Plastering around wood burner- clearance ok for gypsum?

[ademor]

Hi,

I have read some of the past threads- very useful thanks- but am unsure whether my clearance may be ok to use standard plaster around.

Wood burner is 5kw will sit in the fireplace with bare bricks behind and to the sides. PIicture

Untitled

• ademor
• 2 Jun 2015
• 1

attached

Want to plaster the rest of the chimney breast and clearance is 330mm about and the same to the sides. Any thoughts on whether this would be ok for hardwall/ multi? If not would just sand/cement be fine or does it need lime too?

Thanks

 

[rustyh]

I'm no expert, but you can get heat resistant plaster, not cheap, but designed for this situation.
I have a similar opening with equal power output from my log burning, I used cement boards, I tiled most of my opening but did plasterer a small bit above the fire and can tel you its cracking!! So I wouldn't use normal plaster

 

[WalksWithTurkeys]

I opened out the builders opening for a wood burner, and the installers tidied up the plaster around the opening. The plasterer put a piece of beading around the edge, the plastered to the beading. I painted over the plastered walls and the beading with Dulux acrylic paint. In four years I've had no cracks. The installers said gypsum is usually okay, but sometimes you get micro cracks. My opening is smaller than the one in the OP, with less clearance. It might be that the metal beading helps transfer heat away, avoiding too high a temperature. I was quoted £200 by another installer to put fire board around the opening, on the wall (not inside the opening) but chose not to.,

 

[MICH43L]

My mate has a similar setup, he has probably more clearance than that, standard plaster has started to develop small cracks.