Sleek, modern cabin on a cliff: Why a stovepipe offset?

[wdstack]

This amazing, ambitious project to suspend a modern cabin high above a Quebec lake appears to have left no detail unnoticed and spared no expense, but I noticed in the architecture firm's promotional video that there's a 45-degree offset right before the stovepipe hits the ceiling.

To me it looks like the location of the chimney was an afterthought and the result is this retrofit, which is aesthetically ... fine I guess, but not perfect.

So I'm asking installers and others who know better than me: Is there any benefit to designing and installing it this way? If it were my cabin and clean lines were so important, this kind of apparent oversight would have me miffed.

My one thought is maybe the stove required that clearance to the back wall but they wanted to avoid going taller with the chimney? And offsetting it gets it that much farther from the peak of the roof and let them go with a bit shorter chimney? But that feels like a reach...

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[EbS-P]

The last 20 seconds show what I think is a shot from the model. Looks like there is an offset there… what do you think. My guess is someone cut the hole I. The wrong spot. Or made a change and didn’t think about clearances. Or changed stove and needed more clearance. Odd. I agree.

 

[begreen]

Stove clearance requirements? Concern about it being too close to the glass? Stove choice changed after the chimney was already installed?

 

[moresnow]

Poor planning/forward thinking for optional stove models.... The pipe was installed for a stove that didn't materialize Hence the offset. Not very visually appealing or as handy to me. Just my opinion.

 

[qwee]

It is a nice looking small house. What kind of stove is that? An Ecco stove? I see the telltale small firewood - so a small masonry type heater? Probably a European wood stove? I wonder how this house will perform - i.e. heating wise? Quebec, Canada, so we know winters will be cold. The house is up in the wind zone, and cold wind can get to all 4 sides. Is there any insulation with that laminated lumber?

I'm guessing the window side is the south side. But probably not - it is the facing the lake side. With so much glass those might be triple pane windows? Or maybe a double window setup? If just double paned windows, that place could have the to-much-window effect. So to hot when sunny and to cold when no sun. There is a window to wall ratio but this place is all window on a couple of sides. It is out there - both physically and design wise.

 

[stoveliker]

all *6* sides are exposed to wind...

 

[begreen]

It is a nice looking small house. What kind of stove is that? An Ecco stove? I see the telltale small firewood - so a small masonry type heater? Probably a European wood stove? I wonder how this house will perform - i.e. heating wise? Quebec, Canada, so we know winters will be cold.

Looks like it might be a Hearthstone Bari stove.

 

[SpaceBus]

all *6* sides are exposed to wind...

I suspect it's a three season home. I would live in it year round with the right kind of solid fueled appliance, or two.

 

[bikedennis]

Flat roof? I'd worry about snow load.

 

[Corey]

I don't think you are thinking artistically enough. Why is there a kink in the stovepipe?? ...because they can. Why is there a kink 12 inches from the end of the ceiling rafters? ...because they can. Why does the floor of the place seem more like the hull of a boat? ...because they can.

Anybody could have put a shipping container up on a few concrete blocks, sat the stove on one end and run the pipe straight out the ceiling... but that is called a trailer park. When you throw in some jagged angles, useless space and weird offsets, only then does it become 'architectural design'. ...and I'll bet that is not a "45"... it's probably some custom designed angle to perfectly mesh with the angle of the roof... like 37.24° or something.

It makes more sense when you look at it from these angles...





But seriously, though... what is going on with that floor. We know from the interior shots that the floor is level and the windows end basically at floor level, but then you have a view like this?!? So there must be a weird 2-3 foot trapezoidal / sloped crawlspace / dead area below the floor? ...and don't forget that angle is completely reversed at the other end!

 

[begreen]

But seriously, though... what is going on with that floor. We know from the interior shots that the floor is level and the windows end basically at floor level, but then you have a view like this?!? So there must be a weird 2-3 foot trapezoidal / sloped crawlspace / dead area below the floor? ...and don't forget that angle is completely reversed at the other end!

Torsional twist?
This video shows more of the construction in a computer animation.

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