hearth walls

[fish]

im have been looking for a type of stone to put on my hearth walls. somthing natural and cheap. im kinda a little affraid to put up shale allthought i have a ton of it for use. is there another type of cheap stone i can use to absorbe the heat when firring the stove and release it after the stove is done burning. i am using a quadrafire 2100 with a 6 inch clearance to the wall i do relize i will have to give the wall a 1 inch space behind the stone . will shale type stone explode . better ? will any type of stone explode if put behind a stove and heated to below 200 deg f.any suggestions will help.im new at this and have 4 little children so i would like it to be as safe as possible.i can not afford granite so pleas dont suggest it 4 buy 4 sheet of granite 1.5 inches thick is 1500-3600 a piece in ny

 

[JimWalshin845]

Welcome aboard Fish,

Remember you are adding value to your home and the stove and hearth will be there everyday for you and your family to admire. If you can't do the job attractively due to finances, just put up the Durock and wait for the stonework later on.

Tile is an inexpesive alternative too. HD and Lowes carries PEI-4/PEI-5 rated 12-13" tiles and many are under $3/tile

Just a thought,
Jim

 

[fish]

thanks for the info that was my next choice.the house is a 1800,s house and is on a cement pad it had all natural stone floors throught the house . i was going to do tile on the walls but i cant find much to match the natural stone. i happend to find this site and figured why not seee what others have to say. do you think ill have a problem with the cement board and the tile being only about 2 inches from the stove as long as i use noncumbustable spaces of 1 inch with the cement board.thanks again. only been heating with wood for one year and am on my second still learning

 

[brooktrout]

Can you post a pic of the stone in the floors? Maybe that will help us think of some good choices...

 

[JimWalshin845]

... do you think ill have a problem with the cement board and the tile being only about 2 inches from the stove as long as i use noncumbustable spaces of 1 inch with the cement board.thanks again.

You SHOULD be designing/installing the hearth in accordance to the model/manufacture's specifications along with NFP/ANSI/UL specs since they may have changed in the last few years.

 

[fish]

stove was just replace 3 years ago all i want to do is increase convection from behind the stove . it is a zero clerance quadrafire 2100.all im trying to do is add to behind the stove for decoration and for convection.if i was changing the pad or the stove i would move it out a bit . but my chimney is a straight shot.and in order to move it ill need to move everthing including the chimney.thanks agian ill post pics tommaro of the floor everyones help is appreciated

 

[Highbeam]

Please post pics of floor and stove, hearth too.

Opinions vary whether the Quadrafire listed clearance to combustibles means clearance to face of the wall or clearance to burnable surface. Obviously you couldn't fill the entire space around the stove with solid steel since then the outside of the steel would be ust as hot as the stove and have only one inch of clearance. The clearances are to be left filled with airspace.

So you only have 6" behind the stove now? Wow, that's close. Even the stove connector pipe needs 6" minimum if it is double wall.

I am in the same boat as far as wanting a stone hearth wall where it is just sheetrock now. The difference is that I allowed 4" of clearance for the stonework.

Adding anything behind the stove won't increase convection. It can increase thermal mass which will absorb heat and then radiate it back later.

 

[fish]

acording to the manual 6 inch to combustables. and with the installation of a heat shield hence the fake wall i should be alright. as for the double wall stove pipe it is 12 inch clearance to combustables measured from the center of the chimney to the outer wall . but i have about 16 inches from wall to pipe . so my chimney is not in ?. i was told today by my local building inspector who was over checking some electrical work i did that i will not have any problem at all. as long as i leave a minium 2 inch space from the closest corner of the stove to the heat shield. i also need to leave a 1 inch gap on the bottom to allow air movement. i should have mentioned that the stove is ina corner and has heatshield on it already it is essentaly a mobil home stove. but i liked how close it could be installed. ill get some pics up tonight if my computer will coperate. thanks again
. so the amount of stove that will be close is about 3 inches big
highbeam i am trying to increase thermal mass for the release of heat but dont know what stone to use . i have had a piece of shale up against the stove for about 3 weeks now and it still hasnt broke