We are in the midst of finishing our basement, and are going to install a wood stove. Right now, the floor is bare concrete. What would be the best practice for installing the hearth pad? My thinking is that it is best to install on concrete, because both the laminate and Dricore subfloor (we are going to install the R+ kind) are expanding, floating floors.
So if I was to install the Dricore and the laminate around the hearth, I assume that I also need to leave a gap around the hearth like I would for the perimeter of the room. Is there any of non-combustibe material to cover the gaps around? Or does it even need to be non-combustible? Just use quarter round or something?
Secondly, the Dricore is 1" thick and the laminate will be anywhere from 5/16" (8mm) to almost 1/2" (12 mm) (we haven't decided on the laminate yet). So the finished floor could be as thick as 1 1/2" from the concrete.
Would we have to build some kind of foundation to put the hearth pad on to raise it up from the concrete? Does it have to be a certain distance above a finished floor? Or does it matter?
So if I was to install the Dricore and the laminate around the hearth, I assume that I also need to leave a gap around the hearth like I would for the perimeter of the room. Is there any of non-combustibe material to cover the gaps around? Or does it even need to be non-combustible? Just use quarter round or something?
Secondly, the Dricore is 1" thick and the laminate will be anywhere from 5/16" (8mm) to almost 1/2" (12 mm) (we haven't decided on the laminate yet). So the finished floor could be as thick as 1 1/2" from the concrete.
Would we have to build some kind of foundation to put the hearth pad on to raise it up from the concrete? Does it have to be a certain distance above a finished floor? Or does it matter?