Wood stove advice?

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I'm considering getting a wood stove. I was wondering if you folks with experience with this sort of thing would recommend getting a professional to install it or is that something someone who's all thumbs like me could do? I'm thinking mainly about the pipe thru the roof. Also, do I need to put down some kind of special something under the stove and behind it on the wall or will just the tile floor and wall be OK?

-- Shooter (jcole@apha.com), November 15, 2000

Answers

Shooter, if you are truly "all thumbs", I'd recommend getting a pro or a trusted friend who has experience and knowledge in this area. It's too dangerous to justify saving a bit of money doing it yourself.

Consider the insurance implications, as well.

As far as stuff under and behind, you'll do well to consult the manufacturer of the stove--they are all different. Some are "zero clearance", and some require as much as three feet behind them, etc. without proper fire protection.

By the way, putting Z bricks, or similar material behind a stove will NOT protect the studwall. If you use something like Zbrick, you need to attach it to a piece of sheetrock spaced out from the wall with small air inlets near the floor and near the top. The reason is that the Zbrick conducts heat so well that the studs can "carbonize". As a former builder, I've seen studs behind stoves where the studs were almost GONE from carbonization.

To make a long story longer, BE CAREFUL! JOJ

-- jumpoffjoe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), November 15, 2000.


I'd look at a zero clearance airtight fireplace with an outside air source.We put in a Biz i think it was,one place we lived,Vermont Castings made one as well. IT looked nice & worked good.We build a masonry surround around it to serve as a heat sink, but it was not needed for safety.Used the stainless steel insulated pipe to go up and thru roof.As joj said follow all safety recommendations.This is No place to take shortcuts.Have someone do the chimney installation and you can probably do the woodstove part yourself as long as you follow all the guidelines.

Noncombustible hearth is required in front of stove for instance-I think it's 18" needed.Go to website at rochfd.org and click on fire prevention to access woodstove safety info.

-- sharon wt (wildflower@ekyol.com), November 15, 2000.


Well, why didn'tcha ask ME?

Most stoves require some sort of heat shields when used over a combustible floor (ie flooring other than a concrete slab or earth or something similarly uncombustible) and either adequate space between the back of the stove and the combustible wall OR heat shields and adequate space. Using the heat shields on the back of the stove will allow you to place the stove a few inces closer to the wall, but you still have to have, in most cases, at least three feet between the sides and front of the stove and any combustible surfaces, like walls, furniture, etc. Most stoves that I researched use single wall pipe from the stove up to the ceiling box, which is a box you fit into the ceiling between the 2x6's (or whatever you have in your ceiling) that the single wall pipe goes into. Out of the top of this box you run triple wall pipe (or at least I used triple wall) up and through the roof, after cutting a hole in the roof about two inches bigger than the outside diameter of the triple wall pipe. You place a specially made piece of flashing around the triple wall and attach it to the roof decking, and then fix the roof shingles around the flashing so it doesn't leak. The triple wall has to extend a certain height above the roof (I forget exactly what it is--it has to do with three feet above the roof if it's within a certain distance of the roof peak--I don't remember what it is but it's in the installation instructions--mine is about four feet high). Then you place a cap over the top of the triple wall to keep embers in and critters and rain out.

I probably went overboard in safety, as I bought both bottom and rear heat shields, then put down one of those mineral boards with saltillo tile over that, and then set the stove with heat shields attached on top of it. I also bought heat shields for the single wall pipe that comes out of the top of the stove, and used triple wall pipe from the ceiling box up thru the roof. The ceiling box is UL listed, and everyone assured me that it wouldn't overheat and catch the 2x6's on fire, but I confess that I still have my doubts about that as I'm a little paranoid about it; however, there were no other options of ceiling boxes and everyone told me it was safe, and the stove mfgr even recommended that particular box.....

The most difficult part for me was getting the damn thing in the house, tipping it back so I could put on the legs and heat sheilds, then setting it on the mineral board/saltillo tile setup. The stove weighed something like 400 lbs. I had a guy I know help me get it into the house and set up, I did the measuring of the stove between the stove back and wall and then measured where the hole would go in the ceiling, cut that hole, nailed in the ceiling box, went up into the attic and measured where the hole would go in the roof, and cut from the inside out (probably not the smartest way to do it, but I didn't want the mistake of a huge gaping hole in the roof in the wrong place!) and then started putting up the stove pipe, from the stove to the ceiling box and then the box up thru the roof. My freind put on the flashing, and we capped it.

I know I'm leaving out a lot of specifics, but that's how we installed my Federal. I have sheetrock walls and vinyl tile over woodframe structure floor, so I definitely had to put down the mineral board and saltillo, even though I used a bottom heat sheild on the bottom of the stove. The hardest part for me was physically moving the thing, and measuring and cutting the holes for the pipe. Other than that, there's not much to it. Of course it would depend on the brand of stove you bought.

-- Hannah Maria Holly (hannahholly@hotmail.com), November 15, 2000.


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