Hearth Pad

Anyone make their own hearth pad? what materials did you use? I would like to build one with some 2x2's or 2x4's, plywood, and tile.

Thanks,
Tom

Yes, I used 2x2 and a piece of plywood, and 6 patio blocks (16"x16") from Home Depot. It gave me the approx. 6" on the sides and 16" in front. Made to fit the tiles and then some trim on the sides.

See attached.

I bought a large piece of flagstone from the local garden center,cost me 15 bucks.

I used 3/4 inch OSB on the bottom layer (you can see the blue factory edge along the front - which I hope to paint one day to hide that edge). I then nailed tile backerboard to the OSB to remove the 'flex' so the tile wouldn't crack. Then I installed standard kitchen tile with mortar and grouted the joints - just like laying regular tile. I left enough room around the edge to trim it with one inch outside corner molding to cover the edges. After two years of use it is holding up well. My wife picked out the tile to match the living room.
Cost was about $120 including all the materials, including OSB, backerboard, grout, spacers, mortar, tile and a tool. I had plenty of stuff left over. It was still much cheaper than what a hearth pad was going to cost at the local stove store, plus it matched better (happy wife), and was fun to work on.

To be safe, and protect the floor for future use, I laid cement board down, then sheetmetalk overlapped so no cracks can form which could allow burning embers to make it to the floor, then smeared mortar and laid some used bricks then mortared between them. The bricks overhangthe edges a tiny bit so I could bring the mortar to the floor and make a nice tidy little brick hearth.

Duplicate post.

I once used the slate from an old pool table, man was that heavy!