I would like to built my own raised hearth pad but need help!

Question

With the cost of heating oil well over $4/ gal I decided to purchase a Harman pellet stove, which will be delivered in about 2 weeks and want to built a standard 48" x 48" hearth raised about 3-6". My plan is to frame it out with 2x4's and then put plywood on top of the 2x4's but what do i do about laying the tile.Obviouslyy, it won't stick it the plywood. I plan on buying some ceramic tiles at Home Depot or somewhere.

Please tell me what you think I should do or if u have an entire new plan, let me know!

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Answer 1

Instead of using plywood, use 1/2" hardi board (sometimes called wonder board).  You can apply your mortar bed directly on it.