Wood Burner Hearth and Plaster query

[heatherannej]

We are nearly at the point of making our minds up re a wood burner. We are thinking of a 4kw output - not more. We have no chimney (nor fireplace) so it will have to be a top flue. I'm getting worried as I keep hearing about plaster cracking :-( Do we need extra protection in addition to the "couple of inches" distance between rear of burner and wall or these fire wall tiles I've just come across? Do we need to have more distance than that?

Also, with no hearth, we have to creat one (on the concrete floor) .... what are the options open to us please? I read about marble for instance but can that be any old marble? I don't want the steel plate laid straight on the carpet - just want it all done and dusted at the time of installation.

Any advice will be GREATLY appreciated, I can tell you

 

[Jags]

If you maintain your clearance to combustibles, your plaster walls should be fine. Adding a little more distance or a heat shield could be done if you are concerned.

As for the hearth, it needs to be non-combustible (like you didn't already know that). All natural rock and marble fits that bill. It sounds like you are building on top of cement, so you really won't need to concern yourself with insulation value of the hearth. Just make sure that all your distances are met and you should be in good shape.

 

[BurningIsLove]

As already posted, each stove is going to have its own UL-certified listed clearances, most likely on a plate on the back of the stove. My hearth is a thin layer of concrete "2" with a nice piece of slate on top of that. With the manufacturer-provided heat shield on the bottom, I could store cans of compressed flammables underneath it without fear of them exploding (for the record, I don't). the slate barely even gets warm, its a nice design.

Take the time to look for features like that when you're out shopping. You can always narrow down your choices and post your top 3 picks here and have people comment on their experiences.

 

[Valhalla]

We are nearly at the point of making our minds up re a wood burner. We are thinking of a 4kw output - not more. We have no chimney (nor fireplace) so it will have to be a top flue. I'm getting worried as I keep hearing about plaster cracking :-( Do we need extra protection in addition to the "couple of inches" distance between rear of burner and wall or these fire wall tiles I've just come across? Do we need to have more distance than that?

Also, with no hearth, we have to creat one (on the concrete floor) .... what are the options open to us please? I read about marble for instance but can that be any old marble? I don't want the steel plate laid straight on the carpet - just want it all done and dusted at the time of installation.

Any advice will be GREATLY appreciated, I can tell you

Heather,

You have a fellow Hearth.com mate in Yorkshire UK that just put in a fine stove, a dual fuel one called a Franco Belge ‘Monaco’. It is described in his question about beech. See the below link:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/31445/#332113

Maybe you could PM him about it, and find out the hearth shop's advice and the elements of the install. My advice is to get some estimates from professional shops, installers and sweeps. Follow all the local building code rules for safety.

Good luck on your research and shopping. Choose very wisely and burn safety.

Cheers