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Will Ceramic Tile hold up under heat behind a stove?
QUESTION
Ceramic Tile Behind a Stove - I want to put ceramic tile behind a wood burner. Will this hold up under a lot of heat?ANSWER
ANSWER - Ceramic tile behind a woodstove works very well as long as it's installed correctly over the right type of substrate. In the production process, ceramic tile is baked in huge ovens at 1200 to 2000 degrees so it can withstand heat. It's important, though, that the tile is attached to a surface that's not affected by heat. It's best to use a concrete substrate like a mortar bed or a cementitious backer unit. Make sure you use a cementitious adhesive such as a thin-set mortar adhesive for bonding the tile to the substrate and not mastic. Good Luck!44 thoughts on “Will Ceramic Tile hold up under heat behind a stove?”
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What if I already have dry wall up and want to put ceramic tile over the drywall? Do I have to take the dry wall down and replace it with cement board? The heat is not coming directly from the wood stove, it’s coming from the stove pipe that leads to the outside. Currently the dry wall gets hot, and I’ve burned wood for the last 6 winters in the wood stove with no issues. I just want to put the ceramic tile up to help reduce some of the heat onto the drywall. Any additional advice…?
You don’t have to take the dry wall down. Just installed 1/4″ thick cement backer board like Hardiebacker board per their directions with screws and thin-set. Then adhered the tile to it. This should meet code, but check your local codes to be sure. Building codes normally would not allow tile directly to dry wall near a fireplace or wood burning stove.
hardiebacker board is not a cement product….it is a fiber product, pretty sure it will burn….
Actually, HardieBacker board is a cement product. Their data sheet refers to it as a Cement Board. It falls into the catagory of a Fiber-Cement Board as described in the TCNA Handbook Backer Board Selectoin Guide and as described in ASTM C1288 Standard Specification for Fiber-Cement Interior Substrate Sheets.
HardieBacker Technical Data Sheet says it is 90% Portland Cement and sand, and 10% cellulose fiber and selected additives. It passes ASTM E136 for being noncombustibility and passes ASTM E84 for Surface-Burning Characteristics in terms of flame spread and smoke development, and per ASTM E119 it is rated for 1 hour Fire-resistance Rate Construction.
I want to put gas stove on ceramic tile ….when cooking the ceramic tile will not blast by temperature of cooking stove ..we do deep fry , long time cooking in prassure cooker… Boiling ….etc..
Ceramic tile is very resistant to heat. I is produces at temperatures well above 1200 degrees F. So as long as the ceramic tile is installed properly over a concrete substrate to allow the heat to dissipate you should be ok.
Can you put ceramic tiles around a insert log burner on a marble hearth .
If I understand you correctly, you want to put ceramic tiles on the floor next to the log burner. You can install a porcelain ceramic tile with a cementitious thinset mortar in this application, which the heat will not affect the tile. Be sure to leave a 1/4″ gap between the tile and the log burner to allow for expansion of the tile.
What considerations should be made if converting a ceramic pot into a fire pit and/or grill?
Can the ceramic pot also then be tiled using a cementive adhesive (as noted above)?
First consideration is whether the ceramic pot is capable of withstanding not only the heat, but whether it can withstand the differential stresses it will be subjected to as it goes through dramatic rapid temperature changes.
Not all clay pots are made equal. You need to determine if the clay body is dense enough and thick enough and stable enough for its intended use.
As far as bonding to the ceramic pot there are polymer modified thin-set mortars that can bond to clean ceramic surfaces. You might need to scarify the surface first.
What are your thoughts on using ceramic tile as the final bottom surface in an outdoor wood fired oven? I would adhere them to a layer of fire brick underneath.
Depends on the type of tile. If you used a throughbody porcelain tile it should be able to withstand temperatures over 1500 degrees F. Not sure that you should or could adhere it to the fire brick as the adhesive likely can’t take the heat. The tile would have to be fully supported by the fire brick. The only way to know for sure is to experiment and see what happens as the tile manufacturer would never recommend it for that use.
Donato Pompo says: “Not sure that you should or could adhere it to the fire brick as the adhesive likely can’t take the heat. ”
There are stove pipe cements that you can use to install the tile which will easily withstand up to 2500º F. I have seen woodstoves decorated with ceramic tile and they used stove pipe cement to do the job. However, know that the first 3 or so firings will put off some fumes, so you might have to crack the windows or fire it up on a couple nice days and open the windows entirely. Look for Rutland™ stove pipe cements for this, it’s a great product, also seals leaks in stove pipes.
