# Building of my hearth - from start to finish



## The Dude (Feb 25, 2011)

I thought I'd start a thread outlining the progress of the building of my hearth.  I had asked a few questions in other threads, one about raised hearths and another about a natural stone heat shield.  With that all taken into consideration, I have begun building. So far, the tile has been laid, with the help of my dad.  I plan to post photo updates as it progresses. *I welcome suggestions, especially if you see something I might be doing wrong. * I imagine it can only turn out better with the input of others.  

From the current tile stage, I created a rendition of the design I am looking for.  *This picture below is a photoshopped virtual hearth*, nothing here is actually built yet except the slate tile floor.  My stove is a harman TL-300.  This is a stock photo, modified to look like my basic model.  One last note about the rendition...I do plan to add more tile off to the side of the pad shown here for wood storage and other general needs that carpet shouldn't handle.

Design plan:
Natural Slate Tile - Bought at Lowes
Natural Creek Stone - Locally collected, mounted on cement board, vented 1" from combustibles (drywall) and 1" open on top and bottom
Quarter Sawn White Oak Moulding & Mantel, Craftsman Style


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## The Dude (Feb 25, 2011)

Step one: Cut out the carpet, lay the hardibacker cement board


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## rustynut (Feb 25, 2011)

Dude thats my floor !
well pretty close when i get it done........
it's all in except the wood border. Have a walnut tree that needs to be cut.
It's been begging to be cut into planks but other things have gotten in the way.
16 x 16 sq slate tile that is around 1/2 inch above the floor with the idea that the walnut 
would taper back to the floor height. Was thinking about the stone walls behind it.
Sure looks good that way. Get busy
Enjoy the project with your dad
rn


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## The Dude (Feb 25, 2011)

Laying Tiles: Dry layout, then the permanent laying.  

I should mention I had received so many warnings about cutting slate tile - how tricky it is and how you MUST use a good wet tile saw. A $12 7" diamond blade on my circular saw with freehand cuts worked just fine, with my dad holding the tile down while I cut.   I had a wet tile saw reserved from the local rental place, until it dawned on me that we should at least try the diamond blade for my circular saw first. As soon as I mentioned it, my dad agreed as if he already thought the rental was probably overkill.  I don't know what all the fuss is about. 

To anyone cutting slate, I recommend trying this first if you don't have too much to cut. Free hand cuts were surprisingly straight and chip-free on most tiles. I you need a bunch of straight cuts that will show, this probably wouldn't work.  My cuts in the rear row of tiles will be hidden under the wall.  Only the two corner tiles will have the cuts show.  They turned out well.  I am very picky when it comes to little imperfections like that, and I was satisfied with the cuts.


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## begreen (Feb 25, 2011)

Nice Photoshop job! All you need is some virtual wood and you have virtual heat. 

Would it be possible to have the stove face into the room (corner install) or is this orientation better for the fireview?


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## gnatboy911 (Feb 25, 2011)

keep us posted...i'm still in the research/planning phase of building my hearth so i can't wait to continue following your progress and methods!  

thanks!
Nate.


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## The Dude (Feb 25, 2011)

Mortar set & tiles cleaned, no grout yet.  Ready for sealer before grout.

Any thoughts on how to keep that outlet on the wall?  I love the idea of building it into a stone, but I don't know if there are such things as non-combustible outlets.  I imagine they all have some plastic parts, and then on top of that you have the wires in the box right behind the stone surface.  The stone on the side will be roughly 12" from the stove, with the clearances required being 17" for combustible, 6" for non combustible.  One idea would be to somehow sealed off when the stove is in use, but still accessible in the off season...somehow.


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## begreen (Feb 25, 2011)

The outlet is low enough so that it shouldn't be much of a problem. If you are concerned, lower if more. 

The stone veneer on the side is not going to make a huge difference in combustible clearance. How are you achieving the reduction?


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## The Dude (Feb 25, 2011)

It will be non-combustible to code by means of cement board that is spaced 1" off of the drywall, vented 1" at bottom and top.  That method reduces clearance by 66% according to the national code. The stone is not really for protection, as the cement board will already be doing the job.  

For the outlet, I'm looking to find a way to have proper clearance and protection according to code rather than just safe from melting.  I want this whole this to be spotless in case there is ever a claim with our homeowner's insurance.  I forgot to mention that my plan is to just cover it over.  It's just that would be so cool to have a stone outlet or maybe a removable stone to access it. I love custom details like that.


