Need help: Unemployed, but have a kent tile stove. Now what?

[EatenByLimestone]

My first year I used pallets to get me though the winter. I found a hot tub/pool dealer had lots of large, oak pallets for free. Use a sawzall to cut them up. I was stupid and used my chainsaw and ruined a few chains.

Matt

 

[rowerwet]

check craigslist, you may get lucky on stuff you need to install the stove

 

[gldntrout]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful comments, tips and suggestions! It is amazing how much clearer this is to me now, and I feel like I have a solid plan in place. I'm going to start acquiring materials and stacking wood. Hopefully I'll have some updates for you all pretty soon, and I'll keep you up to date on the progress.

Thanks for the info on the windows @akbear @eclecticcottage . I'll start digging into this info and maybe add it to the project list once the stove is set.

 

[gldntrout]

Okay... you're resolved to do this. Our fireplace situations are very similar, so I can offer some advice here. I have a flagstone chimney topper, like yours, and I was able to keep it. However, since the liner sticks up a bit taller than the chimney stack (gotta fit the crown collar onto the liner at the top), and my installer wanted to see a certain minimum gap between the top of the liner and the bottom of the flagstone, we ended up raising the flagstone by one extra course of brick

I suspect that I'm going to have to having to raise the chimney topper as well. There's not much clearance, and having it off will make feeding the insulated liner that much easier. Any advantage (besides aesthetics) to putting it back on? It's stone so it will involve cement, mortar etc and it's quickly becoming a bad season for setting stone. I'm thinking if I have to pull it off, I'll let the pieces sit someplace dry so it doesn't get mildew and nasty and replace it in the spring.

Also, I've got that tree that has grown quite a bit since the fireplace was last used. Any thoughts on how much clearance I'll need to cut it back? That picture is a bit deceiving, the tree has branches that are probably within 4 ft of the chimney. I was going to cut it back some any how, but how far should I go?

 

[begreen]

That looks like a short chimney. Leave to the cap off until you are certain the chimney will provide adequate draft for the stove.

 

[gldntrout]

That looks like a short chimney. Leave to the cap off until you are certain the chimney will provide adequate draft for the stove.

I took a rough measurement today, and it is about 15' from the top of the fireplace to the top of the chimney.

@blades - I'll get a full set of measurements tomorrow and post them.

 

[begreen]

If 15' that should work ok for the Kent. It's taller than it looks in the picture.

 

[blades]

Windows, when I did my research a number of years ago one thing I looked at was expansion contraction of the various materials, Vinyl was only slightly better than alum ( alum is bad due to thermal transport) with fiberglass being the closest to wood frame. Now I did not replace the whole window frame and all just the sashes as the frames were good. Only time you need the whole shebang is if there are rot issues with the frames. I used wood replacement sashes with low e double glass panes, gas in between for however long it stays there. Point is they are diy systems and can be done as funds permit. I have done 2 homes this way with excellant results on both. I have friends that did the vinyl thing for big bucks, are now having a lot of leakage issues. One other thing on windows is to insulate next to the frames any gaps between the frame and wall. Pull a piece of the face molding off (carefully) and you will see what I am talking about, more cold leaks there than through the window units themselves. ( something else not generally talked about, applies to exterior doors as well and certainly not by window sales persons) REPLACEMENT WINDOW SALES = USED CAR DEALER SALES, NIETHER TO BE TRUSTED FOR THE TRUTH either way both are about I/2 step below a politician.

 

[ddahlgren]

3M interior window film buy the 3M brand specifically, and some electrical out let gaskets would do a lot for very little money to tighten the house up. A lot can be done with the hot water costs as well. I only have hot water for 1 hour a day for a shower and the dishwasher. That saved a ton of money though I have a cold start boiler that gets to temperature in under 5 minutes.

 

[Ashful]

Pulling the top to install the liner is the way to go, and like you, I left my topper removed until the following spring, when I did my year-end cleaning. After that, I raised the pillars and re-installed it.

The only trouble is that you want that flue caged, to keep birds and squirrels out (I did get a squirrel into one of my stoves... cost me $600 in refractory components), so you're going to need to spend a few dollars for a cap, which you'll be modifying or tossing when you do get around to putting the flagstone back up.

