# What to put on hardwood floors in front of wood stove



## skelm (Feb 13, 2010)

Getting new hardwoods in, wonder if I need to put anything over them next to the fire- or just leave them as-is. They do have a big piece of slate that will provide most of the cover. Anyone put anything in front of theirs just incase the odd coal rolls out during cleaning 

Thanks


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## snowtime (Feb 13, 2010)

I assume your talking about the immediate area past the hearth requirements. We have hardwood floors and put an ember proof "hearth" rug in front of the hearth. We found one that the DW says matches the hearth at home hardware. They are in the shape of a 1/2 moon and there are 3 color choices..


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## hardwood715 (Feb 13, 2010)

snowtime said:
			
		

> I assume your talking about the immediate area past the hearth requirements. We have hardwood floors and put an ember proof "hearth" rug in front of the hearth. We found one that the DW says matches the hearth at home hardware. They are in the shape of a 1/2 moon and there are 3 color choices..



Yeah do they almost feel like hard rubber material????  Thats what I have and they work great over my carpet near hearth.


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## gyrfalcon (Feb 13, 2010)

skelm said:
			
		

> Getting new hardwoods in, wonder if I need to put anything over them next to the fire- or just leave them as-is. They do have a big piece of slate that will provide most of the cover. Anyone put anything in front of theirs just incase the odd coal rolls out during cleaning
> 
> Thanks



Yes, but all you need is any rug of recent vintage.  A lot of places make a big deal out of selling hearth rugs that are fire-retardant, but when I researched it a little bit, I discovered that all new rugs sold in this country have been required to be flame-retardant for more than 20 years now.  Just your ordinary wool or wool-blend rug, color, shape and design of your choice will protect your floor.

There are various degrees of fire protection in textiles, but unless you think there's a chance an actively flaming log will roll out of the stove and lie on the rug for half an hour unnoticed, they don't matter for practical purposes.  Anything less than that and the worst you'll get is a small melted spot on the rug.  The plastic-y ones another poster mentions are the most super-duper fire-retardant you can get, but most of them are ugly-- and just not necessary.

Also, fwiw, in three years of burning full-time, I've had exactly one small spark hit my hearth rug and make a small superficial charred/melted spot.  I am glad it didn't burn the (very old softwood) floor, though.

I'd suggest buying something reasonably attractive, dark and with a busy pattern like a fake Persian rug, as cheaply as possible.  You want a hearth rug that it won't break your heart or your budget if you do get a little burn mark on it and want to replace it, not to mention the general wood debris, ashes, etc., that will collect in it.

When my very elderly mother, a cigarette smoker, passed away a few years ago and I first went into her home office, I was horrified to see that the cheap, old indoor-outdoor carpeting she had over the hardwood floor was just covered with dozens of large and small blackened, melted spots from dropped cigarettes.  But the floor underneath was pristine.  She'd clearly been losing track of her lighted cigs for years, but never even burned an actual hole in the carpet, never mind burned the house down.  (It's pure luck she managed not to do that anywhere on the bare hardwood floors in the rest of the house.)


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## hardwood715 (Feb 13, 2010)

[/quote]
When my very elderly mother, a cigarette smoker, passed away a few years ago and I first went into her home office, I was horrified to see that the cheap, old indoor-outdoor carpeting she had over the hardwood floor was just covered with dozens of large and small blackened, melted spots from dropped cigarettes.  But the floor underneath was pristine.  She'd clearly been losing track of her lighted cigs for years, but never even burned an actual hole in the carpet, never mind burned the house down.  (It's pure luck she managed not to do that anywhere on the bare hardwood floors in the rest of the house.[/quote]

Thats real scary, my mother in law had the same exact problem, and we tried everything to get her to quit, We ended up buying the hearth (Plastic y) rug and placed it in front of her recliner and it stayed there till she died. Now that is the one in front of my hearth, It looks like fake brick, and yes is not very appealing to the eyes but works, they are not (plasticy ones) as nice looking as real ones.


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## skelm (Feb 13, 2010)

Excellent replies all, ill go have a look


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## BucksCounty (Feb 13, 2010)

My first year burning, and new hardwoods were put in last year.  I noticed on the first plank past the hearth a little shrinking of the wood.  I have more than required in front of the stove.  Will a hearth rug protect the floor from shirnking, or is that just the way it goes?


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## wood spliter (Feb 13, 2010)

I have a regular piece of rug in front of mine. Sometimes an amber or spark comes out and I either put it out or through it back in. The rug has moved and I do have a few burns On my hard wood floor.


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## stanleyjohn (Feb 13, 2010)

This is what i did! A word of warning!! Hot embers can still spit out beyond the legal clearance so never leave a burning stove door open without supervision.


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## begreen (Feb 13, 2010)

We have new hardwood floors in front of our stove, but the hearth extends a full 18" inches in front of the stove. No burn marks on the floor yet. In the past 3 years we have only had one log roll out (with the F400). Sometimes hot coals can spill when cleaning out ash, but so far they stay on the hearth. I did have a pine sap pocket pop just when I had the door open once. It shot a spark well past the hearth, but I caught it quickly. Sounded like a gunshot and went by too close to my face. Scared the poop out of me. I was glad I was wearing glasses.


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## snowtime (Feb 13, 2010)

The poster worried about shrinkage of his floor will just have to live with it. The rug will not help at all. Some floors are just not dry enough to not be affected and the only way to eliminate it is to get a humidifier And run it all winter. Our hardwood [3/4" birch strips] was stacked in the house for 2 years before we laid it down so it was very dry.


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## begreen (Feb 13, 2010)

Good point. Our flooring was in the house for 2 weeks before installing. The wood tested at 8% with the moisture reader. It's white oak and was installed 3.5 yrs ago. We haven't had any shrinkage issues so far.


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## BucksCounty (Feb 13, 2010)

The floors are 3/4 inch birch, 4 inches wide.  They sat in the house a month prior to laying them down.  Just live with the little shrinking. I have extra pieces I can replace it with if need be.


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## John_M (Feb 13, 2010)

It appears I may have the same half moon shaped piece of carpet as snowtime. It enhances the hearth area and provides a little extra ember protection. The sage green color of the carpet complements the deep green of my stove. I've had a number of nice complements about the combination. My floors are medium shaded 2.25" clear oak w/ micro bevel edges.  John_M


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## summit (Feb 14, 2010)

tile, slate, with no gaps to the flooring underneath.


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## SeaSky (Feb 14, 2010)

I had new oak wood floor put in at the same time the new stove and hearth was built.  I ended up putting a hearth rug out in front of my stove primarily so the wood is not baked extra dry by the radiant heat from the glass.  The floor stays much cooler under the rug.  I am not 100% sure, but I would guess that a radiantly baked solid wood floor is not the best thing.  As for the occasional opening up of some seams in the floor, I just live with it.


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## Joe_ (Feb 14, 2010)

I use a 48" x 24" UL listed black hearth board [plastic-y surface] - bought from my installing dealer. I also have a hearth rug [flame retardant] that extends another 16" past that. Covers 99.9% of the embers that shoot out of the insert.


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## firefighterjake (Feb 16, 2010)

I have engineered wood flooring . . . no protection . . . although my hearth in the front is longer than the minimum requirement and I am very careful about embers . . . so far no issues.


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## billb3 (Feb 16, 2010)

I'd rather have an ugly piece of carpet to stop a cinder from rolling out on the floor.
Something that will make smoke but not flame, so I don't step  on a hot one.
Something that should it ever actually start smoldering I can easily pick it up and toss it out on the lawn.
Destroy the evidence if need be.


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