Hearths tend to get short shrift in books and articles
about fireplaces. But the hearth is the base on which
the whole chimney is built. And because it's usually
up to the builder to frame the hearth opening — and
sometimes to pour the hearth as well — it behooves
him to understand the codes governing fireplace
hearths and the techniques used to build them.
Having built fireplaces all over the country, I've
learned that a successful job requires good communication
and coordination between the builder and the
mason. In this article I'll outline what the code says
about fireplace hearths and describe three methods of
building them.
Terminology
A fireplace hearth consists of