Newb Gettin' Prepped for 2014 - 1st Season as an Adult

So I went with the WS Fireview 205 (but it's actually a 2002).

Cleaned it up - and it cleaned up nice (will post pics when install done).

Got the chimney cleaned/inspected and the ceramic tile liner's in good shape. Turns out that the actual flue is 6"x6" even though the thimble is 8" (for the old Morso 1125 that was there in my childhood). So that's great given the 6" flue opening on the stove.

Going to fill the small concrete cracks in the masonry wall covering that are from settling and patch the area around the thimble that chipped (when the old pipework for the Morso was removed) with some Quikrete concrete patching compound, then paint it with a nice color standard Behr or Valspar concrete paint from HD or Lowes. Any thoughts / guidance / opinions on that plan? The stove clearance to the masonry wall will be about 12".

Floor is tile on concrete, but I need some additional height, so after the masonry wall is painted I'm going to build a 4.5" high wood base and put a 42"w x 36"d x 1.5"thick slab of polished granite on that and then sit the stove on that (possibly with another few inches of rise achieved by putting some sort of brick under the stove legs). I can't get longer legs for the stove and I can't raise the "hearth pad" more than 6". The stove does have a bottom heat shield. Any thoughts / guidance / opinions on this plan would also be much appreciated.

Worked out the install plan with the folks at WS and buying the pipe from them. Going with an 8" to 6" adapter with a trim collar out of the thimble to a 6" 90-degree adjustable elbow which will run 180 degrees but dipped
into the back of the stove as the stove will be sitting lower than my thimble no matter what I do.

and most importantly...

The Wood Plan:

Figure I'll need 2.5 cords. Don't have a woodshed.

Have 1/4 cord of very seasoned mixed hardwood that we used for the firepit in rings on the porch.
Purchased 1 cord of 3m seasoned oak that I'm stacking under the eaves on the sunny side ($100).
Purchased 1 cord of 6m seasoned oak that I'm stacking under the eaves for Jan/Feb/Mar ($100).
Purchased 1 cord of 1y seasoned mixed hardwoods that I'm stacking under the eaves ($250).
May purchase 1/2 cord of Kiln dried mixed hardwoods that I'll stack under the eaves if necessary ($150).

Obviously I'm trying to do all of this on the cheap. Just lost my consulting client and looking for another - money is particularly scarce. What do you guys think?

Thanks
NSG

begreen said:

If the goal is to raise the stove a bit higher, maybe use 2x8s on the hearth base or if budget is tight, use 8x16" cement blocks.

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Unfortunately, I can't raise the hearth pad above 6" or it will interfere with the door for cleaning at the base of the chimney.

jeff_t said:

Good idea, considering the FV requires some thermal protection. Just granite on wood doesn't get it.

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The FV does have a heat shield on the bottom. You think I'll need more than that plus 1.5" granite?

Thanks,
NSG

Install finished. Have 2.5 cords stacked (1 ~35% wet for next year and 1.5 ~20% and dry for this one). Have another .75 cord of ~20% dry that needs cutting down from 20" and another .25 cord of ~35% wet that needs cutting down. Have another .5 cord of 1 year seasoned on the way. May supplement that with some pre-treated railroad tie ends from a local(ish) plant at $25/ton.

Photos of the install with a home-made Ziggurat for a hearth pad. And yes I understand that it's smallish, but the floor itself is tile over concrete. I really just needed the height:

Phoenix Hatchling said:

Nice hound!

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Yours too!

Our beloved fool was Born in Newtown, CT on April Fools Day and passed away last year at the ripe old age of 13. He was 2 when we took this with our first digital camera!

BobUrban said:

Do you mean "pre" as in -Prior to being soaked in tar or whatever they do and just raw wood? $25 a ton is a good deal to get someone kicked off in the right direction towards getting ahead fast. Depending on how small they are and how potentially splitable and stackable they are you may be onto a great resource. If - and only if they are raw wood and not soaked in goo - build bins from pallets(cheap) and fill those loosely with the ends if they are too short to stack and let em season. If you have means to haul it $25 a ton is right up next to FREE in my book. If they deliver?? It may be better than free.

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Yep, prior to being soaked in tar or (LOL) creosote. Different sized pieces, need to discover how splittable. Decently stackable in a 3d puzzle sort of way, but that won't be good for drying. I assumed that they would already have been dried though, like lumber. Maybe that's wrong. You do have to haul - nothing's free!