Trim for the hearth floor

[BasaltCoast]

Anyone using non-traditional trim for their hearth floor? We have 12x24 porcelain tile we are about to lay on a large hearth. We are going to be short by 4 inches on the tiling, so need a trim. Wife wants a different trim rather than cutting the same tiles to finish it.

Anyone use cast iron tiling (does it exist)? Metal? I think we are looking for something different, but would fit with the theme.

May be a weird question, but just seeing what's out there.

 

[pen]

Maybe a picture of the hearth itself, and a pic of the tile so people know what color and texture you are working with might be helpful to folks who have good sense with this stuff.

 

[BasaltCoast]

I haven't laid the tile yet. but will upload a photo of a mock layout tomorrow for context.

 

[Sprinter]

I laid my porcelain tile hearth flush with my cut-out carpet. I bought some trim to finish it off with, but decided that it looked better without the trim. Without seeing your proposed hearth plan, I'm thinking that you may be best off cutting some tile. Once you do that, you can arrange the tiles so that it's not obvious. Probably even less work.

 

[BasaltCoast]

My first thought was to just use the same tile and cut them to form the border, but my wife is dead set against that. she wants something different. Anyway, here is a pic of the tile as we are playing around with how it will look. It's not officially laid yet.

My wife ordered new tile for the trim yesterday. We will lay the tile and then the trim later when it arrives in a couple of weeks. But, any thoughts on this are still welcome.

 

[begreen]

With tile you can do amazing things. It's more a matter of imagination than the material. Think mosaics, checkerboards, optical illusions, weaves, etc..

What stove is going on the hearth?

 

[BasaltCoast]

Jotul Carrabassett is the new stove. We had to rip up the old hearth to put down a bigger one for this stove. It is a big stove but with a 2600 sq ft farm house we need it.

We have ordered 4x4 in cast iron tiles with a design on them that reflects the nordic tradition so i think it will look good.

 

[begreen]

Will some backerboard like Durock be laid down on top of the plywood before tiling?

 

[BasaltCoast]

No Durock. This stove does not require it, at least in Canada. It just has to have non-combustible tiles to protect against embers. That was according to the Canadian regulations and our local WETT cert guy as well. I thought originally it would require it, but I've confirmed with several people that this is not the case because the stove is certified not to heat up the floor

 

[begreen]

I would put down backerboard not for a little added protection, but for a better tile bond. The stove is going to heat/cool the floor repeatedly. A nice substrate will add stability to help avoid grout cracking.

 

[BasaltCoast]

I was going to do that too, but my tile guy said I could lay it on board with pre-mixed Omnigrip thinset. It has a lot of flex, and will apparently prevent that from happening. I know he's used it before and it's worked. The grout as well is very flexible to prevent cracking. have you heard of this or anyone else going this route?

 

[begreen]

Sounds like a better question for the tiler's forum at http://www.johnbridge.com/vbulletin/

 

[BasaltCoast]

thanks for the link. i'll check it out.

 

[Sprinter]

Let us know what you find out.

 

[BasaltCoast]

I will. I'll upload the finished pic.