Safety Considerations for the Wall Behind Your Wood Stove
Heat-Resistant Materials: Choose non-combustible materials like stone, tile, brick, or metal for the wall. These options withstand high temperatures and provide a safe, durable barrier.
You might consider just putting a simple piece of stainless steel behind it. I've never had any safety issues with just painted drywall behind the range, but it can get stained with grease or be difficult to wipe down if the wall has a bit of texture or what's on there is really stuck.
Standard drywall is fine.
Ceramic or porcelain tiles for a backsplash behind the stove provides a durable, heat-resistant surface that combats inevitable oil splatters and sauce splashes, while offering tons of room for a creative kitchen wall décor.
If no wall protection is used, the common radiant-type stove or heater must be spaced out at least 36 inches from the wall. This distance may be reduced considerably if asbestos millboard and/or 28 gage sheet metal is used for wall protection.
The industry's solution for heat shields
PermaBASE cement boards are the industry-preferred choice. Installation-ready and easy-to-use, PermaBASE® cement boards eliminate the need for field fabrication, saving time while allowing for enhanced performance and wood-burning stove placement closer to the wall.
If your walls are combustible, you can install a shield on a wall to reduce the stove's clearance area. Like the floor pad, the shield should be made of a noncombustible material, such as sheet metal.
By far the most effective heat shields are the air-cooled type. These shields are constructed with a sheet of 24 gauge or thicker sheet metal, or 1/2" or thicker cement board, with 1" of air space behind the shield and around the perimeter to allow free airflow.
A tile backsplash behind the stove serves as a focal point, adding style and character to your kitchen. It's also practical, protecting the wall from heat, splatters, and spills, and it's easier to clean compared to other wall surfaces.
The heat-resistant backsplashes consist of concrete, ceramics, porcelain tiles, metals, glass, natural stone, and engineered quartz backsplashes. Backsplashes made from any of these materials can be installed behind the stove.
Backsplash for slide-in stove / range
When replacing an older, freestanding range with a slide-in, consider a decorative stainless steel backsplash with a textured surface. For its reduced reflectivity and less industrial look, the linen finish was selected from www.commercemetals.com and the left/right edges hemmed.
Apply sealant to your tiles and grout.
To create a barrier between your backsplash and the food in your kitchen, apply a sealant to both the tile and grout. Sealant is water resistant and will protect even porous tile from damage. You can even periodically reseal your backsplash if necessary.
A trendier and more seamless option, slab backsplashes, such as those made from quartz or granite, range from $40 to $100 per square foot. They offer a high-end, continuous look with minimal maintenance.
Mat-faced gypsum cover boards are increasingly used as a cement board alternative because they are lighter and easier to install. There are also performance enhancing benefits that mat-faced gypsum cover boards have over traditional cement alternatives.
A simpler, more elegant solution is to use a cast iron fireback as a heat shield for the wood stove. Not only does this protect the wall, but the cast iron's slow heat conduction and radiation improve the stove's heat efficiency. The effectiveness increases with the thickness of the fireback.
Some high-end rigid heat shields are made out of either aluminum, gold or composite, with most examples including a ceramic coating to provide a thermal barrier, which improves heat insulation. The flexible heat shield are normally made from thin aluminum or gold sheeting, most commonly sold either flat or in a roll.
Thus, thermoplastic is not a functional backsplash option for the area behind the stove. The best choices here would be ceramic, porcelain, glass, and metal tiles, as they are nonporous, and resistant to stains, fading, heat, and moisture.
Hot air must circulate around the pans in the oven for even heat to reach all parts of the oven. This results in better baking. For best results, allow 1-1/2 to 2 inches (4-5 cm.) of space around each pan and between pans and oven walls.
You need a backsplash behind the stove to protect from grease and cooking splatter that could damage the surface behind the stove. The backsplash should be made of durable, nonabsorbent, and easy to clean material that will not discolor easily.
Only solid masonry or corrugated steel walls are considered non-combustible. Merely covering a wood studded wall with a non- combustible material does not constitute a non-combustible wall.
Here at Direct Stoves, we favour the use of vitreous enamel heat shields. This is because vitreous enamel is non-combustible, heat resistant up to 650ºC and is an excellent conductor of heat.
Fire boards. Fireboards are used for new constructions or for the installation of cassette stoves where there is no existing chimney breast. Certain fire resistant boards are made for construction where proper insulation is required(as dry lining), whereas others are utilised in order to store and redistribute the heat ...