Some follow up questions on clearance and hearth

[NickZ]

Hi all - thanks for the input this far.

I have ordered our stove - a VC resolute acclaim and the dealer is coming to our home this week to have a look prior to the install which should be in a couple of weeks.

The stove will have rear and bottom heat shields installed and will likely be a corner install.
My questions @ this point are:
1) Would ripping out the drywall behind the stove and replacing it with durock and slate tile reduce clearance?
2) I am planning to build the hearth directly over the floor (floating wood floor) any reason why this should not be done? Do I need to remove the floor and go down to subfloor?

When speaking with the dealer - he said that the hearth only need protect the floor from embers and sparks - not t worry about how thick it is... When I mentioned I was reading up on R value he laughed and said it isn't necessary. Comments?

Thanks,
Nick

 

[Highbeam]

1) The sheetrock is only 1/2" thick so you would be gaining 1/2" of clearance to the first combustible which is the wooden studs. Not worth it for most folks. Also, you would have to be able to prove this to the inspector since he has no way of knowing what's beneath the slate.
2) I would not put the stove on the floating floor since you will effectively anchor the floor beneath the stove limiting the float feature and limiting the ability of the floor to expand and contract without buckling or pulling apart. The wood itself is fine but the shrink swell will be an issue.

Your dealer is nuts unless your particular stove's manual has no R-value requirement for the hearth. Mine sure did.

 

[elkimmeg]

Nick unfortunately some dealers and installers do not open the manual. If the floor requires thermal (R) value, then that is what is safety tested and approved

Your dealer's answer is dead wrong... Providing the hearth pad meets or exceeds the correct size and thermal resistant (R) value it can be placed on the floating floor.

) Would ripping out the drywall behind the stove and replacing it with durock and slate tile reduce clearance?

No If the listed and tested distance are less than 12" the wall protection system only allows for distances no less that 12" If the stove needs to be moved closer up to 12" away,

than an NFPA 211 installation would be required meaning non combustible wall in front of the combustible wall with a 1" free flowing airspace behind it

 

[NickZ]

Hi Elk and Highbeam,
All I could gather from the VC PDF manual for the resolute is the following:

For installations with the heat shield attached, use a non- combustible floor protector such as 1/4” non-asbestos mineral board or equivalent, or 24 gauge sheet metal. The floor protector may be covered with a noncombus-tible decorative material if desired. Do not obstruct the space under the heater.

There is no mention of any R value that i can find anywqhere in the pdf - only the measurements in length for front and back lengths.

Is this a red flag about the dealer - since he will be installing the stove himself (not him but his employees).
I want to be sure that my family is safe and that our home will not go up in flames as well as not violating any local codes or insurance writings.

 

[Gunner]

Hi all - thanks for the input this far.

I have ordered our stove - a VC resolute acclaim and the dealer is coming to our home this week to have a look prior to the install which should be in a couple of weeks.

The stove will have rear and bottom heat shields installed and will likely be a corner install.
My questions @ this point are:
1) Would ripping out the drywall behind the stove and replacing it with durock and slate tile reduce clearance?
2) I am planning to build the hearth directly over the floor (floating wood floor) any reason why this should not be done? Do I need to remove the floor and go down to subfloor?

When speaking with the dealer - he said that the hearth only need protect the floor from embers and sparks - not t worry about how thick it is... When I mentioned I was reading up on R value he laughed and said it isn't necessary. Comments?

Thanks,
Nick

1) No
2)You do not need to go down to the subfloor.
Non combustible floor protection of your choice is all you need provided you are using the bottom heat shield with the stove. A DIY hearthpad would work here. Something a simple as tile on plywood could be made to the right dimentions and laid on the existing floor. If you do decide to cut out the floating floor and start at the subfloor, the nice thing is using tile, it could be made flush which looks slick IMO.

Here is a link to the manual for your stove. As I read it your dealer is correct in only needing spark and ember protection.
(broken link removed to http://www.vermontcastings.com/catalog/elements/files/2007/2000893_Resolute_Acclaim.pdf)
Pg. #9 Floor Protection.

 

[NickZ]

In that case a layer or two of Durock covered in slate would be acceptable?

Is there a thinset or mortar tha is commonly regarded as better or more suited to tiling for a hearth?
Nick

 

[Gooserider]

One layer of 1/2" Durock (w/ slate or tile covering for cosmetics) is considered more than adequate for the floor protection specs you quoted earlier. You do need to make sure that it is solidly supported so that it doesn't flex, which would potentially cause the tile job to fail. Technically you could put this over the floating floor, but I strongly suspect that this would give you too much flex. If it were me, I'd cut the floor and build back up to flush, bonding everything together with thinset and screws to ensure the Durock is fully supported.

If you go to the Durock website, they have a "submittal sheet" specifically dealing with the topic of using Durock in floor and wall protection systems for stoves. They seem to be the only cement board manufacturers that do, BTW. On the submittal sheet, they reccomend using a thinset that meets a couple of ANSI specs, which the Durock tech support guys said basically boiled down to using a "latex fortified" thinset. I used "FLEXBOND" which is listed as meeting both specs.

Gooserider