Wood Duck said:I have a question for the forum about the pictures. I see in a few pics that there is plywood underneath tile or slate. I have similar hearth construction, and when choosing a stove I thought I would have to be careful about choosing a type that doesn't need too much heat protection in the floor. Is tile over wood a typical installation, and did I need to be worried about my floor? I chose a Lopi that needs only a sheet of metal over wood, and i have tile, cement board, then wood, so i am OK, but curious.
I'll speak for myself . . . my stove only required ember protection . . . so in theory I suppose I could have just laid the slate tile down on to plywood and it would have been OK.
However, I woudl be a bit concerned on the outside chance that a break or missing grout between the tile could in theory allow an errant spark (or more likely coal) drop on to the plywood and smolder . . . a slim chance to be sure . . . and perhaps putting down a layer of sheet metal would have solved this concern . . . but I like to meet and exceed fire codes when it comes to life and property . . . especially my life, my wife's life and our property . . . so I laid down a layer or two of Durock . . . which gave me another layer of protection against embers/sparks/coals and gave me some thermal protection . . . not to mention that it gave me a nice, rigid surface for my tile to stick to.