We have an odd shaped living room and the way we have it arranged our couch is sitting in front of the woodstove. It has not been a problem since it has been warm out and we have not been using the stove, but now that fall weather is here we are getting to the point that we are going to have to use it. Our couch sits about 2 feet in front of the stove with the back of the couch facing the stove, its enough room for a person to walk between the couch and stove without touching the stove. I need to know if we can attach a piece of cement board that has ceramic tile on it to the back of our couch to make it safe from getting too hot and causing a fire. Thanks.
To answer your question, yes, it would be okay to install a cement particle board to the back of your sofa, to provide a barrier between the stove and the sofa. If you choose to go with this option, purchase the ones with higher fire resistance and install the wall backing from the bottom of the couch, to a height high enough to protect people's heads. But. if there is enough space, it would be better to move the couch further from the stove instead. In fact, if you can move some stuff around, it would be much better to shape your furniture like a U, with the open end facing the stove. Just as you would fix it around a fireplace. Because it isn't just the couch you need to protect, it is also the people sitting on it. Flying embers could scorch hair and clothing as well. And if you have small kids, regardless of what you tell them, they will once in a while forget and will pass through the space between the stove and the couch. With a U-shape, there is a better chance that they will pass between furniture, as opposed to between furniture and stove.