Regardless of what you want to use to adhere tiles to any particular substrate make sure that the manufacturer of the product approves of it. The manufacturers have done the testing of their products and they are the ones warranting it. If there is no documentation to back it up then you will be taking a risk that may or may not work out for you.
Hello Donata, Cheminee Philippe 747 cast iron wood burner – can I use hebel blocks as the hearth and tile the hebel. Also, can I use tiles behind the stove? Is it best to use porcelain tiles for the heat? Would appreciate your comments. Have been trying to source a smaller culvert style for the fire but finding an appropriate size difficult to source. Would appreciate your recommendations. Thank you
I am not an expert at wood burning stoves. Whatever you do, you will have to treat it as an experiment to determine whether or not it is appropriate for your situation.
Hebel Blocks are Autclaved Aerated Concrete (ACC) which is a light weight foam concrete. I am not sure how it will before in a wood burning stove. Porcelain tile will bond to a regular concrete block (CMU) with a thin-set mortar adhesive, I read that plaster might not bond well to it so that makes it questionable whether a thin-set mortar will, although a polymer modified thin-set should bond better.
Porcelain tile would be a better product to use around a stove. It is commonly used behind potbelly stoves and around fireplaces. I would not subject it to direct fire if it is bonded to something with a thin-set mortar.
You will have to experiment to see what works and what doesn’t.
Could I do soldering (such as silver soldering for jewelry) atop a ceramic tile without the tile cracking? Heat would be about 3730 degrees F.
Thanks!
There are many different types of ceramic tile with different melting points. Porcelain ceramic tile is the more durable. It is fired in a kiln over 2,000 F but not near 3730 F. So it probably could do damage to the tile, but the only way to know for sure is to experiment.
I want to put a drop in grill in my island. It is a commercial unit. Will ceramic tile be a good choice for the countertop that it will come in contact with it?
Yes ceramic tile is fired at over 1200 degrees F, so it is resistant to heat. If you use a glazed porcelain tile it will be very resistant to staining and be a lot easier to clean. If you use the large module glazed porcelain tiles it will minimize the grout joints that you have and that too makes it easier to keep the countertop clean.
I have an American range stove had problem with linoleum underneath warped, will ceramic tile work
Using ceramic tile under and around stoves is ideal as it is very resistant to heat.
I have to install an oven with an adjacent to a gyproc wall on one side. They recommend 4.5 inches, but i will only have about 2.5, so I am thinking of tiling the wall. It would be easy to rip out the gyproc and maybe replace it with another substrate, maybe even thinner than the 1/2 inch is the tiles do not stick out as much. The old oven had a side opening door, which shielded it, but I can’t find another in white which is what all my other appliances are. mind you an oven door is not continuously open. What do you think.
Gypsum drywall does have fire ratings depending on the type, but they are normally limited to 1 hour ratings.
You could apply 1/4″ cement or fiber backerboard over the drywall and then install a ceramic tile over it. Both are very fire resistant and they also can transfer the heat to dissipate it faster.
You remove the drywall but it is better to have a sheathing on the wall for the cementitious backer board to go over to limit deflection in the wall depending on the spacing of your wall studs.
I have rustic wooden rustic cupboard running down the side of a cooker oven and i want to tile the back of the unit – which would be the best type of adhesive – it makes an L shape so only the tiles visible are those beyond the oven
I would first install a cementitious backer board over the cabinet. You can get the backer board as thin as 1/4″ thick. Then you can use a polymer modified thin-set mortar that meets ANSI A118.4 or ANSI A118.15 to bond the ceramic tile to the backer board. This should help the heat from the cooker oven to dissipate the heat.
I am building a enclosed outdoor Santa Maria style barbecue. With three walls and a roof i plan on using porcelain tile thin set and cement board . I am getting mixed advice some say the porcelain will crack, The thin set will give out what are you thoughts?
The porcelain tile is very hear resistant as it is produced at around 2,000 degrees F. Porcelain tile exterior veneers in direct sunlight will get as high as 160 degrees F. So as long as the tile installation doesn’t get beyond that it will probably work as long as it is installed correctly. In particular, you need to have a structural sound substrate that does not deflect more than L/360. backer board has to be screwed in properly. Transition joints need to be movement joints with an appropriate sealant (caulking).
please Explain backer board has to be screed in properly?
Also are you saying you recommend a calking instead of grout?
If so what type
backer board has to be screwed in properly per manufacturer’s directions.
