Hearth Pad Materials - Any noncombustible confusion

[frankendoodle]

Greetings, this is my first post. This is also my first wood stove, so I am a newbie in many ways.

I just purchased the Jotul F 100 and am trying to figure out what type of hearth to set up. I really do not like the look of many hearth pads I see listed for sale at my local shops and online. So I am wondering if I can get creative with the material I use. I am interested in having a single piece of steel or glass cut to fit... Can these materials be used safely?

The stove will go in a corner. The hearth will sit on a hardwood floor – and I do not want to cut out the hardwoord floor.

I know this question has been asked many times but the array of answers still has me shaking my head in confusion. Perhaps some specifics about this stove will help. Regarding floor protection, the manual states:

“The Jøtul F 100 requires one of the following forms of hearth protection:

1. Any UL, ULC or WH listed hearth board. (No bottom heat shield required).

2. Any noncombustible material with use of the bottom heat shield.”

Number two applies to me – I will be using a bottom heat shield. Therefore, I believe that means I can use an ember protector and do not require thermal protection.

The confusion here is “any noncombustible”. Can steel or glass be used in my situation?

Thank you!

 

[snavematt]

When we did ours just a few weeks ago we used milar (or something like that, and a layer of durarock and then stone. Just the durarock and the other layer gave us the minimum we needed, it was only an inch high before the stone

As for glass, I would believe that it had no R value, so you would have to have minimum first
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[edyit]

it looks like it depends on if your stove has the bottom heat shield

2. Any noncombustible material with use of the bottom heat shield. means you can use the piece of steel / glass if your stove has the heat shield. if it doesn't have the shield you need the hearth pad or equivalent.

 

[MAD777]

View attachment 191047

That's a nice looking install you got there!

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[firefighterjake]

. . .

“The Jøtul F 100 requires one of the following forms of hearth protection:

1. Any UL, ULC or WH listed hearth board. (No bottom heat shield required).

2. Any noncombustible material with use of the bottom heat shield.”

Number two applies to me – I will be using a bottom heat shield. Therefore, I believe that means I can use an ember protector and do not require thermal protection.

The confusion here is “any noncombustible”. Can steel or glass be used in my situation?

Thank you!

First off, welcome to hearth.com.

To answer your question . . . if you have a bottom heat shield it sounds like any non-combustible material could be used as a hearth (assuming you have the right size.) To me it sounds like this stove only requires ember protection and in this case, steel or glass could be used. In fact, while not widespread, there have been a few folks here over the years who have gone that route for ember-only hearths and used a nice thick piece of glass or hunk of metal. I suspect if you do a search you might find a few examples.

 

[frankendoodle]

Thank you for the replies folks.

When we did ours just a few weeks ago we used milar (or something like that, and a layer of durarock and then stone. Just the durarock and the other layer gave us the minimum we needed, it was only an inch high before the stone

As for glass, I would believe that it had no R value, so you would have to have minimum first
. View attachment 191046View attachment 191047


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Looks great! Thanks

 

[frankendoodle]

First off, welcome to hearth.com.

To answer your question . . . if you have a bottom heat shield it sounds like any non-combustible material could be used as a hearth (assuming you have the right size.) To me it sounds like this stove only requires ember protection and in this case, steel or glass could be used. In fact, while not widespread, there have been a few folks here over the years who have gone that route for ember-only hearths and used a nice thick piece of glass or hunk of metal. I suspect if you do a search you might find a few examples.

Yes, I have the heat shield so sounds like that'll work. Thank you. I have done countless internet searches and have seen only a few, and being a novice I did not know whether they were to code or safe or what.

 

[frankendoodle]

Here is the 1/4 inch steel pad I ended up ordering from a local fabricator. Cost was $380, ouch. I did not treat the steel with anything. Just dropped in the corner. Some have worried about rust over time. We'll see. I was worried about how much heat the stove would project onto the floor but the steel underneath is as cold as can be and the stove is 500 degrees so no issues. Thanks for your feedback all!

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/764837949187041569/