Slate hearths For Wood Burning Stoves Tips & Tricks
[caption id="attachment_3295" align="alignnone" width="350" caption="Slate Hearths for Wood Burning Stoves"]
[/caption] Slate is a lovely material and has been used in the fireplace industry for centuries. Traditionally Welsh stone was used in the entire UK fireplace market, however nowadays there are many alternative sources. At Creative Fireplaces, we import slate form Germany (dark green background colour), India (dark grey), China (cheap and cheerful), Finland (strong and tight grain) and of course locally quarried Welsh Slate.
Types of Slate:
Essentially there are two main classifications or categories of slate (a) Honed slate has a uniform matt background colour and is a strong dark matt material [caption id="attachment_3300" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Honed Slate"]
[/caption]
(b) Riven Slate has the same background colour, but has gentle indentations through the material. Riven Slate is often perceived to be more traditional than honed slate and is definitely more rustic [caption id="attachment_3301" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Riven Slate"]
[/caption]
Slate for solid fuel hearths
* Slate is a strong material (unlike marble alternatives), this means it is strong enough to withstand the heat from a solid fuel fire. However, slate needs to be cut and rejoined to allow the heat to disperse. The back of the hearth also needs to be filled with cement to increase the density of the hearth and reduce the risk of the hearth cracking during the heating process (a process known as slabbing)
* At Creative Fireplaces we have been manufacturing made to measure slate hearths in our Nottinghamshire factory for over 22 years now and our stone masons are extremely skilled at making such products. It is often interesting to see customers reactions during factory visits when they see slabbed hearths being manufactured, as we often take the skill set we have for granted. [caption id="attachment_3306" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Riven Slate Hearth"]
[/caption]