Raising hearth by 8 mm

[pmx_super]

I'm laying a tiled hearth around my wood burning stove. I want it flush with (or a few mm above) the finished floor surface.

We're putting down engineered wood over underlay, which will raise the finished floor by 17mm from the concrete slab.

Say I use 6mm tiles in the hearth, which with 3mm for adhesive will raise level by 9mm from the concrete slab.

My question... how to raise the hearth by an extra 8mm?

I'm contemplating the following options:

1) 6mm cement board, on a bed of thinset
2) Formwork and pour self-levelling to desired depth
3) Formwork in 8/9/10mm stripwood, so I can screed using a suitable repair mortar (too shallow?)

I have never worked with cement board or self-leveller and my one attempt at screeding was definitely not perfect, so I'm as interested in which option "can't go wrong" for a medium-competent DIY'er as which one is "text book".

 

[DAZB]

Why not just double up the tiles and with a few mm of adhesive and another course of 6mm tiles you are about right.

 

[foxhole]

6mm tile is thin if they can be stepped on, go for 10mm tile on 4-5mm bed .

 

[23vc]

Cement board

 

[cdbe]

Second, or third, for cement board - but, I do wonder whether you could lay a thin screed of tile adhesive, let it set then tile on that - sort of thing I'd do if I had a full bag of adhesive and only a small area to tile.

 

[pmx_super]

Why not just double up the tiles and with a few mm of adhesive and another course of 6mm tiles you are about right.

I couldn't do that. I mean I could... but I couldn't!

 

[pmx_super]

Thanks for the votes. I liked the idea of cement board. Possibly why it was top of my list.

 

[pmx_super]

6mm tile is thin if they can be stepped on, go for 10mm tile on 4-5mm bed .

I hope people won't step on it. Not sensible adults anyway. They're small tiles too, which seems to me would be less likely to crack?

 

[23vc]

make sure the cement board is very well bonded to the floor

 

[Deluks]

You may be in breach of regulations having the hearth flush with the ffs.
I seem to recall that a hearth has to be higher than the floor or have a surround around it, to delineate it from the main floor in the room.
Something about keeping rugs from being laid over it.

Best to make sure before you proceed.