/4" slabs (common bathroom/kitchen granite counter thicknesses) should be fine as long as it's fully supported.
rpwalton
New Member
How did that work out?
Any pictures?
We are currently considering a granite hearth pad also, local granite guy says he's done a lot of them and just lays the granite on the floor...
All floors are not equal or level. It's good to check first before putting a 400-500# weight on top.
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