Hearth made of river rocks?

[Farenheit 451]

Hey folks, as the title suggests I’m considering using some of the numerous rocks I’ve got on my property to build a hearth for my stove that is due to arrive late next week. I am not super handy but figure anyone can learn if they are willing. Anyone have any suggestions on materials or things to consider? I’ll be building in my great room which is wood flooring above the crawl space below. We will be reinforcing the spot where the hearth and stove will go likely with steel beams underneath. Suggestions? 3,2,1 GO!

 

[webby3650]

Is rough stone the look you are wanting? It’s hard to level up a stove on it and is hard to keep clean. A tiled hearth looks nice, easier to install, easy to keep clean and won’t require any reinforcement.

 

[armanidog]

I had been looking at this how-to since I have some irregular rocks on my land. It's about building a wall but even if you are just doing a hearth floor the technique applies. If you are getting river or wet rocks let them dry for at least a couple of weeks. A friend used river rocks and only let then dry for a couple of days. One rock exploded since it apparently still had water in a crack which was sealed up by mortar and the water expanded when the stove got hot.
https://www.instructables.com/id/how-to-build-an-indoor-rock-wall/

 

[byQ]

Given the choice of any material, I like the natural look of river rock above all others. But Webby is right it would be easier to use something more 'shape' constant - like tile, brick, or fake stone. Flagstone would also be easier. If you use river rock, just go slowly to complete the puzzle.

But river rock could be used. You would have to search through the rock trying to find stone with one of the sides that was kind of flat and was the thickness you were seeking. And you would probably need some small stone stuff to fill in between larger pieces. Also, I would measure where the stove feet were going to sit and put flat stone or concrete in these 4 spots.

If you are doing this yourself, have a lot of sponges and fresh water to clean the mortar off the rocks - and try to use as dry a mortar as you can stand to work with. And denser rocks are better (like granite) than lighter rocks (like shale). But either will work.

 

[Hogwildz]

I'm a flagstone man myself. River rock while it looks nice, is going to work against you in every way. And trying to clean it is going to be frustrating.

 

[Simonkenton]

I built the fireplace pictured at left using rocks that I got from Bear Creek. They worked great for me.
I would stop by Bear Creek on the way to work and get 500 pounds of rocks, and a few hours later would be installing those rocks. I didn't have any problems using these rocks and I like the look of the rough stones.

 

[jetsam]

You can always get a wet saw and cut up your river rock into veneer. Fraction of the weight, no more problems with odd shapes or oversized mortar joints, looks about the same. Cut it an inch thick, score up the back, and put it on cement board like tile.

Like webby said, be real careful what you put on the spot where the stove will stand. It needs to be flat and strong, and keep the feet off the mortar lines or the weight of the stove will tend to do bad things over time. If you're sawing it up anyway, just make some flat tiles for the bottom. If you're really dedicated, you can (eventually) buff the cut faces up with polishing compound and a buffing bonnet for a drill or angle grinder.

 

[Dataman]

Harmon XXV

• Dataman
• Sep 17, 2018

Harmon XXV Setup

Mine was built with River Rock off rivers in Alaska.