# Need floor pad under wood stove, but what to use?



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

DH and I said we weren't going to burn wood anymore, but fear is making us reconsider that decision. We've decided to buy another smaller wood stove.

Problem is we had the floor tile removed when we had the new hardwood floor laid.

We want to put the new stove on a metal backed floor pad, like the ones we used back in the 70s. Do they make these anymore? 

I've looked online and all I'm finding are these pads that look like slate or flagstone and cost as much as a new stove. We want a pad large enough to stack some wood on beside the stove.

Nothing about this seems easy because we're having a problem finding a stove that's around 40 thousand BTU and is lined with firebrick.

So, is there a woodstove that's 40 thousand BTU and lined with firebrick? Anywhere? Most we've looked at that have firebrick are more BTUs than we want for inside this small house.

Any help, good advice, suggestions, links, whatever will be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Sawmill Jim (Dec 5, 2008)

For the pad here not long back they had that real ceramic tile 13x13 pieces for about 79 cents each . I would think these would work and if you stay in a square easy to do .:bow:

The stove i have no idea ours is a monster brick lined set it in with a forklift . Guess you don't have to build a bigger fir than you need but i'm lost .:shrug:


----------



## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDkQ8wIwAg#

Check out the last ones
http://www.savemoneywithus.com/StovePadsAndBoards.html#FL5


----------



## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Do you have any of those big fancy feed stores in your area? We have Atwoods, Tractor Supply, etc. Check places like that out for a woodstove board. That's where I get mine at and the last one I bought ran around $65. Northern tool supply cataloge also carries them but you will pay extra for the shipping. 

I have a small house too. 860 s.f. with wood floor. I have one of those old time cast Iron woodstove like they use to use in the old days. Oblong with a door in front and two removeable lids on top, short legs on bottom. I get a fire going in it and use up to 22 inch logs in it but I mostly cut 18 inch logs. It gets purty hot sometimes but I've had no trouble with it (Knock on wood). I keep a window fan on the floor behind it to blow the heat toward the the front. This keeps the back wall from getting hot and the floor underneath it doesn't get hot either.


----------



## Daryll in NW FLA (May 10, 2002)

We used those patio paving stones under our wood stove- works great and holds the heat well.


----------



## Dixielee (Dec 5, 2003)

Sawmill Jim said:


> For the pad here not long back they had that real ceramic tile 13x13 pieces for about 79 cents each . I would think these would work and if you stay in a square easy to do .:bow:


We did the same thing. It looks great, was inexpensive and easy to install.


----------



## romysbaskets (Aug 29, 2009)

In our modest country style home, looks kinda like a wood lodge inside is the following very inexpensive but eye catching set up...best thing about it..you do it yourself and could easily salvage the materials, all of them!

The back wall is river rock set in cement, yes folks give away cement bags. The trims on either side are machined scrollwork wood for lack of a better word, just a choice... The platform is plywood done like a wide box with short sides placed upside down. Then they put tile down on the platform surface and down the sides. This works great for us and was done that way when we bought our home. It was build in the 70's. It is easy to keep clean and with the ceramic tile I have been given here...during someone else's remodel...well I could get the supplies to have done this for free! You can really salvage the materials to build one of these. Then again...do you want it to be pretty and rustic or do you prefer a simple thing like a metal backing? It all depends on your home and what you really want it to look like.... Mine is easier to prevent the grandson from getting burned on. The only hot surface is the woodstove itself. I love that rustic look though.


----------



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I made this "pad" out of 2"x12"s, fiberboard, cement board, and 4"x4" clay tiles. I perfer an elevated platform for a woodstove - especially a small woodstove - because it makes feeding the stove easier (don't have to bend down as far) and it makes viewing the fire more pleasant (assuming you have a window in your stove).










I wouldn't fret not being able to find a 40,000 btu woodstove. Just get one with a higher BTU rating and don't make such a large fire in it. Remember, that the btu output of a woodstove is solely dependent on the size of fire it is burning, not on the size of the woodstove.


----------



## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

I poured a thin layer of concrete [approx 3/4" thick]. I used 1" X 2" trim as a border for it, and stained the concrete black before sealing it.


----------



## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

I used 3/4' plywood with 1/2 " durock cement board, wood trim, then mortared patio slate on top. Came out great!


----------



## Belfrybat (Feb 21, 2003)

I used a couple from Tractor supply that is woodgrain looking metal with insulation underneath. I had one on the floor and one on the wall with spacers. Just looked online and they have really gone up in price. I think I paid 29-30 for mine four years ago. Here's a link:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...Display&ip_categoryId=&ip_mode=&ip_perPage=20


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

I'm so thankful for all of you answering here and giving such good links, pictures, good advice, and help. You have made my day much easier and reduced a great amount of stress for me. Thank you so much from both DH and myself. There's nowhere online that's close to being like HT and its caring helpful members.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

This is a bad shot of the brick hearth under my woodburner:


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Sawmill Jim said:


> For the pad here not long back they had that real ceramic tile 13x13 pieces for about 79 cents each . I would think these would work and if you stay in a square easy to do .:bow:
> 
> The stove i have no idea ours is a monster brick lined set it in with a forklift . Guess you don't have to build a bigger fir than you need but i'm lost .:shrug:


thanks Sawmill Jim. That tile sounds like what we had torn out here prior to having the wood floor installed. We had an old Warm Morning stove setting on a plywood base that was covered and grouted with ceramic tile. We still have smaller ceramic tile squares on one wall that's behind the stove. 

