is the floor plan open enough?

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philupthegastank

philupthegastank

New Member
Dec 10, 2014
64
90% of the US is below me.
here is my floor plan of my house. Do you think a wood stove could be able to heat that efficiently? Im thinking of an Englander NC30. Im putting in all new insulation (roxul) and spray foaming each stud cavity in the joints and all around windows/doors and having all new drywall put on. I know the pantry and entry wont see much heat, but since its close to the kitchen, and the entry ways between the LR and DR and the FRONT entry are large openings, about 4 feet I was thinking that the layout might be open enough to be able to get good heat circulation. the front entry has an open staircase that leads to the upstairs, the upstairs is just a long hallway that has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom connected to it. Like i said on other posts im debating between that and a drolet tunrda wood furnace or a Englander 28-3500 . I want wood to be my main source since its the cheapest fuel and im just not positive enough that a wood stove on the main level will heat the upstairs enough that we wont be super chilly (wife likes warm temperatures) any thoughts appreciated.

firstfloor.png
 
I think you'll be ok. I heat my whole house and my stove is located in a small block addition off the back of my house. If you have it centralized as shown in the diagram your heat should flow to the other rooms fairly easily. Look at my sketch. If I can heat my house from an addition you should have no problem with the stove in the middle of the house. I do have a blower which helps push the warm air out and around too. Some heat goes to the first floor and some to the second and I can watch tv without wearing nothing but boxers. Not sure how big your house is and what the location is also so take that into account as well.
 

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I'm about 1540 square feet, forgot to mention that
 
Should do ok. You may end up using a small table fan on the floor to blow cooler entryway air into the stove room. That will boost convection to the stairway.
 
That is a good layout for a wood stove. Big living room, big openings to the dining room and the kitchen.
Fire it up!
 
Sounds like you'll need every BTU the 30NC can put out.
 
I think that's actually a pretty good layout, especially if the doorways between the living room, dining room, and entry way are all full height so there's no header disrupting convection.

In my home, the stove is actually too close to the stairs, and the 1st floor only heats up minimally until the upstairs landing has filled with warm air and the thermocline that forms in the stairs has grown downward. I think the modest separation you have between the stove and stairs will help achieve a good balance between upstairs and downstairs, but if not, like begreen said, a small fan to help move air between rooms will accomplish a lot.

Of course, the bedrooms won't warm without opening the doors, and it's possible you'll need a bit of extra heat for the upstairs, but the stove will significantly reduce the demand, and if you have baseboard heat, it's easy to turn it on briefly to bring things to a cozy temperature right before bedtime.
 
The layout is about as good as it gets. Another factor is the size and height of the openings between the rooms, particularly the kitchen. Much will depend upon the success of your insulation. Do not forget insulated window treatments - cellular shades, insulated curtains, maybe both.

2,000 sq. ft. is a lot of space for a space heater. Few stoves are going to be capable of heating that large a house at - 25 deg. Moving heat upstairs can also be a problem, sometimes inexplicably so. I am going to say you will be able to do pretty good down to 0 deg., but will struggle at anything below that. Just a semi-educated guess.
 
thanks for the replies and info! I think im going to be going with the NC30. Are any of you NC30 owners? I just had a quick question about the clearances: so im assuming that if you have just a rear heat shield you still have to do the Rear B clearance of 14 in, you can only do the 8 " if you have both the rear AND sides? and same with the flue connector to the back wall, C, i can only get to the 7" clearance if i have the rear and side shields and the double wall, i cant do a double wall connecter and a rear heat shield to do the 7" clearance? I Just want to make sure im understanding this right. where can i buy the side shields? does home depot sell them? Id love to be able to do the 8" back wall clearance and then the 10" flue connector to back wall clearance.
Screen Shot 2015-01-30 at 11.18.37 PM.png
 
You make the wall shield on site. It needs to be a non-combustible material on 1" spacers, open at top and bottom by an inch to allow air to freely convect behind it.

Also read the hearth requirements for this stove. It needs a well insulated hearth.
 
philupthegastank said:
here is my floor plan of my house. Do you think a wood stove could be able to heat that efficiently? Im thinking of an Englander NC30. Im putting in all new insulation (roxul) and spray foaming each stud cavity in the joints and all around windows/doors and having all new drywall put on. I know the pantry and entry wont see much heat, but since its close to the kitchen, and the entry ways between the LR and DR and the FRONT entry are large openings, about 4 feet I was thinking that the layout might be open enough to be able to get good heat circulation. the front entry has an open staircase that leads to the upstairs, the upstairs is just a long hallway that has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom connected to it. Like i said on other posts im debating between that and a drolet tunrda wood furnace or a Englander 28-3500 . I want wood to be my main source since its the cheapest fuel and im just not positive enough that a wood stove on the main level will heat the upstairs enough that we wont be super chilly (wife likes warm temperatures) any thoughts appreciated.

View attachment 152126
Click to expand...

You will want to consider the proximity to your wood pile - having the stove in the living room is ok if you do not mind the extra dust and dirt that comes along with loading and cleaning your stove. Looking at your floor plan - the open stair case area should be considered due to the higher ceilings you can capture some of the heat off your stove pipe as it heads through the ceiling (keeping your upstairs really toasty) and most likely you will have high traffic flooring that will be easy to keep clean while managing the stove. Also the staircase area in close to the dining room where you can utilize your stove for keeping food warm or even cooking and serving from it. Nice layout.
 
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