Prep for pouring hearth slab

[ML38]

Quick question.....Is it really necessary to grind or cut the blocks going across the opening of the stand to make them level due to the angle iron if the hearth is covering all of the blocks with 3 1/2 to 4 inches of concrete? Seems like a lot of work for no real purpose. My stand will have some sort of stone veneer to cover any imperfections caused by not grinding the blocks. Am I missing something?

Thanks
Marc

[jonv]

I didn't bother - I ground the sides of the blocks to fit the angle iron but left the step. Can't see any reason why this is a problem.

[david s]

Normally the concrete blocks are laid with mortar and this takes care of any inconsistency in height. Dry stacking them is far easier if you don't have the block laying skills. The angle iron can be omitted if you use bond beam or lintel blocks which are filled with rebar and concrete. If you are casting a concrete slab on top, you won't need to worry about those blocks being a few millimetres higher.

[ML38]

Thanks. I figured that would be the response. just wanted to make sure before moving on. I'll post some pics at some point when it starts to get interesting.

Marc