Wood stove surround

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Hope everyone has a wonderful and warm Thanksgiving!
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here

jorswift

Member
Jan 25, 2016
116
Indiana
Going to be putting some stacked ledger stone behind the wood stove. Any recommendations on mortar/thin set? I know I need a polymer modified, but looks for brands you all have used? Lowes and Menards are the closest stores near me. Thanks.
 
I resurfaced my fireplace brick with a stacked veneer stone. The installation instructions called for Type-S mortar. I also added a liquid bonding agent which was "optional". I bought both at Lowes. [Hearth.com] Wood stove surround[Hearth.com] Wood stove surround
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow! That looks great!

The ledger stone I got was from Menards, it calls for another Menards product, ProSpec mortars. It calls for a scratch coat and wet coat (back butter) to stone. Do I need to do the scratch coat if I have cement board already installed?
 
Well, I'm no Mason, so take my response for what it's worth after a lot of research on my project, which included advice from a stone center where I bought my stone and a mason who gave me tips.

I used a scratch coat over my original fireplace bricks. The scratch coat helps the new brick adhere to the surface. I would say yes. You can see my scratch coat.

I also "buttered" as you say. I used a wet sponge on the back of the stone to wet it first before applying the mortar. It helps so the dry stone won't pull out moisture from the mortar. I also used the bonding agent mixed in the mortar. I used less than a gallon for the entire project.

I was initially going to do a dry stack, but kind of talked myself out of it. It looks like a dry stack, but I didn't want any falling off with all the heat cycles.

If you do a search here, I have a lot of pictures on one thread.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
i did not do a scratch coat against my new cement board, as I didn't really think it was necessary. There are grooves in the squares which basically do the same thing. I just back buttered all of my stone and called it good. I did mine in layers, so it wasn't too heavy