As for building a bigger fire than we need, we would lay in a fire that would burn all night and used stove pipe dampers to regulate the fire down to a slow burn. That's not likely something we'll be doing with a smaller stove though due to not being able to stack enough wood inside the stove to burn for 6 to 8 hours.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

jwal10 said:


> http://www.google.com/products/cata...og_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDkQ8wIwAg#
> 
> Check out the last ones
> http://www.savemoneywithus.com/StovePadsAndBoards.html#FL5


thanks so much for those links and glad to see there's a store/dealer close to us.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Oldcountryboy said:


> Do you have any of those big fancy feed stores in your area? We have Atwoods, Tractor Supply, etc. Check places like that out for a woodstove board. That's where I get mine at and the last one I bought ran around $65. Northern tool supply cataloge also carries them but you will pay extra for the shipping.
> 
> I have a small house too. 860 s.f. with wood floor. I have one of those old time cast Iron woodstove like they use to use in the old days. Oblong with a door in front and two removeable lids on top, short legs on bottom. I get a fire going in it and use up to 22 inch logs in it but I mostly cut 18 inch logs. It gets purty hot sometimes but I've had no trouble with it (Knock on wood). I keep a window fan on the floor behind it to blow the heat toward the the front. This keeps the back wall from getting hot and the floor underneath it doesn't get hot either.


Thanks for the suggestion Oldcountryboy. We have some small feed stores here and DH is going to check those for the woodstove boards first. Our house is about a 1000 sq ft and very tight construction. It doesn't take much to heat this house. I really like the cast iron stoves simply because it's good for cooking and heating food on it. The old stove that we had to get rid of had a good electric blower on it, but the stove put out so much heat we never had to use the blower until temps got way below zero outside. The Warm Morning stove had a porcelain metal exterior that never got red hot like the cast irons can have.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Daryll in NW FLA said:


> We used those patio paving stones under our wood stove- works great and holds the heat well.


wow, never had given that a thought, but that sounds like a really good idea to consider. Thanks Daryll in NW FLA.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Dixielee said:


> We did the same thing. It looks great, was inexpensive and easy to install.


We really liked the ceramic floor tile under our stove, but it was cracked in several places where we had accidentally dropped heavy wood on it. For those that have the ceramic tile, do you have that problem? Thanks Dixielee for the advice.


----------



## Sawmill Jim (Dec 5, 2008)

A few cracks just add character :hobbyhors One reason my wife loves me i'm half cracked or it that half baked :shrug::shrug:


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

romysbaskets said:


> In our modest country style home, looks kinda like a wood lodge inside is the following very inexpensive but eye catching set up...best thing about it..you do it yourself and could easily salvage the materials, all of them!
> 
> The back wall is river rock set in cement, yes folks give away cement bags. The trims on either side are machined scrollwork wood for lack of a better word, just a choice... The platform is plywood done like a wide box with short sides placed upside down. Then they put tile down on the platform surface and down the sides. This works great for us and was done that way when we bought our home. It was build in the 70's. It is easy to keep clean and with the ceramic tile I have been given here...during someone else's remodel...well I could get the supplies to have done this for free! You can really salvage the materials to build one of these. Then again...do you want it to be pretty and rustic or do you prefer a simple thing like a metal backing? It all depends on your home and what you really want it to look like.... Mine is easier to prevent the grandson from getting burned on. The only hot surface is the woodstove itself. I love that rustic look though.


Hi romysbaskets, and glad to hear there are others who like the idea of using salvage materials. In our home remodeling, there's been no waste allowed. Almost everything that has come out of here over the past year has gone somewhere with someone to be reused. We're so tickled with our new wood floor that we hate to cover it up with anything, especially a wood stove and protective flooring. But we have to bite the bullet and do the sensible thing and that is to replace our old woodstove with a new one and put a protective fire barrier under it. I don't know that we have a rustic look, maybe more of a simple look would describe it better. DH and I are getting older and we'll likely need inhome healthcare before it's over. That's what the house was remodeled for - inhome healthcare and making that easier for everyone involved.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Cabin Fever said:


> I made this "pad" out of 2"x12"s, fiberboard, cement board, and 4"x4" clay tiles. I perfer an elevated platform for a woodstove - especially a small woodstove - because it makes feeding the stove easier (don't have to bend down as far) and it makes viewing the fire more pleasant (assuming you have a window in your stove).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Cabin Fever, and I love any excuse to be able to see pictures of your beautiful home. I love a platform for the stove, but that's not to going to happen here. We're way beyond the limit we set for our budget already and we're having to screech stop in our tracks on the remodeling. Stove and pad is it and no more can we stand this year. We want to purchase the stove before the end of December though, so we can use the tax credit.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

ET1 SS said:


> I poured a thin layer of concrete [approx 3/4" thick]. I used 1" X 2" trim as a border for it, and stained the concrete black before sealing it.


