Needing advice on fireplace, boiler, outside , inside or ?

stryped · Feb 3, 2014

I live in southern ky, almost at the tennessee border. My house was built in 1998. The main part of the house that is used the most is 1600 square feet. It is all on the bottom level except for a converted bonus room upstairs that my teenage daughter lives in. That area is not used a whole lot but is divided into two rooms and the entire area is about 12 feet wide by 50 feet long with 7 foot ceilings.

I do not have a basement. I only have a crawl space which limits the things I can do in terms of heating. I currently have forced air propane unit in the crawlspace. I have an all electric small forced air unit that is separate for the upstairs bonus room. I have propane hot water.

I would really like to reduce my utility bills. I think my biggest expense is the water heater as I have a family of four that likes to take a lot of showers.

I have attached two pictures I took quickly this morning. One is of my never used "fireplace". I have contemplated putting a wood burning stove in it's place. However, this is not masonary. There is a chimney outside. It is wood/vinyle siding with single wall pipe for the chimney. I know it would have to be replaced. However, I am worried about insurance and if it would go up. I talked to my Allstate agent several years ago who said they would not allow me to put one in. (I am not sure if he knew what he was talking about as someone I work with also has All state and they said something different.

The other thing that would be ideal with my set up is if I could place a wood burning furnace in my attached garage. Above the garage is an attic. The square opening you see in the picture is a concrete area under my house that is the entire length of the garage and is attached/part of the actual crawl space. The idea would be to run the vent from the wood burner and some how attach it to my existing forced air unit. Also, on the other side of the garage wall near that square opening is my current utility room with the water heater in it. I have seen add on heating elements for water that can be added to these furnaces. Because the water heater is higher than the furnace, I would probably not even need a water pump as I could take advantage of thermosiphon action. However, not sure if any insurance company would insure such a set up and actually, even though I heard a lot of people have wood burners in their garage, I actually looked up and it is a violation of the NFPA to have any solid fuel appliance in a garage. The theory is a garage has gasoline and things in it usually.

Other option is to build a shed and put some sort of unit in it and run the lines in the ground to the crawl space. I live on 5 acres and in the country with not a lot of codes. (I in fact have amish neighbors). However, not sure how the insurance company would feel about an indoor appliance being used outdoors.

Whatever I decide I will want to do the entire job myself. I am mechanically inclined and to be honest, there are not a lot of good contractors around here and I don't really trust anyone.

I appreciate any advice!

leon · Feb 3, 2014

stryped said:
I live in southern ky, almost at the tennessee border. My house was built in 1998. The main part of the house that is used the most is 1600 square feet. It is all on the bottom level except for a converted bonus room upstairs that my teenage daughter lives in. That area is not used a whole lot but is divided into two rooms and the entire area is about 12 feet wide by 50 feet long with 7 foot ceilings.

I do not have a basement. I only have a crawl space which limits the things I can do in terms of heating. I currently have forced air propane unit in the crawlspace. I have an all electric small forced air unit that is separate for the upstairs bonus room. I have propane hot water.

I would really like to reduce my utility bills. I think my biggest expense is the water heater as I have a family of four that likes to take a lot of showers.

I have attached two pictures I took quickly this morning. One is of my never used "fireplace". I have contemplated putting a wood burning stove in it's place. However, this is not masonary. There is a chimney outside. It is wood/vinyle siding with single wall pipe for the chimney. I know it would have to be replaced. However, I am worried about insurance and if it would go up. I talked to my Allstate agent several years ago who said they would not allow me to put one in. (I am not sure if he knew what he was talking about as someone I work with also has All state and they said something different.

