# Timberline Woes?



## dano (Mar 15, 2014)

My wife and I just purchased a home that has a Timberline double door front-loading firebox in the living room.  I believe it is original to the home (built in 1977) or added soon after it was built.  It has a brick hearth with 18" front clearance and 10" side clearances as well as 24" of separation from the rear wall (also fireproofed) where the stove pipe exits to the external stove pipe/chimney.  I believe these to be the original manufacturer specs for installation.  My apologies for any discrepancies in my use of terms; we are first time home owners and still learning the lingo of some of our new toys!  Now the questions...  My insurance agent came by today to check the UL label on the stove (none) and to inform me that the stove had to have a minimum of 18" hearth clearance on all sides.  He was quoting some national guideline (NFPA 211?).  If this is true, why didn't my home inspector flag this as being out of code?  Is it out of code?  Do I have any recourse?  The 97 year young gal previous owner used the stove religiously w/out problem.  Do we need to just tear the unit out?  Help?!?!?  Thank you!


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## begreen (Mar 16, 2014)

I don't know the Timberline's factory spec, but the 10" side clearance sounds like a problem. If the stove has no UL tag on it stating clearances it needs 36" clearance on all sides. The hearth must extend 18" beyond the stove in all directions. If the adjacent walls are covered in full brick masonry, then a 33% reduction in clearances is allowed (24"). If there is a proper, ventilated NFPA 211 wall shield then the clearances can be reduced as low as 66% or 12". This is the maximum clearance reduction allowable unless the manufacturer has tested and published a lower safe clearance for the stove in its documentation.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/wood_stove_clearances_installing_it_safely
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/stove_wall_clear

If this is the case it may be time to lose the Timberline for a modern stove with much better clearances that will safely work on the existing hearth.


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## valley ranch (Mar 18, 2014)

Greetings, 18" from Flammable Surface, isn't that the term? We bought a house couple years back, installed a wood stove, and had it insured, Flammable Surface was the key word. You're saying the side is stone? Maybe you can talk this over with the insurance company or talk to another sales person or then again another insurance company.


Richard


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## bholler (Mar 18, 2014)

we need more info to know if it is out of code but it definatly sounds like it is.  what do you mean by fire proofed?  And what type of wall does the pipe go through?  is it non combustible?


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## bholler (Mar 18, 2014)

And the term is combustible material and just because it has stone on it does not make it non combustible it just reduces the clearance.  The biggest problem many times is the wall pass thru you need I believe 18" of solid masonry around the thimble I may not have that dimension right someone correct me if I am wrong but regardless there are very few old installs going through a combustible wall that were done right.  It can be fixed with a wall pass thru kit sold by many manufacturers.


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