How do I make this safe?

[rudysmallfry]

So I'm in the process of buying a house. It has a wood stove in the basement. The clearance of the top of the single wall pipe is maybe 2" from the ceiling. The inspector said it was safe, but I know that is not the case. Is there a way to make this safe? I'm thinking to just remove the drop ceiling in that area and effectively raising the ceiling height away from the top of the pipe? There is also no access to the clean out below the chimney. The thimble comes out so close to the ground, it's only an inch off the ground. I was thinking of changing that section to at least have a side clean out since there will be no way for me to clean this one myself from the roof. It's a 30" complete with guide wires. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

How far from the drop ceiling to the floor joists above?

 

[rudysmallfry]

Unfortunately the inspector didn't look up there so I don't know. I figure anyway you slice it, I'm looking at a maximum of 16" in any direction between joists. I can always slide the stove a little bit to center it for maximum clearance. I'm hoping there's at least 6" between the tiles and subfloor.

 

[Eman85]

That doesn't look like a tile, it looks like cement board. Is that what they did to protect the ceiling? Is that a masonry chimney with no liner?

 

[rudysmallfry]

That doesn't look like a tile, it looks like cement board. Is that what they did to protect the ceiling? Is that a masonry chimney with no liner?

Class A chimney outside

 

[stoveliker]

Is that double wall or single wall stove pipe?
It looks large for single wall unless it's 8"

 

[stovelark]

Thats a LOPI Liberty stove too, a serious heater. Don't know how anyone thought that was ok to do. At least it is DW pipe. I believe the Liberty has 6" flue outlet... obviously the wall thimble should be lowered if possible, it would look better and be safer. Stay warm.

 

[EbS-P]

That doesn't look like a tile, it looks like cement board. Is that what they did to protect the ceiling? Is that a masonry chimney with no liner?

Good eyes.

 

[stoveliker]

Push one of the tiles up and see how far the joists are behind that.
Most likely you should have 8" from ceiling combustibles (and 6" from wall combustibles).
I do not know if a heat shield and reduced clearance is possible on double wall pipe?

 

[stovelark]

I'm not sure either Stoveliker, I thought DW was 6" clearance unless the appliance MFR deemed DW clearances more. BG?

 

[stoveliker]

6" to walls for sure, but Duravent DVL is 8" to ceilings ("for horizontal runs"), afaik.

 

[brenndatomu]

That's vented doublewall pipe, and if that is cement board above, and if it has air space to any combustible framing, I'd run it, probably need to monitor things for a while, until the setup is proven, but that is certainly far from the sketchiest setup we've ever seen on here!

As for the clean out, I'd just dig out under it, put in a steel window well, then either buy or fabricate a galvanized and painted (color of choice) steel cover for it...keep the rain, leaves, etc from collecting in there.
Been there done that.

 

[begreen]

Is the brick wall behind the stove up against a stud wall or cement block? The Liberty has a 10" rear clearance with double wall stove pipe. If the brick is a veneer on cement block then it's fine, but it looks a bit too close if the brick is on a stud wall.

 

[bigealta]

It does looks like sheet metal or cement board above the stove. Too hard to tell from the pic though.

That room is going to cook. You may want to take some or all of that drop ceiling down to let the heat try to warm up the 1st floor flooring a bit. Depends on the layout of the rest of the basement and the openings to the upstairs.

A few pics of the rest of the basement would help.

 

[rudysmallfry]

It does looks like sheet metal or cement board above the stove. Too hard to tell from the pic though.

That room is going to cook. You may want to take some or all of that drop ceiling down to let the heat try to warm up the 1st floor flooring a bit. Depends on the layout of the rest of the basement and the openings to the upstairs.

A few pics of the rest of the basement would help.

It's an unheated basement that I plan to spend absolutely no time in, so it's free to cook. I'm hoping the heat comes right up the stairs to the main floor. Does removing the drop ceiling tiles create any type of fire code or safety issue? Aren't they ultimately a firewall of sorts?

 

[stoveliker]

Unlikely.
The wooden floor is a fire barrier. (It takes time to burn through).

Moving heat upstairs is much better done by moving warm air than through the floor.
And that is much better done my making a air circuit.
I did it this way, heating my whole home.

Post in thread 'Moving heat from basement'

May 1, 2023

I heat from the basement, and if I include my basement squre footage, I have 2500 sqft.
825 in the basement and 1700 above that. Late 70s. Brand new triple pane windows, fantastic sealing and insulation (R57) in the attic. Mediocre wall insulation.

My basement walls are insulated, but the floor is unfortunately not.

Heating my home above the basement is easy. Only when it gets to be 5 F do I have to push the stove (as in 8 hr reloads), still keeping my main floor around 70 F.

However, I second the comment above that heating from a basement benefits from consistency, i.e. you heat...

• stoveliker

• 

 

[bigealta]

Unlikely.
The wooden floor is a fire barrier. (It takes time to burn through).

Moving heat upstairs is much better done by moving warm air than through the floor.
And that is much better done my making a air circuit.
I did it this way, heating my whole home.

Post in thread 'Moving heat from basement'

May 1, 2023

I heat from the basement, and if I include my basement squre footage, I have 2500 sqft.
825 in the basement and 1700 above that. Late 70s. Brand new triple pane windows, fantastic sealing and insulation (R57) in the attic. Mediocre wall insulation.

My basement walls are insulated, but the floor is unfortunately not.

Heating my home above the basement is easy. Only when it gets to be 5 F do I have to push the stove (as in 8 hr reloads), still keeping my main floor around 70 F.

However, I second the comment above that heating from a basement benefits from consistency, i.e. you heat...

• stoveliker

• 

Agree of course, but i'd do both.
1st work out the air circuit - it's by far the most important to get heat upstairs.
2nd - try to warm the floors even if it's just around the area mostly above the stove. Everyone loves warm, or at least not cold floors.

 

[begreen]

It's an unheated basement that I plan to spend absolutely no time in, so it's free to cook. I'm hoping the heat comes right up the stairs to the main floor. Does removing the drop ceiling tiles create any type of fire code or safety issue? Aren't they ultimately a firewall of sorts?

Hey Rudy, congratulations on the new home. My advice is to live with it for a year. After that you'll have a much better handle on how well things work and whether changes are advisable. You know the riff. Just make sure it's safe and then try it out with good dry firewood. The Liberty will be a world different from running the old Heritage. You may find yourself enjoying the basement a lot more with it burning.

 

[stovelark]

I say the same thing all the time, that I won't spend much time in our lower level family room (raised ranch house) cause the house action is always upstairs near the kitchen. However, I've found throughout the past 30 years, the wood stove warmth always drew me near, that and my ham shack is in the lower level. The hearth always calls us back, it's just magical. Hopefully, our wood stoves will never be taken. Stay warm all.