The other thing that would be ideal with my set up is if I could place a wood burning furnace in my attached garage. Above the garage is an attic. The square opening you see in the picture is a concrete area under my house that is the entire length of the garage and is attached/part of the actual crawl space. The idea would be to run the vent from the wood burner and some how attach it to my existing forced air unit. Also, on the other side of the garage wall near that square opening is my current utility room with the water heater in it. I have seen add on heating elements for water that can be added to these furnaces. Because the water heater is higher than the furnace, I would probably not even need a water pump as I could take advantage of thermosiphon action. However, not sure if any insurance company would insure such a set up and actually, even though I heard a lot of people have wood burners in their garage, I actually looked up and it is a violation of the NFPA to have any solid fuel appliance in a garage. The theory is a garage has gasoline and things in it usually.

Other option is to build a shed and put some sort of unit in it and run the lines in the ground to the crawl space. I live on 5 acres and in the country with not a lot of codes. (I in fact have amish neighbors). However, not sure how the insurance company would feel about an indoor appliance being used outdoors.

Whatever I decide I will want to do the entire job myself. I am mechanically inclined and to be honest, there are not a lot of good contractors around here and I don't really trust anyone.

I appreciate any advice!

================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

You will run into a small brood herd of problems
trying to do this by yourself.

First, if you do this yourself and do not have it inspected
by the local plumbing inspector and the local building code inspector
you will run into a world of hurt.

Second, if you do this by yourself and you have a fire your insurance company
could and would deny your claim.

Third, the plumbers and electricians have to be licenced and pass a national
licencing program.

Fourth, you can have a pellet stove installed quickly and easily as long as the plumbing
and building codes are followed.

A general building contractor is a an entirely different animal compared to a
"State Licenced Plumbing and or Electrical Contractor"

I think you are either ready for a better replacement water heater, or your current one needs a good cleaning.

stryped · Feb 3, 2014

leon said:
================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

You will run into a small brood herd of problems
trying to do this by yourself.

First, if you do this yourself and do not have it inspected
by the local plumbing inspector and the local building code inspector
you will run into a world of hurt.

Second, if you do this by yourself and you have a fire your insurance company
could and would deny your claim.

Third, the plumbers and electricians have to be licenced and pass a national
licencing program.

Fourth, you can have a pellet stove installed quickly and easily as long as the plumbing
and building codes are followed.

A general building contractor is a an entirely different animal compared to a
"State Licenced Plumbing and or Electrical Contractor"

I think you are either ready for a better replacement water heater, or your current one needs a good cleaning.

Don't get me wrong, I would have it inspected. In fact, a few years ago I did all the wiring for my detached garage/workshop and had it inspected by the county inspector where I live. The inspector actually asked me if I did electrical for a living because it looked so good. I told him no but I read a lot about it and asked questions.

In my area I am allowed to install myself and have it inspected.

stryped · Feb 3, 2014

leon said:
================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================================

You will run into a small brood herd of problems
trying to do this by yourself.

First, if you do this yourself and do not have it inspected
by the local plumbing inspector and the local building code inspector
you will run into a world of hurt.

Second, if you do this by yourself and you have a fire your insurance company
could and would deny your claim.

Third, the plumbers and electricians have to be licenced and pass a national
licencing program.

Fourth, you can have a pellet stove installed quickly and easily as long as the plumbing
and building codes are followed.

A general building contractor is a an entirely different animal compared to a
"State Licenced Plumbing and or Electrical Contractor"

I think you are either ready for a better replacement water heater, or your current one needs a good cleaning.

The water heater I have is an ao smith about 3 years old.

bpirger · Feb 3, 2014

There are many options.....keep reading the threads here and you will soon become and expert. It is obvious as a DIYer you ask the right questions and then follow up....and there is nearly an infinite amount of things on this topic to read here! Many of us have done our own installations completely, just as you say, finishing with the inspection. Just make sure you know what is required in your neck of the woods so you don't get a big surprise. Some places won't allow pressurized vessels with an ASME stamp (I think MA is one such place) which means many things are not going to work right off the bat. Etc. etc. etc.

