Hi Terry,

I'm putting stone on the floor done, and it looks good and up the
wall behind and on the left of my wood burning stove. The floor is
done, and in a week or so I'll move on to the wall. My question is
whether I need to leave a small space between the stone and the
sheetrock or to let the stone touch the wall. I had originally planned
to leave "ducts" behind the stone for convective circulation.

I think it depends on the clearance ratings of your woodstove. If you have
the rated distance between the woodstove and the stone wall, you can do it
however you want, it's just decorative. If the stone encroaches into the
rated clearance space, I believe code requires the gap behind the
stonework. I would assume this is due to conduction, heat traveling through
the stone to the combustible wall behind. The gap acts as a thermal break.

Personally, I always thought the gap would collect bugs, dust, spider webs,
and other debris that would combust easily. It seems counterintuitive to
me, but I guess the "experts" test these kinds of things for fire safety.

I wouldn't use sheetrock behind the stonework though. It would be better to
install something like durock or hardibacker that is made for tile work.
Mortar could soften the paper on the drywall and allow it all to separate
(cracks, crumbling, etc.).

Anthony Watson
www.mountainsoftware.com
www.watsondiy.com