Fireview Install Documentary and Review of Performance

[Tim IA]

Hogwildz - Only 8" is required on the front and left side of the stove. I have 12" in front. It is a side loading unit so more hearth is required on the right side of the stove. The 7100 is a nice unit. I just wanted a free standing stove. I have this disease. It is called the wood burning stove install disease....... Kinda my hobby I guess. I love doing home improvement stuff. Never had training to do this, just watched this old house growing up I guess. Must have sunk in. I don't have any plans on any new stove anytime soon. Maybe when I build my log home in the woods somewhere in the year 2090 That will be my next install.

 

[Tim IA]

Archer39 - no stupid questions here. This stove just required the use of plywood or subfloor covered by atleast 1/2 inch cement board covered by 1/4 inch or greater of stone, brick etc. I used 3/4 OSB (oriented strand board I think is what is stands for), with Durrock next, and then I have about 2" worth of hearth stones and mortar. My 2X6's are spaced only 12" apart. This stove comes with a bottom heat shield and I can tell you it barely gets warm directly under the stove. Not sure about the dead space. In my case, there is combustible material (the OSB) before you would get to the dead space I would think.

 

[wendell]

Man, I thought my hearth turned out nice. Now, I'm feeling kinda shabby. :shut:

Great job!

 

[Todd]

Nice review Tim. I have yet to hear a bad review of this stove here, everything Woodstock says about them is true. I really like the camping out part, priceless memory. Keep in touch here, there are plenty of brand new Woodstock owners this year that can learn from your experiences.

 

[Tim IA]

Nice review Tim. I have yet to hear a bad review of this stove here, everything Woodstock says about them is true. I really like the camping out part, priceless memory. Keep in touch here, there are plenty of brand new Woodstock owners this year that can learn from your experiences.

I agree Todd, there does seem to be an influx of new Fireview users since my time away from this site over the summer. They must be busy at Woodstock. Not to make anyone teary-eyed, but thanks to your posts along with NY soapstone and Backwoods and the others on this site with Fireviews, you guys are the ones that convinced me to buy a fireview myself. You can learn tons from this site just by lurking!! I'm glad I did this post though. Figure it was my time to contribute something. The woodstock family is growing!!

The camping part was fun. Surprising how much heat a house loses when it is -19 out I was loading about every 3 hours or so.

I thought for sure I would ruffle some feathers with the cat vs non-cat comments. Rats!! Just kidding. My cat looks like it made it through the first year with no issues. This stove still produces plenty of secondary combustion at the top of the firebox just like the non-cats too. I think others have commented on that. Pretty lively fire even at the low settings. I was worried about that. Thought there would not be that much to look at flame wise but I was sure wrong.

 

[Wet1]

it looks great.

i know this probably is a stupid question but i am new to this. Does the raised hearth obtained from the 2x6's count as dead air space with regards to the r-rating that some stoves require?

Yes and no. Yes, this would count as dead air space, but the 2x6s he used are combustible, so in this case that would not count. The dead air space cavity walls and everything above it must be noncombustible.

 

[firefighterjake]

Great step-by-step walk through of your project . . . and I loved how it came out.

 

[Archer39]

it looks great.

i know this probably is a stupid question but i am new to this. Does the raised hearth obtained from the 2x6's count as dead air space with regards to the r-rating that some stoves require?

Yes and no. Yes, this would count as dead air space, but the 2x6s he used are combustible, so in this case that would not count. The dead air space cavity walls and everything above it must be noncombustible.

thank you. That is what I thought.

 

[Tim IA]

I kinda skipped the chimney installation part and this might be helpful for some too. I didn't take any pictures of this part though. All along I wanted a straight chimney. No bends of any kind. They are so much easier to clean and the thought of taking pipe apart did not sound appealing to me. Never had to and wanted to keep it that way. Well, the roof truss was right there squarely in the middle of my proposed chimney path. What to do? Could move the stove over a little, but wanted to keep it from intruding into the room as much as possible. I thought about putting a little bend in the chimney to offset it a bit, but didn't want to do that either. I decided to go up and take care of that darn truss in the way!! I had to cut through it at the ceiling level and also at the roof sheathing. The trusses are the 2X4 variety. I figured it is only one truss and tying it into the ones on either side of it should be fine. So that is what I did. I did ask a builder friend of mine too before starting. Started with some temporary bracing and ran 2x6 across the roof trusses to help tie it all together while cutting. Pretty nerve-racking doing this but once I cut through, nothing even moved a bit. Cut the top and tied it into the ones on either side and then cut through the one at the bottom level. Turned out to be simple and am confident there are no structural concerns. Most of the truss is also on the other side of a load bearing wall so the part I cut through is on the short side so to speak. Bottom line is I'm glad I did it the way I did. Just cleaned the chimney last weekend and it took about 30 minutes to get the ladder out, get that cap off and clean it out.

