Woodstove inserts with stone chimney cap

[alcrisp]

My husband and I are looking at buying a house that was built in 1973 that has two wood fireplaces. One on the main floor and one in the basement. We would want to install a woodstove insert in at least the fireplace on the main floor. We haven't been on the roof yet, we are hoping to go back another time to check out some things in more detail before making an actual offer. But my husband did notice that from the ground the chimney cap seems to be made of stone and mortared on. We are wondering if this will pose a problem when we go to have an insert installed? Obviously, we will get a better look the next time we go back, but is there anything specific that you can tell us to look for? Or be aware of? Is it possible to work around it? Would it require a mason or would the chimney sweep/installer be able to deal with it? I have blown up a picture of the chimeny from a picture we took of the outside of the house so you can kind of see what I am talking about. Any info or advice would be helpful. We love having a woodstove and if this is going to be a big hassle could be a deal breaker considering some of the other issues/remodeling needs at hand.

Thank you in advance for any help!

Andrea Crisp

 

[burntime]

Take it off to install the liner and replace with a metal cap. People do it all the time. Take a look how it is attached. It should not be that difficult.

 

[gpcollen1]

You just have to tap the brick/stone with a dead blow hammer if you do not want to break anything. I took my slate cap and the supporting bricks off mine and installed liners and metal caps.

Used one of the slate caps - 30" x 42" for my floor protection in front of the stove. The wife hates it but I think it loos good.

 

[boostnut]

Mine looks just like what you have (or soon will have). I installed my flexible liner from the bottom. Just dropped a rope down and pulled it up with a little help from another guy at the bottom. Cleaning goes the same way. Drop the rope down, tie to the brush and pull it up. I actually attach a rope to both ends of the brush just to be safe as my knot tying skills are not on par with those of a boyscout.

 

[alcrisp]

Thanks for all the information. Seems like it won't be too bad. We do plan to visit the house again this weekend and take a ladder to check out the roof and chimney. Thanks for your quick replies!

Andrea

 

[AbeAinPa]

I did exactly what boostnut did, worked fine and took all of 15 minutes to install the liner once everything was ready to go. Of course I was installing into a rather large opening, a smaller opening might require significantly more effort.

 

[mellow]

Just curious, did you guys use a cap at the top under the stone? How did you attach the liner at the top if you didn't use a cap?

 

[boostnut]

I have run mine with and without a stainless cap. Have not used one for a couple of years now. Seems like the screen in mine gets gummed up and then the stove drafts like $hit. I typically put it on at the end of the burn season to keep critters out. The top 3 feet of my chimney is insulated with mineral wool. Keeps the liner centered in the original chimney and helps keep the draft up in my short (10') chimney.

 

[jmhpsu93]

My installed shoved the flexible SS pipe up the chimney and the pulled it the last couple of feet through the smoke openings without touching my rather heavy slate chimney cap. They were able to install the steel cap under the slate piece, and you wouldn't even know it's there. They then attached the stove to the pipe.