Transition joints, if there are any, such as outside corners or inside corners are suppose to be a movement joint filled/caulked with a heat resistant ASTM C920 sealant.
Other joints between tiles can be filled with a cementitious grout.
Can I use tile on the wall besides me new gas stove in my kitchen.
Assuming the wall has a cement backer board or other cementitious backing and that you are adhering the ceramic tile with a cementitious thin-set mortar adhesive you should be able to install it behind pot belly stoves.
If this is just a regular gas cooking stove, then you can probably install the tile over the drywall that is there as long as it doesn’t put off too much heat.
Hi, can I use the following ceramic tile for a wood burning stove surround?
Trentie Grey Gloss Metro Ceramic Wall Tile
Brand GoodHome
Breaking strength 630N
Colour Grey
Coverage 0.8m²
Design Metro
Finish Gloss
Location Indoor
Made in Turkey
Material Ceramic
Maximum load (kg) 9.8kg
Pack quantity 40
Product length 200mm
Product thickness 7.5mm
Product weight 0.26kg
Product width 100mm
Range Trentie
Standard EN 14411
Texture Smooth
Tile body coloured Not coloured
Product shape Rectangular
Room use Multi-room
Product code 3663602849070
Most ceramic tiles can be used over a cementitious substrate whether mortar or a cementitious backer board as a surround on the wall behind the stove. Most ceramic tiles are heated in a kiln at over 1200 degrees F.
Hi Donato. Thank you for such great advice that helps so many people. I have two more questions: How far away must the stove’s back be from the tile adhered to cement board? Also I am thinking of putting a metal shelf next to the stove to store wood in, would that be Ok and if so, how far away should it be from stove. Thank you so much!!!
A regular kitchen stove can be within inches of the tile. A wood burning stove should be at least 6 inches away, but the further away the better. But it depends on what type of stove you have, how hot the stove gets, and how hot your shelf will get as you don’t want it to get so hot that someone can burn themselves on it.
What if I have already put my tile on top of some common board and then set my wood stove on top? Do I have to redo the whole thing?
I assume you mean pine wood boards when you say “common board”.
In terms of stability, depending on how it is installed will determine its stability.
In terms of fire resistant obvious it is not. It is best to install a cementitious backer board over the wood and set the stone on tope of that to make it more fire resistant.
We are installing a wood pellet stove, can we make a 3 in hearth of concrete then lay ceramic tile for the stove to sit on. Will there be problems?
As long as the concrete is structurally sound and doesn’t crack then you can install ceramic tile over it and put the wood pellet stove on top of it. The concrete helps dissipate the heat. The heat should not hurt the tile. The metal stove could scratch softer glazes on some ceramic tile. If you use a porcelain tile it should be more resistant to scratching.
Hi! We purchased a massive wood cook stove/oven. Our house has a wooden subfloor (crawlspace). An almost 7ftx7ft pad is needed, and covering half of two walls (it is in a corner). So, we have 1/2″ USG Durock cement board (x2 sheets thick) for the base. The walls will have the cement board, 1″ air gap created using scraps of cement board screwed into the wall, and another panel of cement board. We plan on using a porcelain wood grained tile that is approx 6″x24″ for the base and the walls. I am having a hard time finding heat resistant mortar and grout. Am I just nuking this? Does it matter what I use? I was also reading up about expansion joints due to the heat of the stove. My understanding is where the wall and the floor meets, we should use a high heat caulk instead vs the grout. Is this enough, or should we have another expansion joint running under the stove? I want to make sure we do this the right way. Thanks for your time and insight (:
cementitious thin-set dry set mortar adhesives for setting the tiles are fairly heat resistant. Should be as resistant as the Durock cementitious backer board as long as it isn’t in direct contact with the stove. The tile and the cementitious materials have the capacity to store and transfer heat into other materials and in the air.
The transition joint between the floor and the wall should be filled with a fire rated sealant meeting ASTM C920.
According to EJ171 movement joints (expansion joint is a type of a movement joint) should be placed every 8 to 12 feet in each direction when it is subjected to direct interior lighting or heat. A 7×7 foot space should not need movement joints other than at the transitions.
Wondering if i can lay a porcelain tile on top of my quadrafire wood stove so if my power goes out and I cook on top of it I won’t be scratching the top of my fireplace.
I just don’t want it exploding and don’t know it might.
Any thoughts?
Porcelain tiles are not made for sitting on top of a stove, and not all porcelain tiles are the same. So no telling what will happen. Porcelain tiles are produced in kilns at over 1800 degrees F.