Photo of where stove will be installed- open for suggestions

[AmyJ]

Hello,

I am going to be installing a woodstove in this corner of my dining room. It will not be for at least another year and a half, but I am planning out what I am going to need to do with the room first so I can have a realistic budget. We will be doing the room modification ourselves, but we won't be installing it ourselves. Could I ask for some suggestions as to how to prepare this corner of the room for a stove?

You can see where the chimney is. How much clearance do I need between the stove and the walls? I don't want the stove to sit right up next to the chimney, I would like it to sit a couple feet out from it and have it turned toward the middle of the room so the room is evenly heated-is that possible? I notice that lots of stoves sit on a fireproof platform with brick or some kind of fireproof material behind it. Will I need to lose the wood cabinet that I have next to the chimney? I do not want to if I don't have to. The wall to the left of the chimney will be removed by us. That will become a larger door into our kitchen in the hopes that we can get some more heat in there from the stove. I think a brick hearth would be nice for the stove to sit on, and we could paint it to match the chimney- or should we not paint the hearth? Any suggestions?

 

[Fsappo]

All stoves have different clearances. Some as close as a few inches to the wall. Early on would be a good time to print out a couple of photos and stop into your local hearth shops for suggestions. You should be able to have a tech from a hearth shop come out and give you a free estimate and evaluation. If you choose this path, make sure the tech is NFI Certified.

 

[begreen]

There are several convective stoves that have good rear and side shielding. This reduces the clearances to combustibles considerably. But the stove will need hearth protection 18" in front of its glass door, so that must be planned for, especially if this is a main traffic area.

 

[certified106]

Amy, what part of Ohio are you from? If you live around me I can recommend a couple of reputable dealers and if not there are plenty of others here that can give you recommendations for other parts of Ohio.

 

[jimbom]

I am a learner burner and discovered owners manuals for most stoves are posted online. So I have been downloading them and reading for the clearance requirements, dimensions, and flue options. Via that process, I got a stove that will be installed this summer. Now I am looking for something that will be perfect for my mother's place.

 

[My Oslo heats my home]

I agree with most of the fellows here. Although I think my first course of action would be sketching out a plan (along with hard copy photos) with all the dining room dimensions and with some other added info such as your homes square footage (to know what size stoves will heat your home) and then visit the dealer(s) to find the options available to you, along with cost estimates. good luck with your project!! BTW, did anyone mention dry wood when the time comes??

 

[Wade A.]

Just a couple of random thoughts Amy....

If you paint the hearth, you've changed a "non-combustible" surface into a "combustible" one. A combustible surface requires a wider clearance, the distance of which will depend on the stove you choose. If it were me, I would not only leave the hearth unpainted, I would also look into having the existing chimney stripped of the paint that is there.

As for the cabinet: If I understand you, the stove will be set out from the chimney, and square to it? (i.e., not turned at a right angle to it). Either way though, that cabinet will qualify as a "combustible" and the manufacturer's clearance will increase. If you turn your stove sideways, that little space behind the stove where the cabinet is will become virtually inaccessible during the heating season. You'll not want to put anything there is heat sensitive or anything you need to get at regularly. If it were me, I'd "86" it.

As for bringing the stove out into the room further, you might want to do it for aesthetic reasons, but I don't predict it will make any big difference in how you feel, or don't feel, the heat. You'd also have to make a longer horizontal run with your connector pipe to get to the chimney. That is not only less than pleasing to they eye, it also can present drafting and issues, even creosote issues.

 

[Wade A.]

There is also this possibility...

Depending on how wide your kitchen door will become once you knock out that thin wall, you might even want to consider putting your stove in that opening, at a right angle to both rooms, to heat both rooms equally. It would require flue access from that side of the chimney, and that is easily done by a skilled mason. Granted, this would not give you an optimum fire view, but it would be the most efficient way to heat two rooms at once. Just a thought.

 

[AmyJ]

Amy, what part of Ohio are you from? If you live around me I can recommend a couple of reputable dealers and if not there are plenty of others here that can give you recommendations for other parts of Ohio.

I am in north-central Ohio between Marion, Marysville and Delaware. I would appreciate some references if you do have them.

Thanks everyone! I really do appreciat the input. I guess the very first step would then be to measure out the dimensions of the rooms and do some sketches.