I'm a stickler for old houses. Every effort should be made to keep them as the builder intended them, where practical or possible. While your house is not old by our local norm, it's a very cool custom house, and not exactly new!

 

[eclecticcottage]

Thanks for the info on the windows @akbear @eclecticcottage . I'll start digging into this info and maybe add it to the project list once the stove is set.

No problem. My house isn't really very old, but it's got it's own uniqueness, being one of the remaining summer cottages (even though it is our full time home). I have been on and off Old house Web for years, and when the forums there started getting really spammy some members created Wavyglass. I started the process of fixing our remaining original windows here last year-luckily ours are protected by aluminum storms so I can take my time!

 

[Ashful]

I started the process of fixing our remaining original windows here last year-luckily ours are protected by aluminum storms so I can take my time!

You may remember some of my rebuild stories posted at wavyglass... and that the previous owner's improperly-caulked aluminum triple-track storms are actually the cause of some of the damage I'm now repairing. It's hard to describe the frustration I feel when I look at these 240 year old window sills, kept in perfect shape for more than 200 years, and then destroyed in less than 30 years by the inexperience of some stupid storm window installer.

I really expected a few to jump on the wood supply issue, so I'll get on it now. Heating your house with wood cut this year may be very difficult. Wood above 20% moisture content will cause difficulties in getting your secondary combustion system to function properly, thus causing creosote issues, and you will waste many BTU's boiling water out of any wood much above 20% moisture content. Not all is lost, as there are some species that can be cut standing dead, in which you may find wood in the top half of the tree already at 20% moisture content. Any wood lower in the tree (even standing dead), as well as anything lying directly on the ground, will not likely be ready to burn this year.

Your best weapon in your search for dry wood, is an electronic moisture meter. Many of us use a General, which can be purchase for $30 at Lowes.

 

[EatenByLimestone]

I kinda avoided that issue as not many can id the different types of trees by buds. Bark is too tough IMO since bark changes so much over the life of a tree.

I would think that splitting the splits real small would help them dry out more than paying attention to species at this point. Now, if you can id an ash tree by bud and tree shape get-er-done.

Matt

 

[EatenByLimestone]

It's real easy to be over excited with the caulk gun. When you take into account that water runs downhill it's not to hard to figure out what parts to caulk and which ones not to.

 

[Ashful]

It's real easy to be over excited with the caulk gun. When you take into account that water runs downhill it's not to hard to figure out what parts to caulk and which ones not to.

I take things a step further. Silicone caulk did not exist when this house was built in 1773, and the house has held up pretty well, despite a lack thereof. It has no place here.

 

[begreen]

In-house toilets didn't exist then either, just saying. There is no problem applying modern tech to an old house to keep it going another 100 years. Caulking materials have improved immensely. You can be sure if they were around in 1773 Ben Franklin would have been using them.

 

[blades]

Actually some were, Oakum for one, Dung mixed with straw for another, Pitch from trees or other plants, Wax from bee hives/ colonies, Cocoons, Animal hair, ect. most are still in use in various regions of the world. There is a lot of stuff that hasn't been totally replaced by alternative materials. In some cases the original still exceeds the replacement.

 

[Ashful]

There is a lot of stuff that hasn't been totally replaced by alternative materials. In some cases the original still exceeds the replacement.

Exactly. In my case, proper soldered copper flashing will never be replaced by adhesive rubber flashing and silicone caulk.

 

[Machria]

That is a BEAUTIFUL stone house exterior.... !!

 

[ddahlgren]

That is a BEAUTIFUL stone house exterior.... !!

My thought is it is going to suck a lot of btus being all stone, not much R value there...

 

[Dave A.]

Stone houses built in the 20's (at least around here) usually have framing and plaster on the interior side of the exterior walls. Not necessarily originally insulated, but at least there's an air space between the cold stone and the interior or the place to add insulation, usually blown in through holes bored with a hole saw in the plaster for each stud bay often hidden under the base molding.

