I bought a small woodstove for my cottage in northern NY and am trying to figure out what options I have for underneath it. There is carpet there now. I saw the prefab floors sold at stove stores that have tile on them 4 x 5' ish but they are $300 or so. I was gonna make a raised hearth but my wife says its 1 more thing to trip on. Now I'm thinking I would get a concrete masonary board (not sure of the exact name) and put a thin layer on concrete on it and lay some flat stones for a natural look at a cottage and for a cost alot less than $300. How does this sound? Can I do that and comply with code/safety issues as long as its the required dimensions in the manual? Im open for ideas. Thanks in advance.
woodstove floor question
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Read. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/hearth_design
Your manual will tell you if the stove requires only ember protection (noncombustible surface), or will list an r value for the hearth pad
Your manual will tell you if the stove requires only ember protection (noncombustible surface), or will list an r value for the hearth pad
Thanks good article. My manual doesnt say what the r value of the floor should be. What should I do?
It is a US Stove Co. APS 1110b. I called the company and they said it wasnt in the manual but should be R1. Does that mean 1" thick or insulating value of 1? Would a layer of cement board then ceramic tiles accomplish this? Thanks again.
OK so Im having a hard time with this. If I need R1 for the insulating factor under the stove (and I question this since it was not in the manual and I was told verbally since similar stoves are R2) are you saying I would need 5 cement wonderboards of .2 each to make up a R1 factor. Is'nt this overkill and a nice trip hazzard? The article above said wonderboard has a.2 R factor for 1/2" board.
Anyone know where I can get the micore board? That would make it easy I think providing I could use thinset and stone on top of it. Thanks again in advance.
Manual says 1/4" for floor nothing about r value. Is this because stove design is high up? US Stove aps1100b
Anyone know where I can get the micore board? That would make it easy I think providing I could use thinset and stone on top of it. Thanks again in advance.
Manual says 1/4" for floor nothing about r value. Is this because stove design is high up? US Stove aps1100b
You could use concrete patio stones as well. Not sure whats availiable in your area but we have then here. solid concrete, 2 inches thick, come in various sizes (18 x 18,12 x 24, 24 x 24, etc.) They will give you all the R factor you need and are quite inexpensive.
jeff_t said:
Jeff T,
My manual does say 1/4" non combustible surface but no R value. Does this mean as long as its non combustible and 1/4" I can do whatever I want? That would make life easy.
robertjp said:
I would make another call to US Stove and talk to someone until you get a definitive answer. My only call to their customer service was quite positive, so I would give that another try.
As for Micore, it's not the easiest stuff to find. There's quite a few threads on it, try a search.
robertjp said:
Sounds like all you need is ember protection.. I used 2 layers of durock with thinset between all layers (an 100's of cement board screws) followed by porcelain tile.. Overkill for my requirements but I sleep better knowing I over built the hearth.. Rmember the manufacturer's specs are the minimum requirements..
Ray
R 1.0 is far more than ember protection. If you want to do this with cement board than it would require 2" or 4 layers.
BeGreen said:
BG the post I responded to said his manual stated no R-value that's why I said it needed ember protection.. I'm getting a little confused on this.. I also agree that a value of R 1.0 would require 4 sheets of 1/2" Durock with an R-value of .26 for each 1/2" layer giving an R-value of 1.04 total..
Ray
I can understand the confusion. My response was to the OP's statement:
Unfortunately this sounds like a case of very poor documentation.
Unfortunately this sounds like a case of very poor documentation.
BeGreen said:
If they require R-1 then indeed the manual is poorly written.. This is why I asked on another post at one time which stoves require ember protection only and why don't all manufacturers create stoves that require only ember ember protection.. This would make buying a stove so much easier and in my opinion safer.. This is very doable and would help to stimulate sales as people could buy a stove and know it will work on their hearth provided it has a large enough foot print and if not large enough they could easily extend it... I think Englander stoves are a great value but you need a high R-value so that hurts anyone that has a basic hearth due to it's R-value needs.. How do you feel about this, is it time for a standard in the stove industry? I for one am all for it.. I also feel that it would make it easier for insurance companies and building inspectors to perform their assessments..
Ray
OK get this. So I called back a 2nd time on the suggestion of Jeff here and now they say its R1.2. The lady on Fri said R1.0 but the lady today says R1.2 and sent me an email confirming it. They said it was omitted from the manual and would be adding it. In the meantime, if I dont make the call and go by the current manual method of just putting over a non combustible surface,, maybe the place burns down to the ground.... What a joke, how do you forget to put it in the manual?
I agree that's about as lame as it gets! Consider this, someone installs one their stoves but doesn't make any calls.. Inspector says you're good to go, next thing the floor ignites.. I find that unacceptable in this day and age.. Hard to imagine oops I forgot to add that to the manual..
Ray
Ray
robertjp said:
Agreed . . . when it comes to something that could potentially cause a fire this is something that should have been in every manual and not accidentally omitted . . . and when folks call they should have an answer -- a definitive answer that is the same each and every time regardless of who answers the phone.
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