Hearth project started (With pictures)

[raybonz]

Today I removed all the dry fit tiles along with the cement board.. Cleaned up the floor and proceeded to mix and apply the thinset and screwed down all the cement board.. Gotta say my knees, back and legs are sore lol.. I could never do this for a living! The cement board will be inspected on Thursday and thinking I will add cement to tie the cement board to the chimney.. Added a pic to show progress..

Ray

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ray, I just had a fellow here looking at your pictures and he wants to hire you. You did say you would like to do this for a living didn't you? After all, your knees are in good shape....


Looks good Ray.

 

[raybonz]

Ray, I just had a fellow here looking at your pictures and he wants to hire you. You did say you would like to do this for a living didn't you? After all, your knees are in good shape....


Looks good Ray.

LOL thanx Dennis! How did your inspection go? I will get the Durock base inspected tomorrow and I feel that will go OK.. I drew all the details for the inspector when I got the permit and nothing was said so it should be no problem as I followed the details to the letter.. My knees feel much better today thankfully! I couldn't do this for a living that's for sure!

Ray

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Hey Ray, the inspection went as expected with no problems at all.

Ya, take it easy on those knees. They have to help you for many years to come and it is very painful to get them fixed.

 

[raybonz]

Dumb question... Are 1- 1/4" long cement backer board screws adequate for both layers (2) of cement board, both layers will be screwed in seperately?

Ray

That's too short. The screws should be long enough to go through both layers of the cement board and get a firm bite in the sub-floor. I would use 1 5/8" or 1 3/4" screws.

BG I ended up using 1-1/4" for the 1st layer of Durock and 2-1/4" for the 2 layers, 206 screws total for 26 sq. ft. area.. Oddly it wasn't as satisfying as I thought it'd be lol...

Ray

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Hey Ray,

It's been awhile since I have been here. It looks like your project is coming right along. I love the color and the way the hearth comes out into the room. It will feel so nice not having a wall behind the stove like you see in so many apps. You will have a well heated space there. I'm excited to see the finished project along with the new stove installed. How much to go?

 

[raybonz]

Hey Ray,

It's been awhile since I have been here. It looks like your project is coming right along. I love the color and the way the hearth comes out into the room. It will feel so nice not having a wall behind the stove like you see in so many apps. You will have a well heated space there. I'm excited to see the finished project along with the new stove installed. How much to go?

Thanx so far it seems to be coming out OK.. Next step is to lay the tile which I hope to do on Monday then grout on Tuesday followed by making some type of wood trim to surround the tile hearth.. After that mask the tiles surrounding the chimney and add concrete flush with the tiles to tie the chimney into the hearth.. Yes aparently I have an unusual chimney as I could find no other install like mine.. To get my woodstove install permit I am required to have the chimney swept and inspected by a certified sweep (deemed safe to burn in) and I also must have working CO detectors (which I already have).. Looking forward to seeing the tiles done with grout( I have mocha colored grout to match the tiles)..

Ray

 

[raybonz]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

 

[firefighterjake]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

I like the look . . . and as for it not being perfect . . . my father-in-law used to say that folks who found faults in other's construction were often looking for trouble right from the get go . . . I think it looks fine.

 

[raybonz]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

I like the look . . . and as for it not being perfect . . . my father-in-law used to say that folks who found faults in other's construction were often looking for trouble right from the get go . . . I think it looks fine.

Thanx Jake! There is no worse critic of my work than myself! I think that once the grout is done it will look pretty good.. I have learned alot about tile setting and my next project should come out better! As for fire safety I feel I have done well with the specs the stove called for (I tried to exceed the minimums) and have gone a bit beyond in hearth size and ember protection requirements.. The one thing that will come out of this is I did it myself along with loads of research and input from the great people at this forum.. Still thinking how I will trim/protect the edges of the tile..

Ray

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

Looks great Ray! I bet you can't wait to get that stove installed...

 

[raybonz]

Looks great Ray! I bet you can't wait to get that stove installed...

Thanx Oslo yes I am looking forward to getting this completed! Hopefully the new stove will meet my expectations as well.. The overall height of the hearth is around 1.5" so I need to consider how I can trim this hearth to protect the tiles from the vacuum etc..

Ray

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

maybe some kind of bullnose tile, cut to fit the sides?