 

[Ashful]

Stone houses built in the 20's (at least around here) usually have framing and plaster on the interior side of the exterior walls. Not necessarily originally insulated, but at least there's an air space between the cold stone and the interior or the place to add insulation, usually blown in through holes bored with a hole saw in the plaster for each stud bay often hidden under the base molding.

I've been told there have been fires caused by blowing insulation into houses with (possibly unknown) knob and tube wiring. Now, one might think it's impossible to have live knob and tube in a wall, and not know about it... but I just found some cloth wiring on a very old toggle light switch in my house. I'll be pulling it apart tomorrow, hoping it's less antique than it initially appears.

 

[dafattkidd]

So here's the short story:

My girlfriend and I were both laid-off recently, within a few months of each other. To save money, I rented my house out, and moved into her's (for love if she asks, but really because mine was more marketable). We now live in her 1920's stone ranch house. 1 story - aprox 1500 sqft, with a semi-finished basement. Heating bills (Natural Gas radiator) in winter are in the $300+/mo range (old house/crap insulation), so obviously looking to find an alternative

My house (the one that I rented out) had an old wood stove in the basement that I had cleaned the holy bat-snot out of, but had, literally, never used.

So, I went and pulled the wood stove out, and now it's sitting on my porch. After lurking on this site, I now know it's a Kent Tile Wood Stove, circa 1985.

Currently, our fireplace has a vented NG log-set in it. I'd like to take the log-set out and replace it with the Kent wood-stove. I've got plenty of clearance on all sides, and the original chimney is the only decent place to run a wood-stove in this house.

I'm thinking that I need to have a plumber come and pull that out and secure the NG lines, then I'll put the Kent in the fireplace. Install double-lined chimney pipe to the top of the existing chimney (cap etc), and probably a blower (suggestions appreciated).

What am I missing, and what should I be looking for? Sadly, budget is a huge issue for us, so I'm stuck with the Kent Tile (even though I know an insert would be better). I'm ok with making an investment to make it safe and warm, but I can't afford to waste money.




View attachment 116289 View attachment 116290 View attachment 116291 View attachment 116288

Welcome to the forum. Your girlfriend's house is really cool. PA has some interesting houses. Good news is that old stove you cleaned up is a great unit! It might be helpful to directly reach out to precaud, a forum member who has a Kent tile stove. So sorry to hear that you lost your job. My insert saved us from losing our house when I was unemployed a few years ago. We have oil heat which is like $800-$850/month in winter. That happened to be the coldest winter in years, so we were super grateful for wood heat.

Sounds like you've gotten some great advice already. I will add a bit that I hope is helpful to you. My first year burning I had less than optimal wood. So I mixed in a lot of construction debris to offset the moisture in the firebox. When you do get your wood it will be helpful to split it pretty small, as larger chunks of mediocre wood are more problematic than smaller splits. Also, I scored some great free wood on Craig's list. Check Craig's list free section regularly. I've scored a ton of seasoned hardwood on Craig's list.

A quick note on the unemployment: Sounds like you're a very mechanical person, and a hard worker. Something tells me you won't be unemployed for long. Loosing my old job was the best thing to happen to my profession career. God bless you, dude. I wish the best for you and your girlfriend.

 

[Dave A.]

I've been told there have been fires caused by blowing insulation into houses with (possibly unknown) knob and tube wiring. Now, one might think it's impossible to have live knob and tube in a wall, and not know about it... but I just found some cloth wiring on a very old toggle light switch in my house. I'll be pulling it apart tomorrow, hoping it's less antique than it initially appears.

Good point.

I think that's pretty commonly known now -- you don't insulate walls with knob and tube wiring in them, that type wiring requires an air space and you need to be careful about it.

Am pretty sure that by the mid 1920's romex (non-metalic NM) type wiring was being used in a lot of housing, though knob and tube continued well into the 1930's -- particularly in lower priced construction.

 

[ddahlgren]

My house not that old by some standards built in 1874 and the wiring I pulled out all BX with very fragile cotton cover over the wires. I wonder if the knob and tube was used in new construction and BX in a retrofit to avoid pulling the plaster and lathe off the wall to install it?