What goes under the whole appliance, not only in front of it

Floor plates, compared on load, size and build-up

A floor plate carries the appliance. Where a spark plate catches embers, this one takes weight, heat and the occasional dragged log, and the figures that decide are different. The dimensions must exceed the stove on every side by what the maker requires, which on many appliances is more at the back than at the front. The material and thickness then decide what the plate does to the floor beneath: steel spreads load and conducts heat away, glass spreads load and conducts very little, stone and ceramic do both and weigh enough to matter on a timber floor. The stated load is published by the plate makers who take the question seriously, and it is worth reading against the appliance: a soapstone stove of 200 kg on four small feet is a point load, not a distributed one. Then the floor build-up the plate is intended for. A plate laid on carpet, a plate laid on a floating laminate and a plate laid on screed are three different situations, and the one that catches people out is the floating floor — it moves, and a rigid plate screwed through it stops it moving. We compare dimensions, shape, thickness, material, weight, temperature, edge and stated function.

These parts, set out figure by figure

1. 

   KOTARBAU Galvanised Steel Floor Plate, 40 × 60 cm

   A one-millimetre galvanised sheet with its weight and thickness published — and a temperature figure that describes the zinc, not the steel.

   Dimensions

   Width 400 mm, length 620 mm — the title gives 40 × 60 cm · None — the maker states it fits most fireplaces

   Shape

   The maker does not state it.

   Thickness

   1 mm

   Material

   Galvanised steel · Silver · The zinc coating is stated to protect for many years and to need no maintenance

   Weight

   0.92 kg

   Temperature

   Stated to withstand up to 200 °C — the lowest figure in this family

   Edge

   The maker does not state it.

   Stated function

   The maker does not state it.

   Amazon reference

   B0CKTK2FV2 (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   5904994071198

   • Publishes thickness, both dimensions and weight, which most of this shelf does not
   • Galvanised rather than painted, so the surface does not chip where ash is swept off it
   • Two hundred degrees is the lowest stated figure on this shelf, and it is the coating’s limit rather than the steel’s

   Best for: A small stove where the required plate size has already been established from the appliance’s own manual

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2. 

   Bauster Galvanised Ash Plate, 60 × 40 cm

   A galvanised sheet of the common small size, sold on five claims and one dimension — heat-resistant with no figure attached.

   Dimensions

   60 × 40 cm

   Shape

   The maker does not state it.

   Thickness

   Not published

   Material

   High-quality robust steel sheet, galvanised per the title · Smooth, stated to wipe clean

   Weight

   Not published

   Temperature

   Not published — heat-resistant is stated without a figure

   Edge

   The maker does not state it.

   Stated function

   Protection against flying sparks, ash and combustion residues · Fireplaces, stoves and ranges of every kind

   Amazon reference

   B0BPYJD119 (one reference across 4 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   5902802147974

   • The common 60 × 40 cm size, shared with one other plate on this shelf
   • Galvanised, so the surface survives being swept and scraped
   • No thickness published, which is what decides whether a thin plate buckles underfoot

   Best for: A small stove on a hard floor, where the plate is catching ash more than anything else

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3. 

   Khongoo Fire-Resistant Stove Mat, 100 × 60 cm

   A flexible three-layer mat — silicone over a glass-fibre core — rated to 1,000 °C, and honest enough to say it is not the decorative option.

   Dimensions

   100 × 60 cm

   Shape

   The maker does not state it.

   Thickness

   1 mm, stated to fit under most European stoves

   Material

   Three layers — two of silicone coating around a reinforced glass-fibre core · None — it is a flexible mat, not a plate

   Weight

   The maker does not state it.

   Temperature

   Stated to resist up to 1,000 °C (1,832 °F) — the highest figure in this family

   Edge

   The maker does not state it.

   Stated function

   Parquet, laminate and carpet · Stated excellent for blocking sparks, but for decorative purposes to choose a thicker, more stylish plate · Five, of which three are the same paragraph repeated

   Amazon reference

   B0FL2MCKHS (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   9313448830001

   • The only flexible mat on this shelf, so it can go under a stove already standing in place
   • One millimetre, which means a stove does not have to be lifted far or sit noticeably higher
   • Three of its five published features are the identical paragraph repeated

   Best for: A stove already installed, where a rigid plate cannot be slid underneath and carpet is the floor

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4. 

