Hearth pad and wall protection Bennington

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Kjschepplupa

New Member
May 28, 2025
2
Wisconsin
I have a hearthstone Bennington stove that currently is sitting on a hearth pad (prefab) that is sitting on carpeting. Double wall pipe. The floor in the room is a cement floor (so cement floor with carpet on top). The stove sits in a corner with both walls drywall and one wall is made out of 2x4 and other is the foundation wall that is made out of cinder blocks (likely some spacer over the cinder blocks and that is how the drywall is attached. This stove was installed by a fireplace company fyi

Couple questions
1) can I just tile over the drywall for the walls or apply any non combustible decorative stone veneer ? Right now the drywall is right at 12 inches from the corner and so adding tile or stone veneer would make the distance to a surface less than 12 inches but the distance to the combustible (drywall) would not change.
2) I am contemplating laying brick for the hearth pad as that would seem easiest but do I need to insulate the cement floor before I lay the brick and how the heck would I do that? Alternatively I was going to build a wood base out of 2 by 4 and 3/4 plywood then add micro 300 over the plywood and then cement board to get above 0.9 r value then decorate that with tile on the top and stone veneer the vertical surfaces. I have never worked with micro 300 but how do u secure it and the cement board to the micro 300 or can u just tile over the micro 300?

I posted the specs from my stove booklet and a couple of ways I’m trying to construct this so I have an idea of what I’m thinking (as best u can)
Thanks
Keven
 

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The clearance is to the nearest combustible, which in this case is the drywall. Covering it with a non-combustible changes nothing, however, it may be advisable to put 1/4" cement board over the drywall for a better bonding surface. The tile needs to be adhered with a latex-modified thinset. Don't use a tube adhesive like liquid nails.

There is no need for insulation under the hearth floor bricks. They can be cemented to the concrete floor.
 
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Okay thanks for the reply.
Just to clarify and understand I am reading the manual correctly.
1) i can have a non combustible material as close as 7 inches to the corner of the fireplace but a combustible has to be 12 inches?
2 ) you say cement the bricks to the concrete but by that you mean to use mortar? What type of mortar should I be using to attach the brick to the cement and between bricks? S type? Fire rated? The wall does not need fire rated mortar?
3) I asked about the insulation between the brick and cement because of comments I have seen about losing heat from the stove to the ground.
4)any comments on the “non brick” option I posted
Thanks
Keven
 
Yes, clearance requirements are to the nearest combustible.

I'm not a bricklayer but the heat is not like what firebrick sees the inside of a fireplace. I would use standard procedure and materials for setting the bricks.

From the manual:
Install your stove on one of the following:
A non-combustible floor, such as a slab, cement, or stone hearth. (A noncombustible floor will not ignite, burn, support combustion, or release flammable vapors when subjected to fire or the anticipated heat from your stove.

If a wooden raised hearth base is used, then something must be used to insulate the wood up to an R=.9 value. This could be 2 layers of Durock NexGen cement board or 1/2" of micore, then 1/2" cement board that is screwed every 8". The micore layer is held captive by the screws, no adhesive is used to secure it.