I finally put grout in the tiled piece of plywood in front of the wood stove.
One of the first things I did for the house in Casco was to bring up all the extra tile from our bathroom renovation in Newton to tile a 2 x 4 foot piece of plywood so we would have a fireproof floor two feet in front of the stove. The stove opens on the side, and there’s plenty of brick on the floor on that side, so I’ve been able to use it without worrying about sparks getting on the carpet. But the stove also has a door in the front. We’ve kept that closed when we use the stove (which has only been three times, anyway) because it’s too close to the carpet. That’s where the tiled plywood is going to replace the carpet. But without grout, sparks from the stove could fall in the cracks between the tiles and ignite the plywood. So we still couldn’t use the front door of the stove, until today. Of course, now it’s getting to be spring so it’s less of an issue. But we’ll be ready in the fall.