Hearth Pad

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Supra

New Member
Apr 22, 2022
10
Western PA
I’m a new member who has been educating myself on wood stoves and what’s the right way to do things. I finally made my decision to rip out our factory fireplace and install a free Standing wood stove. The stove pipe was run up the existing factory fireplace chase by the company that I purchased the stove from. They will also be installing a new custom chase cover. My responsibility is to remove the old brick hearth and prepare a new pad that needs to be a minimum 40”” x 50”. My wife and I like natural slate but my concern is the stove my not seat level due to the inconsistencies of natural slate. Any thoughts would be appreciated

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The hearth design will depend on the stove's requirements. What stove is being considered and how is it going to be connected? There are clearances that also will need to be taken into account.

Is the chimney pipe resting on the hearth temporary?
 
The hearth design will depend on the stove's requirements. What stove is being considered and how is it going to be connected? There are clearances that also will need to be taken into account.
Thanks for the quick response begreen. We purchased a Lopi Endeavor and will be connected using double wall pipe.
 
That's a good stove. The hearth is ember-protection only, so that is the easy part. However, Lopi has very specific requirements for alcove installations. It must be at least 50" wide and with an 84" ceiling height unless properly shielded. Have you read page 14 of the manual for the clearance requirements?

The chimney pipe runs through the bottom and has a Tee cap for clean out.
I'm obviously missing something. How does the stove connect to this? Edit, now I see the thimble above.
 
OK, looks like the stove will sit in front of this wall and not in an alcove. I didn't see the thimble at first.

Natural slate can not only be unlevel, it can flake easily. If you want that look also consider a porcelain tile with a slate-like look. If using real slate, a leg or two might need a thin shim to level the stove and keep it from rocking on a high point.
 
Darker cut blue stone w/ live edge (heated with torch then hit with a light hammer) looks good to, plus it will be more level, the tile is also a great option.
Take your time with knocking the old brick out, a few years back I was helping a friend demo his brick surround, the lintel area also had vertical ties holding the brick to the main part of the fireplace, it came out in one big chunk because we didnt have brains back then and would just try to muscle things, if your not expecting the weight and take big bites like us, you can get hurt or do unnecessary damage, recommend renting a good rotary hammer w/ chisel bits (both wide and narrow)
 
Looking at this again, it looks like it would be very convenient to add a capped tee in the fireplace opening to act as a cleanout.