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## begreen (Feb 25, 2011)

Sounds good. I really wouldn't obsess about the outlet. The firebox is elevated by the pedestal.


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## The Dude (Feb 25, 2011)

BeGreen said:
			
		

> Nice Photoshop job! All you need is some virtual wood and you have virtual heat.
> 
> Would it be possible to have the stove face into the room (corner install) or is this orientation better for the fireview?



I chose against a corner installation for three reasons.  
1. The stove would just about stick out into the entrance way of the room, really screwing up the flow of things.  
2. The chimney wouldn't line up as well with the back of the closet above it, meaning I'd need an offset on the connector which I wanted to avoid
3. Having this parallel installation in that corner of the living room allows us to see the burn from the dining room and kitchen; a corner install would limit the view to going all the way into the living room, which we seldom have had reason to do up to now.  

Choosing a location in a house broken up into a bunch of rooms is tougher than I thought it would be.  I went back and forth many times between different locations and orientations in that room, and even different rooms in the beginning.


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## rustynut (Feb 26, 2011)

Dude,
 You've been busy.......lookin good. Nice thing about the wet saw is you don't have all the dust........
You may have a big puddle though, so if you're comfortable then go as you have. I probably would have done 
the same but had a friend that had a wet saw that i could use. Just so you know, that slate will darken and shine just a bit
when you seal it. Has kept mine clean though. Just needed a bit of a wet wipe a couple of times.
Don't forget to seal the grout as well. Did not think of being able to see the fire from different locations in the house when i
decided where it was going.....got lucky though as we can see it from a distance..........
I was also thinking of the corner install but if you like being able to see it from both rooms i can't argue that.
You have to be happy with it. If you keep going like that you might get a burn in this season.
lookin good
rn


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## Arc_Dad (Feb 26, 2011)

You're doing a great job!  I'm in the middle of installing my Kozy Heat fireplace and am actually having a good time with it.  A friend of mine has been over parts of the last 3 days and we're doing well.  I can't wait to be heating the house w/ a lot less oil.


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## begreen (Feb 26, 2011)

The Dude said:
			
		

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Sounds good. You have done a lot of planning and I'm sure it will pay off in a very satisfying experience.


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## amellefson (Feb 26, 2011)

Looking good Lebowski!  Now you just need a rug to tie the room together.  :lol: I have an insert with a strange placement of the oringal fp.  Reminds me of how you chose against the 45 deg install.  I like the photo shop.  All of my planning and pics were on graph paper.  Can't wait to see more.

Tony


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## The Dude (Mar 14, 2011)

I have a question about my hearth installation regarding heat transfer to the studs in the wall behind the heat shield.  I doubled up 3â€ wide strips of 1/2" hardibacker to use for spacers between my painted drywall and the cement board shield, which will be made of hardibacker covered by thin stones. In order to support the weight of the cement board and stone, I figure my only option is to screw the board and spacers into the studs.  

What I canâ€™t figure out is if this will defeat the purpose of the vented spacing by transferring heat right through the heath shield, the spacers and into the studs.  If I understand correctly, the studs are the most critical combustible material that Iâ€™m trying to protect in the first place, moreso than the painted drywall in front of them. This would not be the case with ceramic spacers, but I'd rather move on with my current plan if it's safe. Any advice? Thanks!


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## begreen (Mar 14, 2011)

The doubled-up strips of cement board will have an insulation value of R=.52 in addition to the top layer of cement board's R=.26. You'll be fine to proceed as long as the wall shield is open at top and bottom to allow good air circulation behind it and is tall enough to meet the stove maker's recommendation.


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## The Dude (Mar 21, 2011)

*UPDATE*

I got a lot done in the progression of my hearth.  Here are pictures of the different steps.




Marking the studs for heat shield spacers.  With the stone that will be hanging from my wall, I want this board to be anchored right in the center of the studs. 





Trying out cement board spacers.  These were cut from 1/2" Hardibacker cement board with a circular saw.  It's dusty like people say but if done outdoors and wearing protection, it's not a big deal.  I ended up scrapping these spacers, wasting the material and time cutting them.  I couldn't accept the idea of them completely blanketing the studs, allowing for direct contact from heat shield to spacers to stud.  The purpose of the heat shield with air space is to reduce such direct contact against the underlying studs.  I went with ceramic spacers around each screw instead because of the minimal surface contact.





