How to Build a Red Brick Hearth Pad for a Wood Stove

Clear the surface of the floor where you wish to place the hearth of any floor coverings such as tiles, vinyl sheeting or carpeting. Measure the size of your stove with a tape measure and make certain that your hearth plan extends at least 16 inches from the front and back of the stove and 12 inches from the stove’s sides. Remove any glue left behind by the flooring removal with a putty knife, and then clean the floor using a pH-neutral cleanser and a scrub brush.

Set up a frame for the hearth in the cleared area built to your desired hearth size using 1-by-2-inch lumber planks. Join the boards together at the corners with hammer and nails.

Test fit the bricks in the frame. Position the bricks as you would like them to appear when you’ve mortared them into place, leaving 1/4-inch between each brick to allow space for the mortared joints. Cut the bricks if needed using a brick set, hammer and chisel. Score a line across the brick using the hammer and chisel about 1/8-inch deep. Place the brick onto a scrap piece of hardwood and then set the brick set across the scored line. Strike the head of the brick set sharply to break through the brick along the scored line.

Remove the bricks and set them aside, within easy reach, in the chosen pattern.

Mix a batch of pre-mixed refractory mortar in a 5-gallon bucket, adding water to the dry mix until it has the consistency of peanut butter. Use a paddle bit attached to a drill for mixing.

Spread mortar throughout the base of the frame using a trowel, layering the mixture about 1/4-inch deep. Place the bricks into the bed of mortar following your chosen pattern, leaving the 1/4-inch space between them for the mortar. Set a carpenter’s level onto the bricks to make certain they’re set level to one another. Tap high bricks down further into the mortar bed with a rubber headed mallet and add mortar to the base of lower bricks to bring them level with the others.

Fill the joints between the bricks with mortar using a margin trowel. Spread the mortar joints evenly across the surface of the bricks with a wooden dowel. Allow the mortar to cure for 48 hours.

Remove the frame surrounding the bricks, and allow the mortar to cure for a further seven to 10 days before setting the stove atop the hearth.