hearth support for stove

[Nonnajojo]

Hello, I live in a 73 year old home with a fireplace in the center of a large Great Room. I have been looking at several stoves to install in my Great Room: the Lopi 1760i, the Hearthstone Hearthmount and the Woodstock Soapstone Keystone. I previously had a Jotul 404 cookstove in another home. The Jotul is over 45 years old and a polluting nightmare. I want the cooktop feature but have encountered differing views in terms of installation.
One fireplace installer says I need to reinforce the floors if I extend the brick heart from 17 to 29 inches as per safety specifications in addition the fireplace would need to be at the foundation of the house , which it is ; another installer says that even with the Hearthstone Hearthmount, no reinforcement is needed. I don't have the expertise that some respondents have as seen in the comments above. I would appreciate feedback on installing a stove in home with a well functioning fireplace, extending the hearth, which is needed to have any stove outside the fireplace with a heat shield covering the fireplace opening and what adaptations are needed for this to work safely. Also is a building permit necessary for installing a wood stove? Thank you.

 

[begreen]

Moved to new thread. The old one was 6 yrs old.

The Homestead has high hearth insulation requirements, especially if it has short legs. Will this stove have the regular or short legs? Is the Hearth raised or flush with the floor?

Note that soapstone is not the best for direct cooking on. The stones stain easily.

 

[tgumby4]

If cooking is a major concern you might look into the Woodstock progress hybrid with its cast iron griddle feature. As noted above soap is probably not the best surface to cook on regularly.