Testing out grout colors on sample tiles





Detail of grout test. Dark brown grout to the right, charcoal to the left.  I ended up going with the charcoal but lightening it a little to make a dark grey.





The grouting process.  I have never grouted before and worried that it might scratch the natural slate like sandpaper.  It did not at all.  I kept hearing warnings to avoid making your grout too thin, so I ended up making it too thick at first and those areas came out rough. It was also probably more difficult than usual because the slate tiles are different thicknesses so most were higher or lower than the others next to them.


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## The Dude (Mar 21, 2011)

Finished grout...















Flashing Installed...







This flashing was not required, but I wanted to seal up the bottom of the wall where the moulding originally covered, not so much for heat purposes but in case of the slight possibility of a hot coal finding its way down in between the tile and the dry wall.  



Sealing the seam of the flashing...




I used clear silicone caulk with grout powder sprinkled on it to match the grout and also masked to look more like the grout lines.














Putting up the heat shield...










Not finished, but ready for the stove!


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## firefighterjake (Mar 21, 2011)

Looks good so far . . . are you planning on putting anything up on the shield walls?


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## FPX Dude (Mar 21, 2011)

Luv the mock'up and hearth work thus far...   Question: would it look better to turn the stove 45 degrees so it's not so square to the wall on the right?  I can't see the rest of the room but it kinda looks unbalanced aesthetic's ?


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## The Dude (Mar 21, 2011)

FPX Dude said:
			
		

> Luv the mock'up and hearth work thus far...   Question: would it look better to turn the stove 45 degrees so it's not so square to the wall on the right?  I can't see the rest of the room but it kinda looks unbalanced aesthetic's ?



Good question.  I planned this out about exhaustively as anyone could, and there are several reasons why I chose a parallel installation over a corner one.  One reason is that with a corner setup, we'd only be able to see the fire from our living room.  Parallel, we can see it from the living room, dining room, and kitchen looking through the dining room.  Another reason is that the positioning of the stove in the corner would bring it out a few inches into the entrance way between the living room and dining room, and the tile in front of it would stick out half way into the entrance way.  The floor is only a visual impedance, but that would still bother me.  Third, the chimney had to come down in a specific place from the rear of a closet upstairs, causing an offset in the connector pipe for a corner install.  And fourth, the pad for the corner install would take up more of the room, which is actually used as the play room with all the toys and we need to keep as much space as we can.


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## The Dude (Mar 21, 2011)

firefighterjake said:
			
		

> Looks good so far . . . are you planning on putting anything up on the shield walls?



Yep, creek stone. Check out the very first post for a computer generated mock-up.  That picture has field stone though, mine should be a bit more round. I just wanted to get the stove in as soon as it was safe to so I can get some burns in before it warms up too much.


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## ohlongarm (Mar 21, 2011)

That is one nice job,wish I had the talent to do things like that. Will that tile maintain it's integrity for spilled hot embers? I'm going to do something similar in front of my hearth ,although with the new Blaze King ultra I shouldn't be getting many. Thanks


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## The Dude (Mar 21, 2011)

I imagine the tile it will hold up to heat, because from what I understand, slate forms from shale through heat and compression.  Maybe someone else with slate tiles who's had them for a while.  I don't plan on having any spilled hot embers, since I have carpet nearby and am shooting for the no-house-fire approach. Are the occasional embers on the ground a reality that is hard avoid, or is this something that should not be happening in the first place?  I would imagine the latter, but the previous post has me concerned.


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## billb3 (Mar 21, 2011)

there are a number of ways to get a hot ember off the pedestal or hearthstone area.
It happens. 
Not very often.

Just like cigarette burns on the couch or on the seat of a smoker car.
Shouldn't happen, but everyone has a bad day every now and then.'

From the  marks of some people's  carpets and car seats , some people have them more often than others.

The number of burns also seem to have a medications fudge factor.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 22, 2011)

The Dude said:
			
		

> firefighterjake said:
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Oops . . . don't know how I missed that . . . just being stupid I guess.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 22, 2011)

ohlongarm said:
			
		

> That is one nice job,wish I had the talent to do things like that. Will that tile maintain it's integrity for spilled hot embers? I'm going to do something similar in front of my hearth ,although with the new Blaze King ultra I shouldn't be getting many. Thanks



Seems as though it depends on the quality of the slate . . . but in general slate does as well as other stones and tile in terms of wear and tear. Generally hot embers are taken care of pretty quickly . . . and the heat from these would not be an issue. Of course, it goes without saying that depending on your stove's R value requirement for a hearth you might need more under your stove than a simple tile install for ember protection.


