cement board provides no structural value!?!?

[begreen]

ok guys i will do a 8x8" grid of screws then! u think i should start from the inside and work out wards? or start at a edge and work across?

I can't see why either would make a difference. Take your pick.

PS: I forgot to ask. Did you end up skinning the top of the studs with sheetmetal before you put down the cement board?

yes i skinned with some ducting sheetmetal i had the center area around the studd i put across the top because thats where i think the stove will go, gave my durock a wavy appearance tho. but im sure the thinset will fix that.

With the skin of metal the top of the hearth is like a drum. Add the cement board and it is going to be very solid. The waviness though may be a problem unless it is only a 1/16" or so. On the top layer, you want a completely flat surface for the tile and stove.

 

[greythorn3]

I agree that this should be pleanty stong.

Out of curiosity (or I missed it) what was your spacing on your studs?

Will the legs of your stove be resting on the studs themselves?

pen

studd spacing is 16" i have no idea if the legs will set exactly on studs tho as im waiting "again" for the stove to come in.

 

[johnstra]

I made 1/8"x3"x3" steel pads and put my stove feet on those. It looks clean and gives me peace of mind that the feet won't crack my slate tile.

 

[Highbeam]

If I could rebuild my hearth I would make it a few inches deeper (so I could install a BK) and I would have set some sort of physical support under the leg area. I have some 4" iron pipe that would be prefect if cut into short lengths and placed on end between the subfloor and the bottom of the durock.

It is not needed but I would feel warmer and fuzzier.

 

[greythorn3]

If I could rebuild my hearth I would make it a few inches deeper (so I could install a BK) and I would have set some sort of physical support under the leg area. I have some 4" iron pipe that would be prefect if cut into short lengths and placed on end between the subfloor and the bottom of the durock.

It is not needed but I would feel warmer and fuzzier.

heck that pipe idea is good, i was thinking of stacking some pavers underneeth.

 

[Bub381]

I went looking for something to keep the legs off the tile if we get the Rangeley which is over 500 lb's.Homedepot carries 4"x4" granite blocks that are 1" thick and believe i'll go that route.No need for em i'm sure but would hate to crack the tile.Also another 1" off the floor wont bother me at all.A little more clearance.These are granite not junk they glued together.

 

[Highbeam]

Stoves tend to walk around a bit on hearths with heat and cool cycles. Be sure to keep an eye on these pucks to make sure one doesn't squirt out. Also be sure your stove stays in place so that none of your stove joints open up. I see very little reason to try and distribute the stove weight over tile. Properly set tile already distributes the weight very well.

 

[Bub381]

As long as the stove has a somewhat flat surface for a foot,not just an angle iron piece.Adjustable so should be ok. Forgot to look.

 

[greythorn3]

well i got the 2nd layer on it, getting strong! used a whole box of the rockon screws in it, the smaller box they sell anyhow. been hard hand mixing that thinset! hehe forgot to get my mixer from the other house! oh well.. this things gonna be tuff and super heavy i bet by the time the tile is on it!

I have some large granite pieces left over from when i did our countertops, i might use a piece of that for under the stove, i really like the tile i picked out tho and hate to cover it up. i may just do the washer thing, weld them on the legs, depending on what the legs look like, i havent seen them in person yet. maybe they have a larger pad on the bottom of them.

 

[begreen]

Once that is tiled it will not need anything else under the feet. That's a nice solid construction there.

 

[Intheswamp]

Was reading one of the faqs on the USG website and here is a quote from it....

(broken link removed)


I'm not sure that doubling up the cement floor satisfies this or not, the bottom sheet of durock would be a type underlayment but I don't think it would be considered subflooring. ????

Ed

 

[begreen]

It is doubled up on a tight skin of sheet metal. All layers have been screwed and mortared together. That should be quite rigid. Granted, I would have put the studs on 12" centers for less free span, but the sheet metal skin, plus brace in the center should beef up the area of the stove weight quite a bit.

 

[greythorn3]

i think the really thick metal of these studds helps allot also, infact they are super hard to drill the screws into that are suppsed to go into metal!