Need ideas for hearth floor

[arrow]

At one point in time, our woodstove was in the living room. We moved it to the cellar so the kids wouldn't break their little heads on it about 30 years ago. Now, this new woodstove which I automatically placed in the cellar when we first got it 3 years ago isn't cutting it down there to heat the entire house as did the old Timberline which you could dump a whole wheelbarrow full of wood into. This new stove allows about 6 chunks of wood so I got to get it where we are and out of the cellar. (That in itself should be fun moving 500# up 13 stairs) At any rate, the wife does not want the same hearth floor as we had which was an 8" raised floor built out of Connecticut stone. She wants it flatter like 2" high at the most. I do not know what is available to go with the hearth wall which are mortered randomly placed stone. To build the floor out of the same stuff would be too high as the stone is 4" thick and pretty uneven. The floor will be 6'by 4' . I was thinking about 2 hunks of slate but at 2'x6' and 2 " thick, I'm thinking I'm not getting that into the house by myself or maybe 4 other people. To get the slate into smaller squares would not go with the look of the granite stonework that the hearth wall is made of and was told if I attempt to bust up the slate to get random pieces, the slate would flake and crumble, so I'm open to suggestions as to what is out there and how to handle this. Thanks

Lou

 

[mbohuntr]

I made one out of fieldstone once, looked great! mortared the joints with a bag and my finger. Very cheap too. Only problem I had was I had to shim the stove legs because the stone was slightly uneven. I formed the edges with 2x2's and wrapped that with sheetmetal painted with stove black. Put in a bed of mortar and tap the stones till they're level. Then grout.

 

[Chuck52]

If you can get it cut to 2x6, can't you get 2x3 also? Is that too small? I would think you could move that with a furniture dolly and a set of helping hands.

Chuck

 

[KentT]

Have you looked at ceramic floor tile? It's available in a variety of colors, patterns, and sizes up to a handy 12" x 12" square. Matching bull nose and outside corners are also available, to trim it out, should you desire.

Then, you could use wooden framing, if desired, to shape it any way you'd like....

Our zero-clearance fireplace has tile facing and matching hearth... looks quite nice.

 

[arrow]

Have you looked at ceramic floor tile? It's available in a variety of colors, patterns, and sizes up to a handy 12" x 12" square. Matching bull nose and outside corners are also available, to trim it out, should you desire.

Then, you could use wooden framing, if desired, to shape it any way you'd like....

Our zero-clearance fireplace has tile facing and matching hearth... looks quite nice.

I did actually and matching the color seems little problem but the visual uniformity of the square tiles is just not going with the random stone vertical part of the hearth.

 

[ToadHill]

When I made my hearth years ago I bought a man made stone product (can't remember the name) which was about 2" thick and was styrofoam balls impregnated with concret. It comes in 2' by 2' blocks and weighs only a few pounds each.

I bought it at a store that sold woodstoves and I believe you probably cam still find it. It was also a lot less expensive than slate. It also came in about 10 different patterns.

 

[Ductape]

Arrow,
If possible, can you put up a pic or two of your hearth/chimney you are trying to match?

 

[arrow]

Arrow,
If possible, can you put up a pic or two of your hearth/chimney you are trying to match?

Not good but legible

 

[pennwalk]

Have you seen those ceramic tiles shaped like broken slate? They probably come in different colors. A friend used them in his entrance hall. He and his wife put them in and they came out looking very good. (Sometimes I wonder if that was why less than a year later they split up )

Chris

 

[EddieWalker]

Have you looked at the large, square cement hearth stones? They are about 18 inches square and smooth on the top and sides. Just set them on a bed of mortar and grout in between them. Five or six should give you a nice hearth.

For a fancier look, flagstone rock can be cut straight with a saw using a diamond blade designed for masonary. I do this when building or repairing patios and walkways. In those cases, I cut halfway through the stone and break it off to give it a more random look.

For your situation, you could cut it all the way through and use that cut edge as the finished look.

Brick is always very popular. With a bazilion choices of color, size and shapes, it should be pretty easy to find a style that compliments your rock.

Eddie