Also something funny yesterday. Heard some rustling around the stove yesterday and didn't think anything of it. Then something caught my eye. There was a bird in the stove flying around. Had to get it out and turn it loose outside. Had visions of chasing it through the house but I think it had been in there for a while and was tired. Funny. Always something new with wood burning!!

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Tim, congratulations on the stove and the install. You did excellent work and thanks so much for documenting it with both words and pictures. Your documentation and review is the best I've seen and I wouldn't mind seeing this thread, or at least part of it as a sticky. There is not much else I could add except to say, thank you.

 

[Flatbedford]

Beautiful job and excellent write up. I'm one of those new fireview owners and I can't wait for some real cold weather. We've gotten a little taste so far, and boy am I happy.

 

[WarmInIowa]

Tim, I'm a little late, but very nice install and write-up. I'm the one you mentioned above - you came to my house a couple years ago to look at my Fireview. I'm glad you came to look at it and liked it. I'm getting ready to order one of WS new large stoves. I do have 3,800 ft2 plus a couple two story rooms and 9' ceilings, so I am heating more like 4,000 - 4,500 ft2 since it is really cubic feet we are heating. Congrats on your stove install. I really like your hearth. Not sure what I'm going to do with mine yet, I may make it larger; it could use a little sprucing-up.

 

[Tim IA]

Tim, I'm a little late, but very nice install and write-up. I'm the one you mentioned above - you came to my house a couple years ago to look at my Fireview. I'm glad you came to look at it and liked it. I'm getting ready to order one of WS new large stoves. I do have 3,800 ft2 plus a couple two story rooms and 9' ceilings, so I am heating more like 4,000 - 4,500 ft2 since it is really cubic feet we are heating. Congrats on your stove install. I really like your hearth. Not sure what I'm going to do with mine yet, I may make it larger; it could use a little sprucing-up.

I appreciated you letting me into your home to see the fireview!! The fireview is working great for me. I think their new stove would work great in your house. Few more btu's to help heat the large volume your beautiful home has. If you need any help just let me know!! If you do get this new stove, can I come see it too? I think a build thread would be in order.

 

[Tim IA]

Seems how this post has been ressurected, maybe I should give an update. Been burning for several years now and not much has changed. Still love it and still easily heats the house through out the winter months. Pretty much fill up my wood shed (2 rows about 6ft tall and 16ft long. That is how much wood I use per season. Still have the original catalyst. Just cleaned it a few days ago. There are a few cracks, but overall still in good shape. I think the new steel cats would be nice to have. Juat cleaned the flue the other day and not much fell out. Did clean out about 12 birds or so. Actually lost count. I have a spark arrester to install to maybe keep them from getting in there. Never want a new stove again..... well, that is how I felt until woodstock went and built that new one......

 

[WarmInIowa]

Tim,
The birds are a free cleaning service for your chimney... I've had this before too; I should check my flue. I fired up the Fireview for the first time this season yesterday, it felt great. I might take you up on the help offer. That stove is going to be a beast to set in place. You will be welcome to come see it - of course you will want want then too. I'll be putting the Fireview up for sale once the new stove is installed, you might be able to use it to heat your garage?

 

[Backwoods Savage]

Tim, I'm a little late, but very nice install and write-up. I'm the one you mentioned above - you came to my house a couple years ago to look at my Fireview. I'm glad you came to look at it and liked it. I'm getting ready to order one of WS new large stoves. I do have 3,800 ft2 plus a couple two story rooms and 9' ceilings, so I am heating more like 4,000 - 4,500 ft2 since it is really cubic feet we are heating. Congrats on your stove install. I really like your hearth. Not sure what I'm going to do with mine yet, I may make it larger; it could use a little sprucing-up.

Please do write a review when you get the new stove. Many here are anxious to know how well it does. From what I saw at Woodstock and from what I hear from their people, this thing should be awesome. In just a couple weeks we'll be able to see the finished product and we are really looking forward to that. I hope to get some pictures and perhaps even more information at the open house. Will post pictures when we return home.