First I'd follow up with what you have been told about insurance....get the real story. You mentioned 7' ceilings. Is this a manufactured home? Sometimes restrictions there are different, hence perhaps why you were told "can't install". So many variables. 1600 sq ft is fairly small.....My first thought, especially since you are in a relatively moderate heating climate (though maybe not this winter!) is a wood stove. Sounds like that was your first idea too. That keeps the mess inside though.

Personally, I'm not keen on a fire inside the garage. I had a little brother die back in '76 in a house fire due to gasoline and a pilot light in a DHW in the basement. Not to long ago I spilled a little gas when filling the 4-wheeler/snowplow in the garage in I thought to myself.....had my Garn been in the garage and firing away would I now be rushing around opening every door? Eh, outside air intake, I'm 99.99% sure I'd never have a problem, even if I DID spill gas say all over. But, on the other hand, I know I can be 100% sure and never worry about it, or say if someone else spills gas and isn't quite so thoughtful, so I put the whole thing outside in its own shed.

So yes, you can put a boiler outside in a shed and bring hot water in underground (insulated PEX lines) and use a water to air HX and use your existing forced air plenum and system. Many people here have exactly that situation.

Many also have the boiler in the basement or garage.....

And as you have also hinted at, a true wood furnance could be use and linked into the existing plenum. I'm not sure what your setup is for this, it sounds like it would not be very simple, i.e. not fully exposed in a clear basement with lots of room for a new wood furnace to be installed. Running a plenum through a crawspace to meet with the current one is likely possible, but not ideal. Some people have run the plenum from the outside to the inside, but again this is highly not ideal I'd think.

So everything you have said tells me you are asking the right questions....everything you have said sounds like it has been done before. Keep reading here and you will find some more of your answers, and twice as many more questions! Especially in the earlier days of exploration and learning. But set up a realistic system for yourself in your mind, i,e. how much money? How much work? How much room? Where? DHW all year round or just seasonal heating/DHW? How much do you like moving wood? Is it free to you or will you pay for it?

Also, knowing your heating load is also important....and fairly easy to calculate. Search around online for estimating heating load and many links will appear. It is about sq ft of wall space, window space, etc. and knowing the R-value behind them. Pretty easy and straigt forward, don't sweat it too much and worry about being too exact.

What's your usual winter temps? Would you usually start the fire in October and let it go out in MArch? Or is your typical season not so long and continuous like those of us here in the North East?

Boils down to how much you want to spend vs. payback vs. convienience really.

stryped · Feb 3, 2014

bpirger said:
There are many options.....keep reading the threads here and you will soon become and expert. It is obvious as a DIYer you ask the right questions and then follow up....and there is nearly an infinite amount of things on this topic to read here! Many of us have done our own installations completely, just as you say, finishing with the inspection. Just make sure you know what is required in your neck of the woods so you don't get a big surprise. Some places won't allow pressurized vessels with an ASME stamp (I think MA is one such place) which means many things are not going to work right off the bat. Etc. etc. etc.

First I'd follow up with what you have been told about insurance....get the real story. You mentioned 7' ceilings. Is this a manufactured home? Sometimes restrictions there are different, hence perhaps why you were told "can't install". So many variables. 1600 sq ft is fairly small.....My first thought, especially since you are in a relatively moderate heating climate (though maybe not this winter!) is a wood stove. Sounds like that was your first idea too. That keeps the mess inside though.

Personally, I'm not keen on a fire inside the garage. I had a little brother die back in '76 in a house fire due to gasoline and a pilot light in a DHW in the basement. Not to long ago I spilled a little gas when filling the 4-wheeler/snowplow in the garage in I thought to myself.....had my Garn been in the garage and firing away would I now be rushing around opening every door? Eh, outside air intake, I'm 99.99% sure I'd never have a problem, even if I DID spill gas say all over. But, on the other hand, I know I can be 100% sure and never worry about it, or say if someone else spills gas and isn't quite so thoughtful, so I put the whole thing outside in its own shed.

