A hearth pad is a platform of non-combustible material on which wood, pellet and gas stoves can sit and the floor underneath can be protected from the heat. Hearth pads may also be used for decoration purposes with electric fireplaces.
Hearth pads can be considered as a portable form of hearth and used under stove installations that sit on the floor of a room where not already protected by a suitable hearth, such as it would typically be in existing open fireplaces.
A hearth pad can be bought separate to a stove and placed underneath before it’s installed.
They’re typically square or rectangular in shape and often come with tapered edges. Hearth pads can also be made for corners, but we discuss the different types of hearth pads in more detail later in this article.
As an example, the hearth pad we use for our electric fireplaces is shown below.
It’s a slate design rectangular hearth pad designed for electric fires only, meaning that it doesn’t provide the same heat resistant properties you would need if using with any form of wood, pellet or gas stove that uses a real fire instead of a fake one.