How to Build a Safe Hearth or Stand for Your Wood Stove
A good hearth or stand protects your floor from embers and reduces heat transfer from your stove to combustible materials. It also gives you options for wood storage, tool organization, and can even highlight your stove as the centerpiece of your space. In this guide, we’ll cover the main hearth and stand options for the Dwarf Stove and explain the clearance and safety requirements for each.
- Floor Level Hearths
- Tall Legs
- Wood Storage Stands
- Creative Custom Wood Stove Stands
Floor Level Hearth
Installing a wood stove at floor level is the most efficient way to heat your space. Because hot air rises, it can be hard to warm your floor with an elevated stove, so producing the heat nice and low makes a big difference. However, a small stove at floor level will require more bending to tend the fire and won't provide a built-in wood storage area underneath.
Safety Requirements
When installing the Dwarf Wood Stove on a floor-level hearth with the standard 4" legs, both ember protection and insulation are needed to reduce heat transfer to combustible materials below the stove.
- Use a non-combustible material below the stove to protect your floor from embers that may fall out when you open the stove door.
- PLUS - You'll need to use a ½” thick layer of non-combustible insulating material below the ember protection layer. Mineral fiber board or cement backer board both work well.
- If using non-combustible insulating material more than ½” thick, such as brick, this can serve as both the insulation and the ember protection. Tile alone will not suffice, as it is not typically over ½” thick.
- Your hearth should extend 12" in front of the stove to catch any falling embers.
- The sides and rear of your hearth should extend to match the clearance distances required by whichever type of heat shield you are using to protect the surrounding combustibles. Read: Clearance Requirements & Heat Shields
Examples of Floor Level Hearths
Dwarf Wood Stoves with Tall Legs
When installing a Dwarf Wood Stove using the tall 7" legs, you won't have as much heat transfer to the floor below. Because of the added distance to your floor (or other surface that the stove is mounted on), your hearth will only need ember protection and not any added insulation.
Safety Requirements
Use at least 24-gauge (about 0.5 mm) non-combustible material to shield combustible flooring from any embers or coals that could potentially fall from the stove.
Ideas for ember protection include metal, glass, tile, stone, and concrete.
Your hearth should extend 12" in front of the stove to catch any falling embers.
The sides and rear of your hearth should extend to match the clearance distances required by whichever type of heat shield you are using to protect the surrounding combustibles. Read: Clearance Requirements & Heat Shields
Examples of Dwarf Wood Stoves with Tall Legs
**Disclaimer: not all photos show installations meeting the proper clearance requirements and are intended to offer materials and design inspiration only**
Wood Storage Stands
Efficient use of space is an important consideration in any tiny space. For a clean, seamless look, the Dwarf Wood Storage stands are a great way to use space efficiently without impacting the appearance of your wood stove. These stands raise the stove 10.5" off the ground (13" for the 5kw stand) for easier fire tending/viewing and a space to store wood. As with the tall stove legs, the added distance to the floor means you won't have as much heat transfer to the floor below. Therefore, you will only need ember protection and not any added insulation.
Safety Requirements
- Use at least 24-gauge (about 0.5 mm) non-combustible material to shield combustible flooring from any embers or coals that could potentially fall from the stove.
- Ideas for ember protection include metal, glass, tile, stone, and concrete.
- Your hearth should extend 12" in front of the stove to catch any falling embers.
- The sides and rear of your hearth should extend to match the clearance distances required by whichever type of heat shield you are using to protect the surrounding combustibles. Read: Clearance Requirements & Heat Shields
Examples of Dwarf Wood Storage Stand Hearths
**Disclaimer: not all photos show installations meeting the proper clearance requirements and are intended to offer materials and design inspiration only**
Creative Stove Stands
Buying the matched wood storage stand for your Dwarf Stove isn't the only way to elevate your stove and create a space to keep wood. Maybe you want to be able to store more wood than our stand fits, or you want to match your stand to the design aesthetics in the rest of your space. Our customers have created some of the most beautiful and effective wood storage stands we've ever seen!
Safety Requirements
Ember protection - Use a non-combustible material below the stove to protect your stand from embers that may fall out when you open the stove door.
Insulation - If your stand is made of combustible material, you'll need to ALSO use a ½” thick layer of non-combustible insulating material below the ember protection layer. Mineral fiber board works well.
Your hearth should extend 12" in front of the stove to catch any falling embers.
The sides and rear of your hearth should extend to match the clearance distances required by whichever type of heat shield you are using to protect the surrounding combustibles. Read: Clearance Requirements & Heat Shields
Examples of Creative DIY Wood Storage Stands
Whether you keep your stove at floor level, raise it with tall legs, or design a custom wood storage stand, the key is to follow clearance and hearth requirements closely. A safe, well-built hearth not only protects your structure but also makes your stove more enjoyable to use. Ready to plan your setup? Check out our Kit Builder tool or explore our heat shields and storage stands to find the best fit for your space.
See more inspiration for creative DIY Wood Storage Stands in our Instagram Guide.
**Disclaimer: not all photos show installations meeting the proper clearance requirements and are intended to offer materials and design inspiration only**