So yes, you can put a boiler outside in a shed and bring hot water in underground (insulated PEX lines) and use a water to air HX and use your existing forced air plenum and system. Many people here have exactly that situation.

Many also have the boiler in the basement or garage.....

And as you have also hinted at, a true wood furnance could be use and linked into the existing plenum. I'm not sure what your setup is for this, it sounds like it would not be very simple, i.e. not fully exposed in a clear basement with lots of room for a new wood furnace to be installed. Running a plenum through a crawspace to meet with the current one is likely possible, but not ideal. Some people have run the plenum from the outside to the inside, but again this is highly not ideal I'd think.

So everything you have said tells me you are asking the right questions....everything you have said sounds like it has been done before. Keep reading here and you will find some more of your answers, and twice as many more questions! Especially in the earlier days of exploration and learning. But set up a realistic system for yourself in your mind, i,e. how much money? How much work? How much room? Where? DHW all year round or just seasonal heating/DHW? How much do you like moving wood? Is it free to you or will you pay for it?

Also, knowing your heating load is also important....and fairly easy to calculate. Search around online for estimating heating load and many links will appear. It is about sq ft of wall space, window space, etc. and knowing the R-value behind them. Pretty easy and straigt forward, don't sweat it too much and worry about being too exact.

What's your usual winter temps? Would you usually start the fire in October and let it go out in MArch? Or is your typical season not so long and continuous like those of us here in the North East?

Boils down to how much you want to spend vs. payback vs. convienience really.

The 7 foot ceilings are only upstairs in the bonus room. My house is a regular vinyle sided house. It has been unusually cold here this winter but it is usually fire weather November through the first part of March.

My walls are 2x4 with r-13.

Cost is a big concern. It seems the cheapest would be the stove in the living room and replacing the chimney pipe. Maybe a stove from Nothern Industrial? However, that would not do anything for my hot water usage. I wonder if using solar or something with the roof for that would be beneficial?

At least for now I have free wood available and there are always trees down around here with storms. My father has a wood splitter with a new engine I put on for him.

Tennman · Feb 3, 2014

Your budget limit will help focus the advice if "cost is a big concern". If you decide a boiler is in your budget we're south of Nashville and you'd be welcome to see our system.

stryped · Feb 3, 2014

Tennman said:
Your budget limit will help focus the advice if "cost is a big concern". If you decide a boiler is in your budget we're south of Nashville and you'd be welcome to see our system.

Interesting. How is your boiler set up? Did you install yourself?

Could I get a boiler system and install myself for 2000 -3000?

Tennman · Feb 3, 2014

Installed myself... mostly. Hired backhoe, foamer, installer for HX in the ductwork, and HVAC guy to connect thermostat. Did all the pipe, manifolds, etc. A $2-3K budget.... even if you found a used EKO or even an inefficient used Hardy, I think it'd be really hard. I'll let others comment. 6-7K for all new equipment would probably still be tight. Hopefully others will chime in. Mine is your basic gasification non-storage system that I have ~10k in doing the work myself (not counting my 2k screwup) but is much larger than you'd need. To help you decision how much will you spend on propane this year so you can estimate your break even point. Regardless propane's only likely to get worse.....

arbutus · Feb 3, 2014

^ Hydronic heat is not cheap. Somewhere between $6 and 10k.

maple1 · Feb 3, 2014

stryped said:
Interesting. How is your boiler set up? Did you install yourself?

Could I get a boiler system and install myself for 2000 -3000?

Best settle in and do lots of reading...

Seasoned Oak · Feb 3, 2014

Personally i would forget about heating your hot water with a wood stove. I Heat mine for a family of 5 with a 30 gallon electric, and is only a few dollars a month. Water heating in not your biggest expense,space heating is. If it were me i would put in an EPA certified wood furnace in that attached garage if you dont care about the ambiance of viewing the fire. For me thats half the beauty of wood heat is the fire view. Only other option i see is a major flue up grade to put a regular wood stove in the main house along with all the other concerns like clearances to combustibles and a fireproof hearth pad Ect.

