Wood Stove Adhesive

[garfunkel1]

Hi Everyone,
Recently had a wood burning stove installed, fireplace recess was lined with skamolex fireproof board and a quartz stone surround was put around the opening (only a few inches wide and about an inch think).
Few problems have occured. Firstly, the skamolex board has came away from the recess wall, the adhesive hasn't done the job. Secondly, when the stove is on the stone surround shifts a few mm's and therefore is misaligned (made of 2 tall stone pieces and a piece across the top). I can only assume this is to do with the adhesive used which is moving the stone when heated.
Question is: what can I use to reapply both the skamolex board and stone to the wall to ensure that they stick and aren't impacted by the heat from the stove?
Thanks!

 

[Richard C]

Not used Skamolex board personally but, presumably, the manufacturer has a suiably heat proof adhesive, do you known what was used? What adhesive was used for the quartze surround?

Have you contacted whoever installed the stove &, more importantly, were they HETAS registered?

 

[garfunkel1]

Thanks for the reply. Will see if I can get my hands on skamolex glue which I believe is their recommended adhesive.
I think I've identified the problem though regarding the moving surround. It appears the plaster around the opening is expanding ever so slightly when heated, moving with it the vertical pieces. I've seen this through hairline cracks appearing in the plaster directly above the stove when on full heat, and disappearing again on cooling. I'm not really sure how I can prevent this though?!

 

[Richard C]

What plaster was used? Gypsum plaster is not suitable for high heat applications & should not be used around a stove of open fire if the heat regularly exceeds 49 degrees, it will fail & eventually fall off.

Have a read of my standard stove response below; there is a lot of info regarding suitable finishes around stoves in the DIYnot links to previous threads.




-----------------------00000000000000000000-------------------------

As this comes up so often, I’ve put together this generic post; read the links but not all may apply to you.

You can DIY a stove install but you need to understand the Building Regs (which changed in October 2010), submit a Building Notice & pay a fee. Your LABC will inspect &, assuming everything is OK, issue a compliance certificate; the BI may want to witness smoke & spillage tests. No compliance certificate may lead to difficulties when you come to sell your property; if cannot produce a compliance certificate in the event of a problem, your insurance company may invalidate your policy & reject any claim.

Lots of archive threads on this, & other things you have to watch out for, here a few links for you to read:
http://www.stovesonline.co.uk/stove_building_regulations.html
http://www.hetas.co.uk/public/certificates.html
http://www.solidfuel.co.uk/pdfs/buidling_regs_consumer leaflet.pdf
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=183614
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=211524
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=242738
//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=224751

& some more sobering just in case you think it’s all a load of old tosh:
http://www.solidfuel.co.uk/main_pages/news.htm
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...wood-burning-stove-leaks-carbon-monoxide.html
http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/warning_over_heaters_after_norfolk_couple_s_death_1_811099

Also get at least 3 quotes from local independent HETAS installers:
http://www.hetas.co.uk/nearest_member

You might be pleasantly surprised & you should ask yourself if you really want all the hassle & risk getting it wrong; climbing onto the roof with an 8M stainless steel snake on your back is not for the feint hearted!

 

[garfunkel1]

Thanks for the reply. I suppose my query is will any plaster expand and contract on a regular basis with heating/cooling? I know it's only a few mm but when my fire surround is attached to it that causes a problem. Not sure what type of plaster but the plasterer was aware of the intended use and done it in one application. If all plaster will move to some extent then I'll have to reconsider the surround on the recess opening - cant seem to understand though why the hairline cracks open and close.

 

[Richard C]

Can I ask if this is an original or newly constructed fire opening & if so what type of bricks were used? You may have more than one problem! The cracks open & close because the brickwork surrounding the fire is expanding when it gets hot & contracting when it cools down & the plaster is not expanding & contracting at the same rate, hence the cracks & why they open up when the brickwork heats up.

If the colour of the plaster is pink or grey, chances are its Gypsum; if it’s white it could be heat proof Vitcas but it could also be one coat. The only way you’re going to know for sure what he used is to ask him; you should only use a heat proof render & plaster in the area 300mm either side & 500-800mm above the fire, anything else will likely fail in a very short time.

Unfortunately many plasterers (including myself originally) seem to be unaware of the heat restriction associated with Gypsum plaster, it was only after I had the plaster fail around my own fire that I checked & found it has a heat tolerance of just 49 degrees & I’ve measured temperatures well over 90 degrees in the brickwork surrounding my own multi-fuel stove.

If you’re fixing tiles or a fire surround your better of using a sand/cement/lime render (which will withstand the heat) & fixing direct to that; you can then use Vitcas heat proof plaster to finish up to & around the fire surround.