Upgrading 1988 Heatilator to 2016 Pacific Energy FP30

[Weaselfest]

Finished piecing together the substructure of my mantel today. 1/2" OSB and 1"x4" pine form the surface for an oak wrap.Hooked up the flush mount electrical outlets, and soldered together the LED extension. Switched outlet inside the hearth controls the LED strip lights. They will eventually be cut to length and oriented facing upward, but you get the idea of the effect from the pictures.

 

[Weaselfest]

Hearthstone delivery! Fit like a glove.

 

[Weaselfest]

28 degrees out this morning, seems like an excuse to do a prolonged burn. In less than 2 hours, it has taken the house from 67 to 71 in the main level and almost uncomfortably warm upstairs. Basement is getting cool.
Getting a ceiling fan in place will be a much needed item before next winter. Saving up for a Haiku.
Time to kick the furnace blower on and see how that helps with heat distribution.

 

[Weaselfest]

2nd load of the day, since the original was all smaller splits. starting to up the log size.
Did I mention that this thing breathes easy? Bed of embers ignited this stack in just a few minutes.
Geothermal turned off, blower turned on. Basement is becoming warmer.

 

[Weaselfest]

feeding it some bigger stuff to end the day. Running the furnace blower has helped even things out throughout the house. Wouldn't say the basement is as toasty as the living room or second floor, but it's not that much cooler than usual, unless the furnace is running.

 

[Weaselfest]

Reloaded this morning, still enough of a coal bed to re-ignite things. I had turned the furnace back to normal operation before going to bed, but it didn't kick in until after 5, so I can see I will need to load up right before calling it a day if I want to completely cover an overnight comfortably. Temps are still in the 20's outside. But I can already tell, this beast will easily cover heating the home, even on the coldest days, which will be a major benefit to our electric bill.

 

[Weaselfest]

and by reports from the wife and oldest son, both with extremely sensitive senses of smell, the burnt paint smell is gone!

 

[mminor]

Your hearth and overall fireplace looks spectacular - nice work!

As far as the Haiku fan - I wanted to purchase one for years but couldn't justify the super-high price. Finally they introduced the L series which made it more affordable. I now own the L Series haiku and love it to death - highly recommended. Please keep the updates rolling!

Congrats!
Matt

 

[Weaselfest]

Thanks, Matt. Boy, if the "L" series only came in other finishes than black or white, I'd be all over it. But we are this far into it, might as well get exactly what we want. It will be there a very long time.
Did you get the in wall controller with your fan?

 

[mminor]

Yeah - I'm with you - the black and white options in the Haiku L series are not their best.

Unfortunately the Lutron Maestro wall switch will not work with the Haiku fans - blah! The Lutron will turn the fan on and off, but will not control the fan speeds. So you're forced to get the Haiku wall control unit or else you can only control the fan / light with their supplied remote control. I'm not in love with their proprietary switch - it looks awful, it's difficult to use, and it's price is out of control. The one thing I do like about the switch is it has a motion sensor so that when we walk into our bedroom the light comes on automatically, but that's it. If the Haiku isn't the main / only light in your room (it is for us) I would highly recommend against their wall control.

Summary:
Haiku ceiling fan = awesome
Haiku wall control = schwag

Matt

 

[Weaselfest]

Yeah - I'm with you - the black and white options in the Haiku L series are not their best.

Unfortunately the Lutron Maestro wall switch will not work with the Haiku fans - blah! The Lutron will turn the fan on and off, but will not control the fan speeds. So you're forced to get the Haiku wall control unit or else you can only control the fan / light with their supplied remote control. I'm not in love with their proprietary switch - it looks awful, it's difficult to use, and it's price is out of control. The one thing I do like about the switch is it has a motion sensor so that when we walk into our bedroom the light comes on automatically, but that's it. If the Haiku isn't the main / only light in your room (it is for us) I would highly recommend against their wall control.

Summary:
Haiku ceiling fan = awesome
Haiku wall control = schwag

Matt

I have an extreme dislike for any un-tethered remote controls for what I consider mechanical devices. I would find it to be a source of constant frustration to have to go looking for the remote control (and hope the batteries are still good) every time I wanted to change fan speeds or direction.
I wholeheartedly agree, the cost is a cash grab and the design sucks. (Took me a couple of hours to finally realize the actual control part is a decora style insert, which makes the actual buttons ridiculously small.) It wouldn't break my heart if all the interactive, "nest" type WiFi interactivity was an option. I have no use for a "smart" home that consumes more time in troubleshooting, debugging, and updating than it is worth.
We didn't care for the appearance or color temperature of their built in light, so we won't be getting one, and the motion sensor thing doesn't really apply itself to a living room application. As you can see from my other pictures, we addressed the lighting issues in the room in spades with all the new track lighting, including the spots over the fireplace. (Which were powered with the fan location's lighting circuit).
(PS, I don't think Lutron intends the Maestro to be a speed controller for any type of motor.)