Acpeters21 · Feb 3, 2014

If you want to do water and heat an outside wood furnace like heatsource1.com is what I was going to do but the price was like 8k and was way out of the budget. Instead I put in a RSF Opel 2 with central heat option. I also had an old fireplace to replace and I only have a 4 ft crawl space as well where my funarce is whoever I live in NE and its really f#$%^ cold here worse than normal. Here are some pics of my project took about 3 full days. I installed it last week. My biggest problem is the blower they sent I think Im going to replace it because I'm trying to keep my furnace from running. I have 8in trunk line running to the hotside with a 630 cfm blower . Im trying to heat 2900 on the main floor so im pushing this thing to the max. I',m pretty happy with it though, My energy report went from 14hr a day to 4hrs sometimes less, iwould like it to be zero. I don't like burning gas.

bpirger · Feb 4, 2014

I agree....a boiler system less than $6-$8K would have to be either stolen (or a tremendous deal) or homemade. My Garn was about $12K for the garn alone. By the time I was done, I'm over $20K for sure. Ouch, well, double ouch! That's 85' of microflex insulated 1.25" PEX ($23/ a foot I think it was), seem like a mile of 1.25" copper (probably 100' anyways), controllers (tekmar x 2, a410, etc), more ball valves (1.25") than I can count, etc. 80 plate HX was $400 or something like that. It all adds up in a huge hurry. Pumps....I've got about 12 or so, but I use mixing pumps instead of mixing valves. But still, not a drop of oil since 17NOV2010 when the Garn had her first fire.......and not a shred of junk in the house.....one fire a day.....I've got to be about half way there. When I start heating the addition, and someday the garage/shop, I'll make up the investment really fast. PLus I'm out in the woods, so once snow flies, no more oil delivery for me. So then I'd be looking at having at least 1000 gallons of oil on site.....and I burned a woodstove as primary heat and used a little oil just to keep the floors from getting too cold.

A nice wood stove and class A chimney would set you back no more than $4K I'd guess, and likely you could do it for less with a less expensive stove. Lopi Liberty. Kept 2800 sqft of house (very open) at about 80 degrees....blew us out. You likely need about 1/2 of that..... I'd bet tthe whole thing could be done for $3K easily with a nice, efficent, smaller stove. How tall is your chimney?

Just some ideas regarding cost. If you hack together a boiler system on the cheap, you likely will not be happy......but I am sure some have and are pleased as punch.

stryped · Feb 4, 2014

bpirger said:
I agree....a boiler system less than $6-$8K would have to be either stolen (or a tremendous deal) or homemade. My Garn was about $12K for the garn alone. By the time I was done, I'm over $20K for sure. Ouch, well, double ouch! That's 85' of microflex insulated 1.25" PEX ($23/ a foot I think it was), seem like a mile of 1.25" copper (probably 100' anyways), controllers (tekmar x 2, a410, etc), more ball valves (1.25") than I can count, etc. 80 plate HX was $400 or something like that. It all adds up in a huge hurry. Pumps....I've got about 12 or so, but I use mixing pumps instead of mixing valves. But still, not a drop of oil since 17NOV2010 when the Garn had her first fire.......and not a shred of junk in the house.....one fire a day.....I've got to be about half way there. When I start heating the addition, and someday the garage/shop, I'll make up the investment really fast. PLus I'm out in the woods, so once snow flies, no more oil delivery for me. So then I'd be looking at having at least 1000 gallons of oil on site.....and I burned a woodstove as primary heat and used a little oil just to keep the floors from getting too cold.

A nice wood stove and class A chimney would set you back no more than $4K I'd guess, and likely you could do it for less with a less expensive stove. Lopi Liberty. Kept 2800 sqft of house (very open) at about 80 degrees....blew us out. You likely need about 1/2 of that..... I'd bet tthe whole thing could be done for $3K easily with a nice, efficent, smaller stove. How tall is your chimney?

