Tile resources for diy hearth pad

[Maureen B.]

Hi everyone,

We bought a distress/foreclosure sale house that is a mess but on 8 and half acres of mostly woods. The good news is that we are fortunate that we can put our Hampton 400 in the middle of the house to take advantage of using it to heat the 1200 sq. ft house. A couple of problems . . .

The entire floor has to come up because the subflooring is particle board. Our goal is to build up from the bottom so that the hearth pad will be level to the new floor and save on the stubbed toes. We think we have that part figured out.

Our latest problem is finding a tile source. The specs are such that we are going to need to build a larger hearth pad than the one we have. The second problem is we are turning the living room part into a home theater and will need dark floors and tiles.

For those who have made your own hearth pads, can you recommend a tile source? We have not had much luck finding a tile source and wonder if you could recommend a company. Thank you in advance,

Maureen

 

[joop]

what about slate,it's dark will go with any decor

 

[Maureen B.]

Sounds good, Joop. Will mention it to my husband. Thank you.

 

[NHWS]

Perhaps surprisingly, the homeowner big box stores sometimes have a decent selection. Have you decided what kind of material you want to use? Agree that slate looks nice. Ungauged slate is inexpensive. It's also uneven, and is likely to flake off pieces. Gauged slate trades cost for evenness and less flaking. Ceramic and porcelain are common and mostly reasonably priced. Porcelain is harder (less likely to scratch) and stronger (less likely to crack). Natural stones vary a lot.

I used 1/2" thick ungauged commercial (e.g., lower) quality granite for my hearth pad. Strong, unlikely to scratch, but working with ungauged stone takes extra effort to avoid uneven tile heights. The granite cost just over $5 / sq ft.; it was surplus material at a local commercial stone supplier. The surround is porcelain. The black is from a big box store. The white was ordered from Shaw Floors (https://shawfloors.com) through a local dealer. Shaw does not have a particularly wide tile selection, but I'm pleased with the quality of what I ordered. Stanton ((broken link removed)) also has tile and natural stone. Both Shaw and Stanton are wholesale-only, but they claim to be able to help you find a dealer.

 

[Maureen B.]

That's beautiful, NH!

Thank you for the suggestions! Number one on my husband's list is the porcelain because of the pets. They get as close as they can to the stove and that has the potential of scratching. Given what a big project this is going to be, he wants to get it right and not have to revisit it. Throw in the floor is going to be part of a home theater system, our choices become even narrower.

Thank you for letting me know about Shaw and Stanton. I will definitely check them out!

 

[begreen]

There are lots of choices. Slate looks good, but can flake and may not be as tough a good porcelain tile.

Merola Tile - Black - Floor - Tile - Flooring - The Home Depot

Get free shipping on qualified Merola Tile, Black, Floor Tile products or Buy Online Pick Up in Store today in the Flooring Department.

www.homedepot.com

 

[Maureen B.]

Thank you, Begreen, will check them out.