Stove Board (floor, heat, stoves, color)

[Coldjensens]

I will be installing a woodstove in our sunroom soon. I am trying to figure out the best thing to use to protect the walls nearby. I found some "stove board" I was going to use metal but this stoveboard is much nicer looking. Anyone know whether it is as effective at reflecting heat as metal?

[thecoalman]

Metal absorbs heat. I had a coal truck with stainless steel bed and you could fry an egg on it in the summer if the truck was sitting empty in one place long enough. The only thing it's good for around stoves is it's non combustible. Anything that is non combustible board type material would be better insulator, I'm assuming this is some type concrete board?

As I said in your other thread if you go with the metal leave a gap behind and all the way around it so air can flow behind it even if it's just half an inch,

[kadylady]

We used Micore mineral board. 1/2" has a high R-value. I think 1.030. Then you can put whatever decorative metal over it.
We used that on the floor. Our stove has a heat deflector on the back and allows it to be placed fairly close to the wall.

[MrWillys]

The one thing I remember studying code 20 years ago is how Building, and Mechanical code differ on what's considered non combustible. You must use metal, brick, tile, or any type of material allowed by Mechanical code. There also may be specific installation methods that may need to be adhered too.
Aren't there pre-manufactured assemblies that can be purchased with a reasonable appearing finish?

[harry chickpea]

Originally Posted by thecoalman

Metal absorbs heat. I had a coal truck with stainless steel bed and you could fry an egg on it in the summer if the truck was sitting empty in one place long enough. The only thing it's good for around stoves is it's non combustible. Anything that is non combustible board type material would be better insulator, I'm assuming this is some type concrete board?

As I said in your other thread if you go with the metal leave a gap behind and all the way around it so air can flow behind it even if it's just half an inch,

I agree with the air gap. "Absorbing" heat is not the same as having insulative properties though. There are actually some different properties involved.

The ability to absorb heat is a factor of something called "specific heat" or "specific heat capacity."
Although many of us are familiar with hot lead, it actually has a low specific heat, and cools quickly compared to glass. Marbles made of lead and marbles made of glass, heated to the same temperature and dropped on a bar of wax will result in the glass marble melting deeper into the wax than the lead one. Steel is somewhere in between those extremes.

The more important factors here are "heat transfer coefficient" which is typically by convection (at any attachment points), and "radiation heat transfer," or more specifically "radiation heat transfer emissivity coefficient."

Here are some sample ratings which answer the OP question: Emissivity Coefficients of some common Materials

Stove board is commonly used under a stove to protect against embers as well as give a small amount of insulation. My experience is that spaced metal will allow a wall to be cool, while stove board on the wall or under the stove allows most heat to flow through and the wall or floor be too hot to comfortably touch.

Codes may be very specific, but they also allow for a little creativity. If you can find REAL face bricks, slate, or rock, and use a cementous mortar to adhere them to stove board or metal, there should be no problem meeting code, as long as the mortar is non-flammable.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I will be installing a woodstove in our sunroom soon. I am trying to figure out the best thing to use to protect the walls nearby. I found some "stove board" I was going to use metal but this stoveboard is much nicer looking. Anyone know whether it is as effective at reflecting heat as metal?

You should be able to get the local fire codes for stove installations via the nearest fire department. They can tell you who to ask. Also, the stove's installation instructions will tell you the distances the stove should be from any flammable material (walls, studs, floors, etc.), and the stove shields you should use. It should also show which pipe to use, the distance from flammable materials, anchoring devices, and the pipe shields needed. But you still have to abide by the local fire codes.

Some people use ceramic tiles over Backer board between the stove and the wall, and leave an air space between the board and the wall. The stove I had installed at my house (Jotul 500-F) has a back and floor shield that allows for installing close to walls. Even so I left a distance of 12" between the shield and the back wall. It sits on a floor hearth that extends 18" all around the stove. The hearth is made of a 3/4" plywood plank, with 1/2" backer board on top, plus 1/4" thick ceramic tiles (maybe clay tiles since their backs are the color of brick?). Anyway, since the stove has its own shield at the back, and this shield has an 8" air space, I didn't need another shield (board) in front of the back wall.

By the way, if you install a board to shield the wall from the stove, it should also have a gap at the bottom in addition to all the other sides to allow for air circulation. Also, you can always stop-by a shop where wood stoves and stove boards are sold, and figure what kinds of materials are used for the boards (wall and stove boards). These boards are advertised all over the internet (pictures are shown). But the link below will give you some ideas about installing them:
http://www.ehow.com/how_7920712_inst...ove-board.html

And this one shows what materials to use:
http://www.ehow.com/way_5933097_kind...ood-stove.html