Thanks ET1 SS, that sounds as though it would work. I'm glad it worked out for you, but we don't want to tear out beautiful wood flooring we just paid an arm and a leg to have installed. Sorry I didn't make that clear at the beginning.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Vickie44 said:


> I used 3/4' plywood with 1/2 " durock cement board, wood trim, then mortared patio slate on top. Came out great!


Is the patio slate easy to crack like ceramic tiles? It's not something we're going to use, but maybe others reading here would like to know how durable the slate is in comparsion with the ceramic tile. Oh, and thanks for the idea Vickie44.


----------



## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

We have a kitchen wood stove and a wood heating stove. Both have a sheet of steel underneath of them. We extended it out past the fire box on the kitchen stove. The sheets of steel were sides to an old oil furnace we dismanteled.We cleaned them up and painted them with black fire resistant paint. Behind the kitchen stove is fire resistant board that looks like gyp rock. Behind the heating stove we built a brick wall with bricks salvaged from an old chimney.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Belfrybat said:


> I used a couple from Tractor supply that is woodgrain looking metal with insulation underneath. I had one on the floor and one on the wall with spacers. Just looked online and they have really gone up in price. I think I paid 29-30 for mine four years ago. Here's a link:
> http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp...Display&ip_categoryId=&ip_mode=&ip_perPage=20


Belfrybat, thank you. That's probably where DH will go to first, maybe second. He's got a lot of ideas now on where to look thanks to everyone's suggestions here.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Danaus29 said:


> This is a bad shot of the brick hearth under my woodburner:


Danaus29, that looks exactly like what our son has in his basement. He uses a woodstove insert in the fireplace. Is that what you have?


----------



## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

SS, you have a PM.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

lmrose said:


> We have a kitchen wood stove and a wood heating stove. Both have a sheet of steel underneath of them. We extended it out past the fire box on the kitchen stove. The sheets of steel were sides to an old oil furnace we dismanteled.We cleaned them up and painted them with black fire resistant paint. Behind the kitchen stove is fire resistant board that looks like gyp rock. Behind the heating stove we built a brick wall with bricks salvaged from an old chimney.


Hi Imrose and thanks for the info. Wow, that sounds like a really good use of salvaged materials. We don't have access to anything like that, but it would certainly be a good use for an old furnace. We kept our ceramic tile wall so we have fire protection there, but the bricks are the best if you have them. Oh, and I'm so envious of anyone that gets to have a kitchen wood cookstove.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Sawmill Jim said:


> A few cracks just add character :hobbyhors One reason my wife loves me i'm half cracked or it that half baked :shrug::shrug:


 You sound like my DH, and yes, he's both.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Stephen in SOKY said:


> SS, you have a PM.


Hi, long time no see and right back at you and thanks for the info.


----------



## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

soulsurvivor, no fireplace, just the stove. The pipe goes out the back and into a chimney that looks like it was made specifically for this stove.


----------



## Guest (Nov 25, 2010)

I glued pieces of patio blocks to the combustible floor, glued a piece of Durarock cement board to the patio block, and put ceramic tile over the durarock. The patio block pieces have space between them to allow air circulation. The stove sits on the tile. I then took a scrap of Durarock about 2'X2' and put it directly under the firebox of the stove, supported by 4 pieces of patio block, one in each corner. With the stove cranked as hot as it goes you can still put your hand on the cermic tile and slide it under the Durarock scrap and the tile under the scrap is just warm to the touch.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Danaus29 said:


> soulsurvivor, no fireplace, just the stove. The pipe goes out the back and into a chimney that looks like it was made specifically for this stove.


That looks and sounds like a good set up. There was a chimney here when we first moved in but we had to have it rebuilt. We're in a bad location for having a good draw on this chimney. It would have been better to have the pipe out the top of our house instead of being piped through the side wall into a chimney.


----------



## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Nimrod said:


> I glued pieces of patio blocks to the combustible floor, glued a piece of Durarock cement board to the patio block, and put ceramic tile over the durarock. The patio block pieces have space between them to allow air circulation. The stove sits on the tile. I then took a scrap of Durarock about 2'X2' and put it directly under the firebox of the stove, supported by 4 pieces of patio block, one in each corner. With the stove cranked as hot as it goes you can still put your hand on the cermic tile and slide it under the Durarock scrap and the tile under the scrap is just warm to the touch.


 As in layering a cake? That sounds like a good solution to keeping the heat off the floor. Thanks for sharing.


----------

