How to Design a Hearth for a Wood Stove

Determine the best place for the wood stove. Take into consideration the distance from the walls required by your local fire code, as well as where the stove will warm the maximum amount of space without interfering with traffic in the room. If your manual calls for a greater safety distance than the fire codes, go with the manual instructions.

Study the manual to find the recommended R-value for heat-blocking insulation necessary for the floor where you plan to locate the hearth. The greater the R-value, the less likely the heat will transfer to a combustible floor or wall. Different types of stoves generate different amounts of heat from the bottom, and what works for one stove may not be sufficient for another.

A good example of material appropriate for a hearth is ceramic sheeting that's a half-inch thick. Ceramic sheets provide a 1.1 R-value and are easily sawn to size and stacked until you reach the necessary R-value. Other materials with high R-values include concrete blocks, fire-retardant brick and rockwool or fiberglass batts inside an enclosure.

Set the uninstalled stove on the floor where you plan to install it. Draw your hearth space on the floor around the stove. Plan the shape of your hearth based on the floor drawing, your building materials and the look you want to achieve. For example, a hearth made from bricks or other types of blocks will, by nature, be somewhat angular. A ceramic-sheet hearth can be cut to any shape with a power saw, while a poured-concrete hearth can take the shape that you determine.

Draw a matching design on the walls or wall if necessary. A floor and wall hearth can be mixed or matched, depending on the look you want. For example, a floor hearth can be easy-to-do concrete, while the more visible space on the wall can be attractive brick. As with the floor, using rigid material on the wall limits the design to something angular. Covering a material such as ceramic boards with a thin layer of thick-paste concrete allows you to stamp designs in the concrete that mimic other stone. You can also stain the concrete after it is dry.