Just some ideas regarding cost. If you hack together a boiler system on the cheap, you likely will not be happy......but I am sure some have and are pleased as punch.

Actually, I would love to make my own boiler system. I metal fabricate as a hobby and have s shop and several welders, grinders, chop saws etc. I actually made my 12x16 storage building out of square tubing. (The frame actually)

However, I have pretty much given up on that idea. I would doubt that anything not UL listed would be acceptable to insurance. That is just a guess.

My chimney is attached to the end of my house and is about 25 feet tall from the ground to the cap.

stryped · Feb 4, 2014

Acpeters21 said:
If you want to do water and heat an outside wood furnace like heatsource1.com is what I was going to do but the price was like 8k and was way out of the budget. Instead I put in a RSF Opel 2 with central heat option. I also had an old fireplace to replace and I only have a 4 ft crawl space as well where my funarce is whoever I live in NE and its really f#$%^ cold here worse than normal. Here are some pics of my project took about 3 full days. I installed it last week. My biggest problem is the blower they sent I think Im going to replace it because I'm trying to keep my furnace from running. I have 8in trunk line running to the hotside with a 630 cfm blower . Im trying to heat 2900 on the main floor so im pushing this thing to the max. I',m pretty happy with it though, My energy report went from 14hr a day to 4hrs sometimes less, iwould like it to be zero. I don't like burning gas.

That is very interesting. Your old fireplace looks exactly like mine although I am not sure what kind of floor is behind there.

So, are you saying that the stove you bought has an option to connect to your central heat/air? That is very interesting. What happens if the power goes out?

Does it have an outside air intake?

One thing I have been wondering. I know of several people with fireplaces and the living room is always warm where the fireplace is but the back bedrooms seem colder. It seems I actually saw a mythbusters episode where they proved a fireplace somehow pulls more cold air from the outside of the house through cracks and crevices.

My living room is very open. At the other end of the living room is a small hallway that goes to the bedrooms. At the end of this hallway is the air intake for my furnace in the crawlspace. I always wondered if a person could run the air intake for a fireplace to the opposite end of the house in the effort to "pull" the heat from the fireplace to the opposite end of the house.

Again, my logic is probably flawed. But I really appreciate your pictures. I did not know there was a fireplace that can attach to your central unit if I understand what you have correctly.

Chicken Farmer · Feb 4, 2014

I have Simpson Duratec class A chimney, about 30 feet and one offset in the pipe. I have about $3300 in the pipes with me doing the install.

stryped · Feb 4, 2014

Chicken Farmer said:
I have Simpson Duratec class A chimney, about 30 feet and one offset in the pipe. I have about $3300 in the pipes with me doing the install.

Can you put a liner inside my current single wall chimney?

Chicken Farmer · Feb 4, 2014

I don't believe so. If I'm wrong about this, somebody will definitely correct me. I had an old masonary chimney with no clay liner, so I had no choice but to remove the whole thing and go back in with class A. The chimney is the most important part of the system. Never, never, never skimp on the chimney. Alot of folks on here have way more invested in the chimney than they do in the stove itself. If you have single wall pipe, I would suggest replacing it with high quality class A pipe (sized correctly for the stove). Taking a short cut in the chimney department is like rolling the dice on your family's safety.

stryped · Feb 4, 2014

Chicken Farmer said:
I don't believe so. If I'm wrong about this, somebody will definitely correct me. I had an old masonary chimney with no clay liner, so I had no choice but to remove the whole thing and go back in with class A. The chimney is the most important part of the system. Never, never, never skimp on the chimney. Alot of folks on here have way more invested in the chimney than they do in the stove itself. If you have single wall pipe, I would suggest replacing it with high quality class A pipe (sized correctly for the stove). Taking a short cut in the chimney department is like rolling the dice on your family's safety.