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## firefighterjake (Mar 22, 2011)

The Dude said:
			
		

> I imagine the tile it will hold up to heat, because from what I understand, slate forms from shale through heat and compression.  Maybe someone else with slate tiles who's had them for a while.  I don't plan on having any spilled hot embers, since I have carpet nearby and am shooting for the no-house-fire approach. Are the occasional embers on the ground a reality that is hard avoid, or is this something that should not be happening in the first place?  I would imagine the latter, but the previous post has me concerned.



As mentioned . . . slate does well and holds up pretty well . . . some folks will report some chips from the edges of the slate over time . . . I think it just adds a bit of character myself . . . 

Spilled embers will happen from time to time . . . it's just the nature of the beast . . . and the whole reason that every woodstove out there requires a hearth with ember protection as a minimum standard . . . and of course many other stoves require  beefed up R value protection.

I find that I occasionally have some embers spill out (as mentioned by another member this is not a regular occurence) when the firebox is full of ash, coals, etc. . . . you may also sometimes get some sparks that come out when reloading . . . again . . . part of the wood burning experience . . .


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## joecool85 (Mar 29, 2011)

Love it!  Keep us posted, I can't wait to see it with the stone on the wall protection.  I'm thinking about doing something similar with my install.


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## The Dude (Mar 29, 2011)

Thanks for the reminder Joe.  I got the wall protection finished, the stove installed and running.  Still need to face the wall, put in a border around the tiles, and build the mantel. Here are pictures of the steps from where I last left off.


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## Lumber-Jack (Mar 29, 2011)

The Dude said:
			
		

> I imagine the tile it will hold up to heat, because from what I understand, slate forms from shale through heat and compression.  Maybe someone else with slate tiles who's had them for a while.  I don't plan on having any spilled hot embers, since I have carpet nearby and am shooting for the no-house-fire approach. Are the occasional embers on the ground a reality that is hard avoid, or is this something that should not be happening in the first place?  I would imagine the latter, but the previous post has me concerned.



I can't see how you'd have any problem with slate around a hearth. My understanding of slate is that their weakness is moisture, not heat. They are not recommended for outdoor applications where they are constantly exposed to the elements. Despite that I went ahead and put slate tiles on my front step. It is covered by a roof, but the rain and snow does get on there when the wind blows. I sealed the grout and tiles with concrete sealer to help protect against water infiltration, and so far they seems to be holding up, but time will tell.

One potential problem I found when installing the slate tiles was that some of the tiles had weakly bonded layers. When you look at the tiles on edge you'll often see that the tile is made up up layers of rock, and I found a few tiles that you could actually pry apart the layers and split the tile in to two pieces. I actually realized this after I had already mortared the tiles in place. I decided to correct the problem before I grouted the tiles and what I did was to pry the loose layers off the problem tiles and glued them back into place. As I said so far they seem to be holding up fine.
 I thought maybe this delaminating of my slate tile layers was related to cheap tiles, but I have since inspected many expensive slate tiles in other flooring stores and found the same problem in a few tiles everywhere I have looked. Just something to keep in mind for future slate projects.


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## joecool85 (Mar 29, 2011)

Thanks for the updated pics.

Do you know if it's ok to box in the ends (left and right) of the wall protection and leave the bottom and top open for venting?  My wife is concerned about the aesthetics of it "open" on the sides.


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## The Dude (Mar 29, 2011)

Joe,  the guy who did my chimney read off the code from the NFPA 211 to me over the phone, and it stated 1" opening on top and bottom.  You might want to make sure of this though.  There are people on here who would know this, because the answered similar questions I had.   Here is a related thread talking about spacers that might be of help to you.  The side ventilation issue isn't addressed.  https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/72792/


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## joecool85 (Mar 29, 2011)

The Dude said:
			
		

> Joe,  the guy who did my chimney read off the code from the NFPA 211 to me over the phone, and it stated 1" opening on top and bottom.  You might want to make sure of this though.  There are people on here who would know this, because the answered similar questions I had.   Here is a related thread talking about spacers that might be of help to you.  The side ventilation issue isn't addressed.  https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/72792/



Thanks.  It may not prove to be an issue since now she is thinking about us using some pre-built ones and she didn't mind the gap on that...


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