Question about insert and hearth clearance.

[thirteen]

We have a fairly large fireplace... 36"x25" firebox opening and 8ft by 5ft stone surround. Our hearth is 10 inches off the floor and 14 inches deep(to the opening of the firebox).

We're looking to get an insert that is flush or close to flush with the opening... something like the lopi declaration or the vermontcastings montpelier. The dealer I spoke with told me that we need 18" of clearance in the front of the stove or they'd have to screw down 'floor protection'. Since I just finished installing a brand new wood floor, this is pretty much a deal breaker with the wife who is otherwise onboard with switching to a wood as a primary heating source. (we currently supplement our heat with wood using a 20 year old dutchwest in the basement, but as you all know, that's not ideal)

Does the 10 inch height of the stone hearth do anything to reduce the recommended clearance or am I still required to have floor protection? And my follow up question would be, what constitutes floor protection and is there any unobtrusive way to install the extra 4" of floor protection that is required?

 

[thirteen]

I hate bumping posts, but i'm really hoping for a reply... I can provide pics if necessary to show what our fireplace looks like.

 

[burntime]

I am by no means an expert but I believe its 18 inch depth on the hearth, the height does nothing.

 

[fossil]

Could be 18" or could be 16", depends on the stove manufacturer and the specific requirements as stated in the documentation for the appliance. It's measured from the front face of the appliance. The reason is that there's a whole lot of radiant heat out of the ceramic window, and that there's always danger of a spark or ember leaping out of there whenever you have the loading door open. There's no provision or allowance for the height of the hearth, even though it makes perfect sense to make such an allowance, at least in the case of the radiant heat. (Won't do much for leaping embers). But providing such detailed information would complicate the testing & specifications a bunch. They'd have to show cross-sections of raised hearths of different heights on a diagram illustrating how much of a "heat shadow" you get as a function of hearth height and depth of insert/stove from the front edge of the hearth. Too hard, so they just say 16", or 18", and that's that. Make sense? Well, from the manufacturer's standpoint it makes some sense (simpler), but from the consumer's standpoint it sometimes imposes a probably unecessarily conservative constraint on installation configuration. In any case, it's your local Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) that has the final say...it could be the building (mechanical) inspector, the Fire Marshall, or whomever in your particular locality. Check with that person before you write it off or do anything drastic. Could be that you can simply place some nice looking non-combustible pad on the floor in front of the hearth. Rick

 

[kbjelka]

I had clearance issues with my hearth and ended up switching to a pellet insert. The front clearance on the pellet insert is only 6 inches. Might be worth a look if you don't want to change the hearth.

 

[thirteen]

I had clearance issues with my hearth and ended up switching to a pellet insert. The front clearance on the pellet insert is only 6 inches. Might be worth a look if you don't want to change the hearth.

I'm not opposed to a pellet insert. I just wanted the ability to use it when the power goes out and I love the look of a traditional wood fire.

 

[kbjelka]

I'm with you on the power thing although there are several options for that depending on the stove you get. The noise has also taken some getting use to and is something I did not even consider prior to the switch. All things considered it has been a positive move for me. I still get the flicker of flames and the maintenance is a breeze. Nice even thermostatically controlled space heat is really nice. No more cooking and open windows on the shoulder seasons. It's also been nice not worrying about packing every time I leave the house or go to bed. Not trying to sell you on it but it was an easy way to make my clearance issues go away. Good luck.

 

[SaratogaJJ]

Could be 18" or could be 16", depends on the stove manufacturer and the specific requirements as stated in the documentation for the appliance. It's measured from the front face of the appliance.

I went through this same question this summer when I installed my insert, and the above quote is correct, albeit that building codes also are important, in addition to what the stove manufacturer specifies.

In almost all U.S. states, buidling code specifies a minimum of 16" of permanent, non-flammable material extending away from the front of the stove. The 16" is measured beginning from the front of the stove. In the case of your stove which would appear to be flush with the fireplace opening, you would measure from the glass door.

I am pretty sure that building code in Canada specifies 18" instead of 16". It is possible that Pennsylvania also specifies 18". If you give a call to your local government office that administers building codes and building inspections, they will be able to tell you what's what.

We built a hearth out of a polished granite slab, but other materials would work okay. However, I would imagine that the vendor is telling you it needs to be screwed down almost certainly because of the fact that the non-flammable surface needs to be "fixed and permanent."

 

[Jake Weaver]

We have hardwoods floors in our family room also and had similar clearance issues. I cut the wood out right in front of the fireplace and laid 12"x12"tiles (6x2) in front as a fix. Any home improvement stores sell reasonable, nice looking tile and the transition strips for in between the tile and the hardwood. I am a pretty handy guy but it still wasn't much of an undertaking. It was an relatively easy and inexpensive fix and it looks really nice. My wife is pleased with how it turned out- and that is always a good thing I would be glad to send pics to give you some ideas- if you are interested.

 

[thirteen]

We have hardwoods floors in our family room also and had similar clearance issues. I cut the wood out right in front of the fireplace and laid 12"x12"tiles (6x2) in front as a fix. Any home improvement stores sell reasonable, nice looking tile and the transition strips for in between the tile and the hardwood. I am a pretty handy guy but it still wasn't much of an undertaking. It was an relatively easy and inexpensive fix and it looks really nice. My wife is pleased with how it turned out- and that is always a good thing I would be glad to send pics to give you some ideas- if you are interested.

I definitely appreciate the replies but cutting into the floor is really not an option at this point. I literally finished the new floor 2 weeks ago. I'm pretty sure if I tell my wife I'm cutting out a portion of it so that I can buy an insert that a divorce will be imminent. Maybe when the newness wears off in a few years, but at this point in time it probably won't happen.

I was looking at the pre-made stone hearth pads, they don't mention anything about securing them to the floor... wondering if i could just lay one down for the burning season.

 

[granpajohn]

I was looking at the pre-made stone hearth pads, they don't mention anything about securing them to the floor... wondering if i could just lay one down for the burning season.

I believe this has been done, in a manner similar to the tile solution mentioned above. I know I saw it on Hearth.com, but can't seem to find it. (Maybe it was 8Pilot?). Well anyway, the idea is that you construct a tray of tiles using a sheeting bottom with nice oakwood moulding to make flush the edges. Apparently, 2 screws/finishing nails make it "permanent". I'm not suggesting it, but one "could" take out those little nails after the inspection and thus have a summer and winter floor.
Many who grew up with inserts in raised hearths find this code foolish, as Fossil was alluding to.

 

[pyro68]

you do need a min. of 18" for most inserts, you can include the existing hearth, if the hearth is 10 you just need to make up the difference. In most cases you can use 3/8 inch cement board (tile backer) and lay tile on top of that. this could be permanant or freestanding. Several hearth board manufactures also make "hearth extension" boards. Two most common sizes are 12" x 48" and 18" x 48" They can be custom manufactured as well. Fastening it to the floor will also depend on whether or not you need to have the install inspected. Sometimes that can come down to the inspectors interpretation of the code. If you do need to "fasten" the ext. a great way is to do so in a way that will allow it to be moved later if needed. You can take some very thin foam or even strips of fiberglass gasket & lay it down first to keep the pad from scratching the floor. Probably cheaper than a divorce. . .