hearth pad

[weezer4117]

i have a mid-size wood stove that i got from an older man that is in a better place now. i can find any manufacturer and obviously i dont have a manual. i am going to put it my house. i am in the process of building a hearth for it to set on. i am using 2x8's for the frame 6'wx3'. the stove sets rite around 6" off the ground, should half in plywood, 1" durock, half in tile be sufficient? this is hard providing there is no manual w/it but i have to allow plenty of clearence to the combustible wood underneath. i guess the only thing that i am wondering about is thick the durock needs to be, worst case scenario, any help appreciated. WG

 

[Shane]

Durock doesn't and tile doesn't offer much r value. What kind of stove is it steel or cast iron? what is the distance between the floor of hte stove and the ground. I would refer to NFPA 211 and build the hearth to those specs, it can be read for free on the net, google it.

 

[weezer4117]

the stove is steel and it will set about 10" off the floor of the house. thanks for the info, anthing else is appriciated. WG

 

[weezer4117]

shane- i have searched for NFPA 211 and cannot find litirature on it anywhere.

 

[edthedawg]

It sounds like you're way underinsulating. Not knowing anything about the model, style, construction (other than "steel" and that it's somewhere between 6" and 10" off the floor), etc., I'd venture you should aim a little higher with your base insulation (R-value). Like, if you go with R 2.0 now, then you would likely be covered now and in the future... if it's an older stove, then likely no rule existed at the time - I'm not an expert on what today's "default standards" are - but I'd definitely be concerned with essentially R 0.42 sitting on combustible 2x8's.

 

[weezer4117]

should i use hallow masonry instead of 2x8's? that would create alot more work but well worth it if i know my house wont be a big wiener roaster!!

 

[edthedawg]

Interesting thought - i can't say for sure whether placing something like cinder blocks w/ the air gaps oriented vertically would provide you with code-legal "dead air" space, but I reckon it actually would. And 8" of concrete is worth over .7 R value. I'd enjoy hearing more thoughts on this...