Interesting development this morning at 1 am...my 18 year old son woke me up, stating the kitchen floor was "hot and bubbly". I got out of bed and as soon as I left my bedroom at the opposite end of the house could smell the stove was running hot. STT was cruising around 650 and firebox was completely firing. My wife did the overnight load at 11:40 and came to bed. The load was a mix of very seasoned oak, beech, and walnut. Air control wasn't as closed as I do for an overnight, but it was 85-90% closed. It was 90 degrees in the stove room (kitchen), which I've never seen. The warmest it gets in there is 80-82 (even when running hard when it's colder out). My biggest concern is my floor directly off the front of the hearth, which is laminate planks. That spot typically gets warm due to the radiant heat through the glass, but last night it was almost too hot to touch and had developed a couple large "bubbles" (not actively bubbling, but rather air pockets). I wish I had the foresight to grab my IR temp reader. Hearth clearance is right at 16" from the door. The air bubbles were directly centered with the hearth, just off the stone/mortar from where the green lighter is sitting in the photo below. One air bubble was abour 5"X16", the second 5"X6". Other than the potential/assured damage to the flooring, should I be concerned? Are there any mats/rugs etc. that have insulative properties I should consider placing on the floor? Or should I just chalk it up to the cheap facelift flooring we bought to tide us over until we can remodel the kitchen properly? I'm not overly concerned about the flooring, but was very concerned about how hot the floor was.
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