Raised Hearth Pad - Vinyl Plank Flooring

[JPinnell]

New Fam Room Addition requires a larger stove. The Englander 13NC is being removed, location change, and a new Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 is the replacement on order.

Concrete Floor, new LVP going in. T6 just requires ember protection. Wife wants raised hearth pad to make it a little easier to load the stove. The current hearth I built up from studs and concrete backer board, then marble tiles. It "floats" on the laminate. But the Englander 13NC required an R value.

Question: Lay the new vinyl wall to wall and set the new hearth on top floating? Or build out the hearth structure and lay the floor up to it? The T6 is about double the weight of the little Englander. Concrete slab underneath so I'm not worried about that, but I've never used the LVP. My thoughts were to just have a factory made stove board, but she wants the higher height. Suggestions or experiences?

 

[begreen]

Congratulations. The T6 only needs ember protection but her idea is a good one. Raising it higher on a hearth will be appreciated. This will make it easier to load, isolate the inevitable loading detritus, and raise the radiated heat from the front door which will help protect the LVP.

 

[Whitenuckler]

New Fam Room Addition requires a larger stove. The Englander 13NC is being removed, location change, and a new Pacific Energy Alderlea T6 is the replacement on order.

Concrete Floor, new LVP going in. T6 just requires ember protection. Wife wants raised hearth pad to make it a little easier to load the stove. The current hearth I built up from studs and concrete backer board, then marble tiles. It "floats" on the laminate. But the Englander 13NC required an R value.

Question: Lay the new vinyl wall to wall and set the new hearth on top floating? Or build out the hearth structure and lay the floor up to it? The T6 is about double the weight of the little Englander. Concrete slab underneath so I'm not worried about that, but I've never used the LVP. My thoughts were to just have a factory made stove board, but she wants the higher height. Suggestions or experiences?

I would just install the LVP, and then put the raised hearth pad on top. LVP might be harmed from heat, but in your case it will have a space.
You are not going to be seeing it again anyway, but it will still be fine I'm sure in the future.

 

[begreen]

Somewhere back in the annals of hearth.com there is a picture of a new basement install of a big stove on a thin pad on new vinyl floating flooring. It looked great, but they didn't allow for expansion. A few days later, the poster updated with a picture after a few fires. This was probably the first time the floor had been taken over cool basement temperature. The new stove owner was clearly upset to see a lot of buckling in the flooring.

 

[kborndale]

I would not build your hearth on top of a floating floor. You are just asking for trouble.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I would just install the LVP, and then put the raised hearth pad on top. LVP might be harmed from heat, but in your case it will have a space.
You are not going to be seeing it again anyway, but it will still be fine I'm sure in the future.

I am not a structural engineer or LVP designer but I'm not sure why it can't be done as long as the floor can float and the weight is not all concentrated but spread out. I searched building heavy objects on LVP flooring. Of course it's only a bit more work and trimming out the expansion joints. The only advantage would be there is a complete floor in place, and no trim needed.

"Yes, you can place a heavy bar on LVP, but you should not secure the bar through the flooring if it is a floating floor installation. The primary concern is that a floating LVP floor needs to expand and contract freely; anchoring it in place with a heavy, built-in structure can cause buckling or joint separation.

• Freestanding Bar: A heavy, self-contained bar unit is generally acceptable as loose furniture. Using furniture pads or coasters will help disperse the weight and prevent indentations or scratches.
• Built-in Bar:If the bar is a permanent, built-in structure (like cabinets secured to the subfloor), the LVP should be cut out where the bar will sit.
  • Build the bar's frame directly on the subfloor (e.g., concrete slab or plywood).
  • Install the LVP around the bar's footprint, leaving the required expansion gap.
  • Cover the expansion gap with baseboard or shoe molding after installation for a finished look.
• Glue-Down LVP: If the luxury vinyl is a glue-down product (adhered directly to the subfloor), this is less of a concern, as it is already a permanent installation and can handle more weight without movement issues.

Check the specific manufacturer's installation instructions to ensure you maintain your warranty and follow their weight-bearing guidelines. "

 

[stoveliker]

Fwiw, I have a store bought hearth pad placed on top of vinyl planks on my concrete slab.
My stove does not radiate much from the sides, but from the front it does, especially downward with a 1500 deg cat.

My vinyl does not buckle or otherwise misbehave even though it can get quite warm.

This doesn't help with floating or not but is a(nother) data point regarding vinyl plank near stoves.
Anecdotal of course.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Fwiw, I have a store bought hearth pad placed on top of vinyl planks on my concrete slab.
My stove does not radiate much from the sides, but from the front it does, especially downward with a 1500 deg cat.

My vinyl does not buckle or otherwise misbehave even though it can get quite warm.

This doesn't help with floating or not but is a(nother) data point regarding vinyl plank near stoves.
Anecdotal of course.

I have a P43 on Vinyl, on whatever, then on concrete(basement floor).I have the thinest black metal ash pad they could ever possibly sell. The P43 throws out some pretty good heat ie radiant heat like a wood stove. You don't want to touch it. It's all point loads too, as the feet of the stove are 1/4 plate. I really never considered I would have to cut the floor out to put the stove there 10 months ago.