 

[raybonz]

maybe some kind of bullnose tile, cut to fit the sides?

I thought about that but the sides are just the raw edges of 2 layers of 1/2" Durock plus the tile is thinset down and very near the edge of the Durock... Thinking I might try ripping a premium 2"x4" down and staining it to match then poly it.. I would screw and glue it to the subfloor and use brown caulking to seal it to the tile.. I will rip a scrap piece to see how it looks..

Ray

 

[thewoodlands]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

Ray, it looks good. It's like cooking like my grandmother would say, do you think I was a great cook when I started no but with time and practice I became a great cook right! The Best COOK, grandma zap from Calabria, Italy.





zAP

 

[raybonz]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

Ray, it looks good. It's like cooking like my grandmother would say, do you think I was a great cook when I started no but with time and practice I became a great cook right! The Best COOK, grandma zap from Calabria, Italy.





zAP

Thanx Zap! Man I can imagine how good your grandma could cook! Italians know how to cook and eat.. My grandma was italian as well and the secret to good sauce is simmering over low heat all day..

Ray

 

[thewoodlands]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

Ray, it looks good. It's like cooking like my grandmother would say, do you think I was a great cook when I started no but with time and practice I became a great cook right! The Best COOK, grandma zap from Calabria, Italy.





zAP

Thanx Zap! Man I can imagine how good your grandma could cook! Italians know how to cook and eat.. My grandma was italian as well and the secret to good sauce is simmering over low heat all day..

Ray

Correct on the simmering all day and the pinch of something they always left out of the recipe they gave the family!

Zap

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Ray, that is looking really good. Glad you learned something from this. Keep it up and you'll be a real pro in no time at all.

 

[certified106]

Looking good Ray! Won't be long until that new stove is sitting there doing its thing.

 

[firefighterjake]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

Ray, it looks good. It's like cooking like my grandmother would say, do you think I was a great cook when I started no but with time and practice I became a great cook right! The Best COOK, grandma zap from Calabria, Italy.





zAP

Thanx Zap! Man I can imagine how good your grandma could cook! Italians know how to cook and eat.. My grandma was italian as well and the secret to good sauce is simmering over low heat all day..

Ray

. . . and here I thought the secret to a good sauce was to make it with love.

 

[raybonz]

Ray, that is looking really good. Glad you learned something from this. Keep it up and you'll be a real pro in no time at all.

Thanx Dennis! It's far from perfect but I tried to do it right.. Next time will be better!It is very solid I will say that..

Ray

 

[raybonz]

Looking good Ray! Won't be long until that new stove is sitting there doing its thing.

Thanx Jesse! I am sure I will rereading your posts about operating this stove.. I want to get the stove installed before it gets cold so I can run it with all the windows open as I am sure the paint fumes will be awful!

Ray

 

[raybonz]

OK the Durock was inspected and approved so I proceeded to install the tile.. It's far from perfect with some high and low tiles but here is a pic with the tiles thinset into place..

Ray

Ray, it looks good. It's like cooking like my grandmother would say, do you think I was a great cook when I started no but with time and practice I became a great cook right! The Best COOK, grandma zap from Calabria, Italy.





zAP

Thanx Zap! Man I can imagine how good your grandma could cook! Italians know how to cook and eat.. My grandma was italian as well and the secret to good sauce is simmering over low heat all day..

Ray

. . . and here I thought the secret to a good sauce was to make it with love.

That's a whole different kind of sauce lol..

Ray

 

[raybonz]

Today I grouted and cleaned the porcelain tiles and it looks pretty good so far.. I have attached some pics to show the progress.. This leaves masking the tiles surrounding the chimney so I can I can add cement to tie the hearth into the chimney then add a border around the hearth which I haven't figured what to do...

Ray

 

[certified106]

Ray, It looks really good and I really like the tile color! If I was you I think I would just rip down some wood stain it to match your walls, use power grab on the back of the trim where it meets the hearth, toenail it to the subfloor along the bottom of the trim piece, and then use some dark silicone to finish the top edge of the trim where it meets the hearth.

I like how you have the fire extinguisher mounted right there where it's handy to get should it be needed. Every year I say I'm going to get one but keep forgetting to pick one up.

How hot did that couch get when the dutchwest was fired up? We have a chair that was 28" to the right side of our old Dutchwest and it got hot enough to make me worry a few times.