Help - Building a Hearth for a BK Princess Ultra

[jhambley]

So my question is, how tall should my hearth be to make loading a BK Princess Ultra the most user friendly? I'm building a new house and the stove will be free standing in the center of the room. Just wanted to make using the stove easy on my back. My wife and I are 5'-6" to 5'-8" tall. It will be sitting on a sealed concrete slab floor, so one option is no hearth at all (if that would make it a comfortable working height).

Any other suggestions for wood/tool storage, etc that I should build into the hearth and surround?

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[PapaDave]

I built-up my hearth a couple years ago to 12" and now wish I'd gone just a bit higher. I'm just under 6', but doesn't matter when I sit to load the stove.
The bottom of the door opening is about 2' off the floor.

 

[Highbeam]

This is more of a personal issue. Meaning, your level of pain when kneeling, squatting, bending, or standing are what drives the answer.

The ultra is a tall stove with a high door opening and deep belly for ash. I have found that I load it fully each time so when I bring wood to the stove it is a full 2.8 cubic feet of firewood and that is a big armload. The toughest part on my younger body is setting down the armload of wood without dropping any on the hearth.

Set it on the slab to start, it's not like you'll be gazing at the lovely flames.

 

[jeff_t]

Set it on the slab to start, it's not like you'll be gazing at the lovely flames.

Or loading it that often