Hearth material - slate or Granite

[howiemorse]

Hi there

What would you recommend as the better material between slate and granite to use as a hearth for a freestanding woodburing stove?

Also I have read that for a slate slab more than 600mm you need an expansion gap, is this correct?

Where is the best place to get a hearth slab from?

Thanks
Regards
Howie

 

[Sandor]

Never built one from slate because I would think it would be hard to clean and its brittle.

Granite is my choice. Looks good, can have a tiny grout line (use ash colored), and a damp rag will make it look like new.

 

[rsiros]

Hello... we had a slate hearth in our old house that I installed,and it was a nice looking set-up. But! It was hard to keep clean with the irregular surface and I had to shim the wood burner (platform base...not feet) with a flat rock (in the back) to correct a slight wobble. It also has a tendency to chip. No major problems but if I were to do it again, I'd use granite.

 

[wahoowad]

I used 12x12 natural slate tiles from Lowes. So far 2 years and no issues. I picked tiles that were fairly flat (no surface irregularities) for where the stove feet would rest. I suspect I would get some chipping if I slide the stove around, but I don't (or haven't had to). Mine are laid on top of a concrete floor.

I didn't look into granite. I did consider larger slabs of bluestone (liked that look better) but I went with the slate.

 

[JohnnyBravo]

i have a 5'x5' slate slab. i realy like it, no grout lines, no expansion joints and easy to clean if you use the correct sealer (none of that home depot crap).

 

[begreen]

My preference would be granite, but I like the look of slate, bluestone, some sandstones, limestone too. It all depends on the house and setting. I've seen some decent slate jobs that look outstanding, but avoid the cheap crap. It will flake and peel constantly.

 

[Gooserider]

I used slate tiles, in random sizes of square / rectangular shape for our hearth extension, looks great. I chose this to blend in with the slate entranceway that the hearth extension merges with on one side. Can't comment on the durability of the slate I just installed a few weeks ago, but the slate entryway has been seeing heavy traffic for at least 20 years and still looks good.

I would say that if you use the appropriate sealers, and proper construction techniques, almost any stone type will work about equally well from a function standpoint. I would make my choice based more on what "look" I wanted.

Gooserider