Hearth Regulations for Wood Burning Stoves

Suitable for heating a wide variety of different living spaces, wood burning stoves (also known as wood burners) are incredibly popular. Not only do they provide an efficient and carbon neutral form of heating, they also convey an enormous sense of wellbeing, a phenomenon which was explored by American scientist Professor Edward O Wilson in his 1984 publication of the biophilia hypothesis which suggested that human beings have deep intrinsic connections with the natural world, including fire.

One of the most efficient ways to heat a property, a wood burning stove or wood burner is capable of heating just a room or even an entire home, while helping to keep your energy bills low. Functional and aesthetically pleasing, a wood burning stove or wood burner also provides an attractive focal point in any living area.

There’s something about wood burning stoves that can’t be replicated by any other type of heat source. The crackle of the wood, the lick of the flames. A wood burning stove offers a deeply instinctive experience.

Well, if you’d like to know a little more about some of the regulations and guidance in relation to the hearth that the wood burner sits upon, this article is intended to help you.

What is a wood burning stove hearth and what are the UK regulations?

The intention of a hearth for a wood burning stove or wood burner is that the stove sits on a pad (or slab) of a non-combustible material that protects the surface underneath from the heat of the stove. The function of the hearth is also to catch any embers or logs that might fall from your wood burner when you open the door. It is also a neat way to mark out a zone around the stove which should be kept clear of flammable items, such as furniture. 

If a burning log should fall from the stove then the hearth should be big enough that it lands on the hearth and not on the floor, carpet, or other combustible material. The edge of the hearth should ideally be at a different level from the floor to clearly show a safe perimeter – this can  easily be achieved by making the hearth higher than the rest of the floor.

The UK guidance on Approved Document J (ADJ) states that you can also do this by visually marking a perimeter – so if your whole floor is stone then you might think about installing something like an inlaid metal edge to show the perimeter.

If you are looking to add a wood burner to your home in the UK , then it is important that you are using the correct hearth. The guidance for the regulations states that you shall use a hearth that is made of non-combustible material and that it shall meet the size and thickness required for your make of wood burner.

As these wood burners can reach extremely hot temperatures, a hearth will help to protect your home from embers or combustible materials.

What sort of hearth is required to meet the regulations for your make of log or wood burner stove?

As suggested in the guidance to the UK building regulations, your stove must always be placed on a pad made from a non-combustible material such as granite, slate, steel, ceramic tiles or glass.

UK hearth regulations for a free-standing wood burning stove

If your free-standing wood burning stove does not raise the hearth temperature above 100°C, then the following criteria need to be applied to the design of the hearth:

• It must be at least 12 mm in thickness and made from a non-combustible material.
• It should extend beyond the burner by at least 225 mm to the front and 150 mm on each side.
• The total area covered should be at least 840 mm x 840 mm.

However, if the wood burner will raise the temperature of the hearth by more than 100°C, then you will need to increase the thickness of the hearth to at least 250 mm, this is known as a “constructional hearth”, meaning that it is built into the floor or is part of the construction of the building.

Here at Island Pellet Stoves, all of our wood pellet burning stoves have a hearth temperature lower than 100°C, so the hearth requirement for our stoves is a pad of non-combustible material that is at least 12 mm thickness.

UK hearth regulations for a wood burning stove in a fireplace recess

If you are placing your wood burner into a fireplace recess, it needs to have a ‘constructional hearth’ in place. This is the floor of your fireplace recess that is usually made of a thick layer of concrete that should be at least 250 mm thick.

This should then project at least 500 mm outwards into your room and be wider than the recess by a minimum of 150 mm.

If there are any combustible materials beneath your constructional hearth, there needs to be a 50 mm air gap between them.

As you can see, there are a lot of regulations to consider when installing your stove’s hearth!

For this reason, it is usually best to consult the stove manufacturer to ensure the intended hearth design is compliant with the UK regulations. If you don’t, you could be putting yourself at serious risk of fire hazards.

Further Information

Island Pellet Stoves Ltd installs its own-made brands of wood burning pellet stoves anywhere in England or Wales and has been doing so since 2015.

Our website has a range of resources and frequently asked questions to help you plan your project and to get the best from your wood burning stove or wood burner. For more information or give us a call on – 0330 111 4747