I am not trying to go cheap on the chimney. I just don't know what is common practice for the situation I have. I don't have a masonary fireplace or chimney. I have a wood burning insert that has never been used. I think is has single wall pipe up to the roof in the particle board/viyle siding "chimney" I have currently.

arbutus · Feb 4, 2014

You need to maintain proper clearances for your chimney. I *think* single wall black stove pipe is 18 inches to combustables, double wall might be 12? and the Class A Simpson pipe I put in my previous house was 2" to combustables. If the chase is not huge, I would guess that your chimney is Class A if run within a stick framed chase. If it isn't you will need to remove and replace to meet the clearance. The only time a flue within a flue is done, that I know of, is for stainless steel liners within masonry chimneys.

Can you see any manufacturer name or label on the existing chimney? Can you remove the bottom cover or raincap to actually look at what you have? Post a picture?

maple1 · Feb 4, 2014

There is only so much that can be seen & understood, and advice that can be given, over the internet. You should maybe get a local chimney pro in for starters if you're not sure about what you have to begin with.

Chicken Farmer · Feb 4, 2014

stryped said:
I am not trying to go cheap on the chimney. I just don't know what is common practice for the situation I have.

Sorry about that, I could see where you would think that is what I meant. Not saying that at all. Just trying to say that the chimney is very important.

bpirger · Feb 4, 2014

Open fireplaces are typically very poor overall heaters, what you have heard about pulling in more drafts is often (usually) very true. Great for ambiance, not so great for heating. An air tight woodstove is a huge step up. If your current chimney is truely single wall, I'd never burn with that, even if it has 18" clearance (or 24" or 36"). If you can't see it everyday, a single wall, I'd be worried. Putting in a chimney is not too hard. Different types, but usually there is a heavy platform piece that installs between a pair of floor joists or roof trusses and the class A insulated chimney sits in that and "stacks" going upwards. You then pass through the roof and through the sloped flashing. You can clamp the pieces together (each piece is usually 3' or 4') with a stainless band. If it is going to be hidden (in a chase of some form, I'd strongly recommend this). Storm collar goes on top, then some sealant (silicone) and then the raincap on the top. It can be done in a day typically without any issues. Clearance is key....usually 2" in the minimum...more is better. Again, I recommend having it be inspectable...peace of mind. Usually single wall will run from the stove top to the bottom of the chimney base (up above between the joists) with a little "adapter collar" thingy. A straight shot is best if possible, though offsets can be used. Stop in at a stove store and see everything...it will all make sense.

Most important thing....well sorta...dry wood.

stryped · Feb 4, 2014

bpirger said:
Open fireplaces are typically very poor overall heaters, what you have heard about pulling in more drafts is often (usually) very true. Great for ambiance, not so great for heating. An air tight woodstove is a huge step up. If your current chimney is truely single wall, I'd never burn with that, even if it has 18" clearance (or 24" or 36"). If you can't see it everyday, a single wall, I'd be worried. Putting in a chimney is not too hard. Different types, but usually there is a heavy platform piece that installs between a pair of floor joists or roof trusses and the class A insulated chimney sits in that and "stacks" going upwards. You then pass through the roof and through the sloped flashing. You can clamp the pieces together (each piece is usually 3' or 4') with a stainless band. If it is going to be hidden (in a chase of some form, I'd strongly recommend this). Storm collar goes on top, then some sealant (silicone) and then the raincap on the top. It can be done in a day typically without any issues. Clearance is key....usually 2" in the minimum...more is better. Again, I recommend having it be inspectable...peace of mind. Usually single wall will run from the stove top to the bottom of the chimney base (up above between the joists) with a little "adapter collar" thingy. A straight shot is best if possible, though offsets can be used. Stop in at a stove store and see everything...it will all make sense.

Most important thing....well sorta...dry wood.

My chimney is on the outside wall. (It does not go through the ceiling.). It is just like a brick one except it is wood any vinyle. It is on the end of the house outside.

Needing advice on fireplace, boiler, outside , inside or ?

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