Alcove install questions...

I'm planning on purchasing a Lopi Cape Cod wood stove, and I want to install it in an alcove. The dimensions of the alcove are, height: 84", width: 60", and depth: 24".

I'm already planning on making the alcove deeper to 36".

My questions are, I'm planning on making a non-combustible wall on the back wall but the manual says for alcove installs to make it non-combustible the back, sides and ceiling needs to have a non-combustible wall.

Can I just do the back and sides? Or do I have to do all of it? I want to reduce the clearances (from 11.75" to 4" on the rear) this way but since it's an alcove install do I need to do the ceiling too? Even though I have the 84" minimum.

The non combustible wall will be a fiber board of some type with a 1" spacer between it and the drywall. I'll then put stone on the fiber board to get the 3.5" requirements the manual calls for.

Do I need to have a 1" gap between the back wall and the side walls for ventilation in the corners of the alcove? Or can they be closed together with openings on the top and bottom?

Also, if I do need to do the ceiling as well what's the best way to do that? Still use stone? Or just metal?

Can I seal up the front of the non-combustible wall so the 1" gap for ventilation isn't visible from the front?

Thanks for all the help,

Mike

Thanks for the reply. I've run into some new issues. First thing is, I have a truss running right above where my chimney pipe would be running up.

I can't move it either way as I won't have the sufficient clearance from combustible materials then. I'm off by less than one inch I think. The chimney connector pipe needs to be 26" away from combustible side wall, based off of my measurements I'm sitting at 25.5"....

Do you there's a way to fix this? Can't cut the truss I'm sure...

Also, I said I'm going to move 5' wide section of the alcove wall back one foot to make it a total of 36" deep. My other question is, the wall is currently positioned directly at the center of the trusses. Do you think moving it one foot off center will make a difference in the stability of the house or anything for that matter?

Thanks

I'll get pictures of the alcove soon. Here's the deal. The alcove has cabinets in it right now. I want to put the stove there as this location is the center of my house. I currently don't have a stove in the house (just a crummy gas fireplace which is useless) I'm going to pull them out and then drop the back wall back one foot to gain room to put the stove back into it.

The reason I want to push the wall back is so the hearth stone doesn't stick too far out as the hallway back to the bedrooms starts near by the alcove.

The truss runs parallel to the alcove (front to back) so the only way to miss it is to move left or right in the alcove. However, I have an idea.

The alcove has a "false" ceiling in the sense that it's ceiling is at 7'. The closet that is directly behind the alcove and where I'm going to get the extra foot from as well as the rest of the house (except living room, kitchen and dinning room have cathedral ceilings) has 9' ceilings.

My thought is, there is a an empty 2' x 5' void above the alcove which I could utilize to use elbows to move the chimney over 2 or so more inches. My clearances are very close to where they need to be to fit the stove in to the alcove as is anyway. If I can do this I'm thinking I can center my stove in the alcove without having to install a non combustie wall and then turn the chimney in that 2' open area before I reach the bottom of the truss, then straight up to the roof.

Sorry for the long post... What do you guys think? Does any of this make sense....?


Thanks,

Mike

Ps, cwill, how much did your non combustible wall cost to build? It's beautiful. The lopi calls for a 3.5" non combustible wall with a 1" air space behind it. That's at least an extra $1500 or more ontop of a $3,700.00 stove without the price of the chimney and such...

I can't stand being only able to purchase one of these two stoves, the Lopi Cape Cod, or the Blaze King Sirocco 30.

The county I live in says homes that are on less than an acre can not have a wood stove that emits more than 1.0 gms/hr.... The government drives me nuts....!

The manual for the lopi cape cod states if it's considered an non combustible alcove install the the wall has to be 3.5" of non combustible material with a 1" air space between it and the combustible wall. Also the non combustible has to be all walls and ceiling for the alcove per their manual.

My home has natural gas for the furnace and the gas stove. I want to install a wood stove to supplement those heat sources as I have an abundance of wood I can harvest for cheap each year.

I'm fine with getting a low emission wood stove and I'm leaning towards the Blaze King Sirocco 30 as it would fit much easier than the cape cod, plus it's $1,000 less...

I looked into a good gas stove system and the sales rep quoted me $6,000 to $7,000 to remove the old one and install the new one with me and my buddy framing the new one in... I said BS.... I'll put in a decent low emission wood burner and cut my own wood...

This is about saving some money for me. Gas will continue to get more expensive and the winters here in northern Nevada get cold for a high desert.

Thanks.

The whole house is 2300 just about. This location I've picked is in the middle of the house.

Yes I totally agree with the gas stove price. Plus the location where the gas fireplace is at now is on the opposite side of the house from the bedrooms.

I saw the Ashford, it looks good too. I'll have to verify that it is acceptible for the county regulations.

Here is a photo of the alcove. BK's requirements are much less stringent than Lopi's for alcoves too.

I'm going to pull these cabinets and push the wall back for more room from 24" to 36". There's a closet directly on the other side of this alcove with 36" of depth to it.

That truss is just to the right of the center of the cabinets which is the center line for the alcove. I still think the BK Sirocco will be fine with no elbows though.

What do you guys think of this spot, looks feasible right?

Thanks for all the input everyone

Mike

The room I'd be taking the foot from is an office with a 36" deep closet right now. If I take a foot from it it will still be big enough to hang clothes and store things in, just not as deep.

The Sirocco I think will fit just fine in the alcove and I don't think I'll need to use and concrete board or rock since I'm going to go double wall pipe, the fans, and get the rear heat shield. The BK manual doesn't say I need any more than that for the clearances I have.

I will have to very slightly off set it to avoid the truss but only and inch or two if I have done my math right. If not I think I could use two 15 degree elbows to center the stove and maneuver around the truss in that false ceiling area. Duratech chimney pipe has 15 degree elbows and 30 degree elbows I can use, they are not cheap though....

I'd love to put in a beautiful rock but the funds aren't there for it. Maybe I can add it later.