Sheetrock and heat...?

[Its_A_Kilt]

Is there such a thing as "High temperature" sheetrock and mud?

I just took delivery of a Woodstock PH and built a surround for it. I have maintained all minimum distance requirements and overbuilt the surround with 2 layers of DuraRock under the stone veneer in an effort to create more thermal mass for the PH to heat and slowly release. I added a "top" to the surround and installed duct work to capture some of the rising heat and divert it to the benches I added on either side of the surround. I am ready to finish the "roof" of the surround by tapping and mudding the Durarock, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I heard about a guy whose nightmare began the day he....

In short, can I just tape and mud the top of my surround like normal? (The friendly guys at my local "big box, little imagination" were less than helpful with their happy "Well, i'd give it a go and see what happens." answer.)

 

[Highbeam]

Outside of the CTCs yes, standard mud and tape is just fine. I have bare sheetrock behind my stove. This one and and last stove which was a soapstone stove. No cracks, no shrinkage, no pain peeling, nothing. Works just fine.

There is type X sheetrock which has additional fire resistance but that is not necessary.

 

[jetsam]

You could always use cement board and skim coat it if you want extra insurance and a smooth surface.

Drywall is not flammable except for the paper face, though.

Cement board does open up the option of tiling it later (though you probably want to avoid the skim coat in that case).

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Cement board does open up the option of tiling it later (though you probably want to avoid the skim coat in that case).

In a dry area you don't need cement board to tile. You do want to make sure whatever substrate you apply has solid backing and is well fastened. But that applies whether cement board or sheetrock is the substrate.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

In short, can I just tape and mud the top of my surround like normal? (The friendly guys at my local "big box, little imagination" were less than helpful with their happy "Well, i'd give it a go and see what happens." answer.)

Yes. I recommend the first coat of mud is hot mud (like Beadex Silverset). This has far more strength and much less shrinkage that standard finishing mud. It's also more dense. I like the 40 minute set - the other stuff sets up too fast unless you're a hyperactive pro.

 

[Its_A_Kilt]

Thanks for the info and insights. I am all about overbuilding, so I will look into the Beadex Silverset 40.

 

[Its_A_Kilt]

I should say that the roof is cement board / durarock and I was planning on skimming it with sheetrock mud to maintain a consistent look throughout the project.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

I should say that the roof is cement board / durarock and I was planning on skimming it with sheetrock mud to maintain a consistent look throughout the project.

I would not skim coat the cement board. You could waste a lot of time if you are particular about it looking professional. Just screw on some sheetrock and finish it normally. You will get a much nicer finish and it won't really cost any more.

 

[Its_A_Kilt]

Good to know!