   Anwicar Powder-Coated Steel Floor Plate, 60 × 80 cm

   Black powder-coated steel at one millimetre, in the middle size on this shelf — four published lines, two of them measurements.

   Dimensions

   Length 80 cm, width 60 cm

   Shape

   The maker does not state it.

   Thickness

   0.1 cm — one millimetre

   Material

   Powder-coated steel · Black · Not stated

   Weight

   Not published

   Temperature

   Not published — resistant to high temperatures is stated without a figure

   Edge

   The maker does not state it.

   Stated function

   Keeping the area around the fireplace clean, and resistance to high temperatures

   Amazon reference

   B0CVLK9N4P (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   5906068263829

   • Black rather than galvanised silver, which disappears against a dark hearth
   • Publishes both dimensions and the thickness
   • Powder coating is paint, and paint chips where a shovel is dragged across it

   Best for: A dark hearth where a silver galvanised plate would stand out, at a size between the small sheets and the full arches

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5. 

   Euro Tische Glass Floor Plate, 80 × 80 cm

   Six-millimetre toughened glass with a facet-ground edge, rated to 300 °C — the highest figure published for glass on this shelf.

   Dimensions

   80 × 80 cm · Available in many sizes and in black or clear glass

   Shape

   The maker does not state it.

   Thickness

   The maker does not state it.

   Material

   6 mm ESG toughened safety glass

   Weight

   The maker does not state it.

   Temperature

   Heat-resistant to 300 degrees, stated · Stated to have high impact resistance and load-bearing capacity

   Edge

   Facet-ground, stated to give a smooth transition to the floor · Stated that no dirt collects under the glass either · None stated

   Stated function

   The maker does not state it.

   Amazon reference

   B073NRP9G1 (one reference across 4 Amazon marketplaces)

   EAN

   4260553743571

   • A facet-ground edge, which is what stops a glass plate being a trip edge
   • The highest temperature published for glass in this family
   • Claims that no dirt collects under the glass without a sealing lip, where the other glass plate here supplies one

   Best for: A hearth where the plate should be seen rather than hidden, on a floor already worth looking at

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6. 

   bijon Round-Arch Glass Floor Plate, 100 × 100 cm

   A round-arch glass plate supplied with the silicone sealing lip that actually keeps ash from getting underneath.

   Dimensions

   100 × 100 cm

   Shape

   Round arch (Rundbogen) — curved front, square back

   Thickness

   The maker does not state it.

   Material

   6 mm ESG toughened safety glass

   Weight

   The maker does not state it.

   Temperature

   Heat-resistant up to 280 degrees Celsius, stated

   Edge

   Facet-ground · A matching silicone lip included — adhesive both sides, clear, permanently elastic, following the plate’s curve · Stated that no dirt collects under the glass

   Stated function

   Stated at a few minutes

   Amazon reference

   B081D69J9N (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)

   EAN

   4260399723348

   • The only plate on this shelf supplied with a sealing lip, which is what makes the no-dirt claim true
   • The arch shape puts the glass where embers land — in front of the door — without a square corner behind
   • Two hundred and eighty degrees is the lower of the two glass figures on this shelf

   Best for: A stove standing in a room where the plate is visible from all sides, and ash must not get underneath

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7. 

   FEUER CAMPUS Segmental-Arch Steel Floor Plate, 120 × 100 cm

   The largest and thickest plate on this shelf — two millimetres of powder-coated steel in a segmental arch, published as six plain lines.

   Dimensions

   120 × 100 cm (width × length) — the largest in this family

   Shape

   Segmental arch

   Thickness

   2 mm — the thickest on this shelf

   Material

   Robust steel plate with a black powder coating

   Weight

   Not published

   Temperature

   Stated long-lasting, easy-care and corrosion-resistant · Not published

   Edge

   The maker does not state it.

   Stated function

   Reliable protection against flying sparks, radiant heat and dirt

   Amazon reference

   B0GKQNSCXD (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)

   EAN

   4260279478412

   • Twice the thickness of every other steel plate here, which is what a large unsupported area needs
   • The largest format on this shelf at 120 × 100 cm
   • No temperature figure and no weight, on the heaviest plate in this family

   Best for: A large open-fronted stove or an insert, where the plate has to reach far enough and stay flat underfoot

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