 

[Weaselfest]

some of the last few details before the interior stone work.
Built out frame around hearth blower speed control and mantel light switch so it won't be too deeply recessed by the surrounding stone. Painted blower control knob black to match switch and wall plates, since I couldn't find one manufactured that way.
Also finished piecing in oak in storage cubby on the other side if the hearth. Cut two pieces of 1/4" ply that are stained and awaiting a couple of coats of varnish before being glued in place to complete finishing inside the box.

 

[Weaselfest]

Final bill showed up for the fireplace installation.
I'm in the wrong line of work, or the liability insurance for doing chimney and fireplace installation must be staggering.
Labor costs almost equaled fireplace and chimney parts cost.
My two 15 degree offsets cost me another $300.
They did knock off repair cost for the floor, (which we may replace after getting a refinishing estimate) and my doing all the electrical hookup and gas pipe removal from the Heatilator log starter, which was originally part of their scope of work. I ended up taking care of it when the old piping started leaking inside a wall during demolition and it had to be dealt with immediately.
But it's paid for. So come on tax refund, daddy needs some funds.

 

[mcdougy]

Something unusual by the sounds of it. Pm me if your interested in exchanging quotes. I just had a price sent to me last week. My install is under $700.

 

[bfast250]

I was quoted $550-650 for install including chimney, OAK, and a remote heat duct.

 

[Weaselfest]

$2362.50 less $380 for my floor damage and $100 for doing the electrical and removing the old gas log starter. Thanks for making me feel like a chump. This was one of two quotes we were actually able to get someone to provide and it was less than half the other, which did include all demolition, and doghouse fireproofing. So I'm trying to wrap my head around how I ended up paying over $60 an hour for a lot of drive time and wasted trips.

 

[bfast250]

Sorry I certainly wasn't trying to make you feel bad! Our installs are quite different. You have a much taller chimney. Your install looks great and you are happy with the fireplace, right?

Thanks for sharing all the details in this thread! You have helped answer a number of questions I had and it's been really fun to follow. Can't wait to see the final picture with stone work all done!

 

[begreen]

I was quoted $550-650 for install including chimney, OAK, and a remote heat duct.

Sure sounds like some things are missing from that quote. The chimney parts alone for the minimum required chimney height would equal that number.

 

[bfast250]

Sure sounds like some things are missing from that quote. The chimney parts alone for the minimum required chimney height would equal that number.

That's labor only. Sorry I should have worded that better.

 

[Weaselfest]

Part of the labor on my bill had to be chimney, as far as I can figure.
I work for the state and have to itemize every single piece of material I use on a job down to the last screw, so it kind of pisses me off when parts of substantial cost are mixed with labor on an invoice. It also doesn't play on my good side to not break out man hours either estimated or billed. My bids are "not to exceed" estimates. If it takes me less time, you save, if I messed up and underestimated things, I'm going to eat most of it to a point, depending on circumstances and learn from my mistake.

 

[Weaselfest]

Hey, hey, long time between posts. Mostly because nothing has happened since the last updates. We messed up by not having the stone up while the weather was still bad, but we wanted to be sure we would have cash to pay for the work. So by the time we call our mason back in April, he has booked 3 house exteriors to side, so we are small potatoes. He is telling us 1st week in July.
So, in the mean time, here is our new Haiku ceiling fan.

 

[Weaselfest]

GLORIOUS NEWS! Our mason says he will be here on Monday to begin finishing our surround.
This drama-fest may have a conclusion after all.
I spent last weekend swapping out the top course of OSB with cement board to ensure an even working surface after talking with my guy.
Scrubbed and flushed the hearthstone and gave it a day to dry before sealing it, which really helped bring out a little natural grain from the limestone.
Added a spacer around the mantel superstructure to ensure adequate spacing of finished layer of the mantel from the stone.

 

[Weaselfest]

 

[bfast250]

Excited for you and the final stages of your project! Please keep posting pictures of the progress. This has been a great thread to follow!

 

[Weaselfest]

WHOOP WHOOP