We bought a house, fixing some things up, had a question maybe one of you can answer....

Is there any sort of "code" for fireplace hearth height? I see extending out 16" and on the sides 8" but don't see anything about height.

Be careful here. I repaired and upgraded one on an old home we lived in, in Madison Co in the 90s. Went to change insurance companies a few yrs later and they didn’t care if it was done to code or not, they wanted to see a receipt from a company that did the work. Wasn’t isolated to one insurance co either. In the end I had to cap it so it couldn’t be used in order to insure it.

Go by the building inspectors office and ask them. I'll add this they're not using raised hearths in new construction much anymore. The clean, floor level is what's in now. I guess a rustic home with a stone profile would get a raised hearth.

I don't see many masonry chimneys being built at all any more. Even nicer, newer neighborhoods with 5,000 square foot houses don't get real chimneys at all any more. The few that have them have the fireplace inserts with the triple wall pipe, instead of actual brick chimneys.

Yeah, we keep seeing a lot of the clean floor level look, but was told by someone (that probably knows nothing) that they are ok with gas fireplaces, but with real fireplaces you have to have an elevated hearth. I'll call a building inspector to ask, just figured I'd ask on here.

We aren't doing anything to it yet but just trying to think ahead and not do anything we will have to re-do later.

Hearth has to be a minimum 4" thick. If you raise it 8" you can reduce your extension thickness for non combustible materials to 3/8" instead of 2". We are currently under the 2006 IRC in Madison and that is our specs for masonry fireplaces.

At about $15,000 a pop and up you'll be seeing less and less of them on new construction.

A trim salesman told me the other day the next big thing coming is no trim inside. They have some inserts that go around the windows and doors the sheet rock finishers mud them in. My understanding is they put flooring in before sheet, rock and put the rock down on the floor. It's taking off in the Northeast , high end homes without a stick of trim inside! It's all about fast , cheap and keeping the job rolling. Much of the problem is finding real craftsmen that can do the high end , old school work now days.

What Inspection Department has jurisdiction for your area and I can probably give you a contact number for an inspector?

So national code now is you can't have a real working masonry fireplace with a floor level hearth?

LIke this?

That would be a negative inside the City of Madison. Although where i live (outside the city) you will still see that style from time to time. Most new homes just go with the inserts now. There are thousands of homes that look like this and have never had any issues but it only takes that one to get it in the code book to regulate.

The reason this wouldn't work is because even though the clay veneers are 4" at the base of fire box and the brick is 2" thick in front it would have to extend 20" in front of the opening and a fastened in cage would have to be installed to prevent a log from rolling out on the flat surface. So I guess the answer to your question is yes you can have a floor level hearth but you have more extreme measures you have to take. Most people these days just want to put tile in front but the opening has to be raised 8" to do that.

Ah, I guess I have my lingo wrong. The hearth EXTENSION is what would be floor level...potentially, the actual fireplace is up 4". Maybe I'm way off on all of this, I'll just try to post a picture.
'

Be sure and check to see which version of code your municipality follows. In Tuscaloosa you can have a flush floor hearth extension 60” X 20” but it must have adhere to a specified R factor. There is a product called Micore 300 that carries a very high R factor that can help achieve your goal. You would install it below the non combustible hearth extension.
The mantel height required is 12” above the fireplace opening for masonry fireplaces (in Tuscaloosa). Most municipalities follow manufacturer’s guidelines for pre fabricated fireplaces. Most of those guidelines are more restrictive than masonry fireplaces. Be sure to review the installer’s guide for any pre fab fireplace regarding clearance requirements. They are likely different for each manufacturer.

The intentions of the original flat hearths were so when the floor was swept everything went into the firebox. A hearth that is built right should be complete masonry from the footing up.