QA

Quick Answer: How To Build A Hearth For A Wood Stove

How thick does a hearth pad need to be for a wood stove?

Generally speaking, wood stoves require pads 48″ and larger to protect from falling embers. Pellet, gas, electric, corn, oil and propane stoves can be installed on smaller pads.

What can be used as a hearth for a wood burning stove?

The most common and best hearth material for a wood burning stove is stone, especially slate and granite. However, you will also find hearths made from glass and steel. These can withstand high temperatures without cracking or posing a fire hazard.

What material can you use for a hearth?

Each fireplace hearth is typically made up of one type of material, and the most commonly found materials used as hearths include: Brick. Granite. Marble. Stone. Concrete. Ceramic tiles. Slate. Quarry tiles.

Can you use steel for a hearth?

Steel should serve you well. It is only for ember protection.

How high should a wood stove be off the floor?

To reduce the standard clearance to 12 inches, the heat shield should be of 28-gauge sheet metal, mounted off the floor to provide unrestricted circulation of air between shield and wall (see Figure 1). WHAT SIZE HEAT SHIELD DO I NEED? Any area within 36 inches of the wood stove should be covered as shown in Figure 2.

Can you have a fireplace without a hearth?

Most modern gas only fireplaces with fixed glass do not require a hearth extension. The manufacturers usually require a 36″ clear space in front (no furniture, etc.). Now if this was a wood burning fireplace that had a gas insert, the hearth extension would still be required.

Do wood stoves need a hearth?

All wood stoves will require a sufficiently sized hearth. The body of a wood stove is designed to get very hot and a hearth provides a barrier between a stove and the floor of a home.

How high should a hearth be off the floor?

The most common hearth heights are from 12” to 18”. If you’re tall (over six-feet), choose a higher hearth size. The same thing goes for sitting on the hearth, if you’re shorter, choose a lower hearth height.

Can cement board be used as a hearth?

The cement board or whatever does not need to be tested for use as a fireplace hearth. It just needs to be a listed non-combustible.

What is the best material to use for a fireplace hearth?

Granite is the best fireplace hearth material for solid fuel burning fires. However, to withstand the heat, you need to get one that has been ‘slabbed’. This means that it has been cut into pieces and mounted in concrete to give it space to expand as it heats up.

Can you put a hearth on wooden floor?

There is no need to destroy your floors, the hearth can sit on top of the hard wood.

Can stove board be used as a hearth?

For wood or gas stove customers looking for floor protection but are on a budget or do not want to spend much money, Friendly Fires has economy hearth boards that may work just fine. These stove boards protect walls and floors from intense heat, hot coals, ashes, and soot that wood stoves can produce.

How wide does a hearth need to be?

Basic Hearth Dimensions To keep fire, ashes and embers a safe distance from the floor in front of a fireplace that has an opening 6 square feet or smaller, the hearth should extend at least 16 inches in front of the fireplace opening. The hearth also needs to extend 8 inches to each side of the opening.

How big does a hearth need to be for an open fire?

A hearth must extend a minimum of 300mm (12 inches) in front of the fire or stove and 150 mm (6 inches) to the side of the fire or stove (see diagram 4). Under some circumstances the minimum depth of a hearth plate is 12mm (see below).

How close can stove be to wall?

The standard clearance recommended by the National Fire Protection Agency is 36 inches. This means that the back of the stove should be 36 inches away from any combustible material, such as woodwork, unprotected walls, furniture and even firewood.

How far away does a wood stove have to be from the wall?

Wood frame walls covered with dry wall are considered combustible. If no wall protection is used, the common radiant-type stove or heater must be spaced out at least 36 inches from the wall.

Does a wood stove pipe have to go straight up?

The pipe should be as straight and short as possible, with sections properly secured. If it must have angles, limit them to one or, at the most, two sweeping 90-degree elbows or the equivalent. The horizontal portion of the pipe should rise not less than one-quarter inch to the linear foot, to insure a good draft.

Can you put laminate flooring in front of a fireplace?

Laminate Flooring Laminate flooring looks like wood but is made from a synthetic material that makes it extremely durable. It makes an ideal choice in front of a fireplace because laminate flooring can withstand the heat given off by the fireplace.

What to do when there’s no fire in the fireplace?

No Heat Required. Fill It With Fire-Ready Logs Anyway. Embrace a More Organic Design. Fake Stacked Logs With a DIY Summer Front. Place Tiered Candles Inside. Cover It With an Ornate Fire Screen. Use It as a Shadow Box to Display a Favorite Object. Handsome Firebox.

What is a zero-clearance fireplace insert?

Zero-clearance fireplaces are pre-manufactured fireplaces that can be installed almost directly against combustible materials like wood, walls, or panelling. The construction and materials of the firebox do not allow the outside temperatures of the firebox to affect those materials and do not require a hearth.

Does a wood burning fireplace have to have a hearth?

Keep in mind that your wood-burning fireplace, however, definitely should have a hearth. A hearth helps protect your home from errant sparks that could turn an evening of roasting chestnuts into a traumatizing visit from the fire department.

How deep is a sitting hearth?

The U.S. hearth depth dimensions are 16″ or 20″ as we explain in more detail here. Please note that the hearth extension to front of a fireplace, given as 16″ or 20″ is a minimum dimension not a maximum. More is safer.

Can hearth be higher than firebox?

DEAR MARIANNE: You can cover the concrete hearth with slate, tile, stone or just about any other non-flammable building product. Sometimes this is handled by creating a raised hearth where both the hearth and the firebox are higher than the finished floor in the room.

Can you sit on a floating hearth?

Floating hearths sit underneath the fireplace and “float” above the ground with empty space below. They are perfect for homeowners who want a modern look. Even if you have little to no space in your house, we can still outfit your fireplaces with a new hearth.