Laying slate slabs as a hearth

[stevehuws]

Hi,

I'll soon be fitting a new Morso stove on a plinth in the fireplace.

I've already laid down some old 1" thick slate slabs on the plinth, bedded in a sand and cement mix and I now need to grout them.

What kind of grout would be best, or would a sand and cement mix be OK?

The stove is 5kW.

Thanks,

steve

 

[Richard C]

You should be using a proprietary cement powder tile adhesive rather than mortar mix which may fail with heat; don’t grout with it either. I don’t use grout in high heat applications at all as it tends to fail with continual expansion & contraction. I space tiles at 1/2mm & use silicone.

I assume your aware installing a stove is controlled building work? It must comply with several Building Regulations (including the hearth) & you will need a compliance certificate. Don’t use gypsum plaster/plasterboard around the stove either; it will fail & fall off in a very short space of time.

 

[stevehuws]

Thanks for the reply Richard.

I'm having the stove installed by a pro. I didn't realize there were regs on the hearth, I'll check them out.

Best,

steve

EDIT: The regs are covered here http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partj/approved