Following up on the subject of new construction in a recent post, I wanted to post this article I wrote some time ago. I am not new to wood burning, having over 25 years of experience in the house I draw these examples from. I heat it exclusively with wood which I get all myself. Please jump in with your additions.
DESIGNING A NEW HOUSE FOR WOOD HEATING
While most people have to make do with what they have when it comes to wood heating, for those building new and planning on heating with wood, there are a few things to keep in mind during the design phase.
Site Placement.
Firewood storage and splitting should be an integral part of the placement and landscaping. You will want access by pickup, and plenty of room to expand, and a place to use and store the splitter. Think of a place for several piles, one for green wood seasoning, and one for split ready to burn wood. The green pile can be some distance from the house, but the ready to burn should be easily accessible to the house.
An ideal set up would have additional short term places to store wood. An attached garage or wood shed could have room for a good amount of wood kept dry, and the stove room a day's worth.
It is also good during the initial placement to keep in mind passive solar gain. With large windows oriented to the south, on sunny days it is possible to let the stove go out during the day. Calculate the roof overhang according to your latitude so that you get the low winter sun, and are shaded during the hot summer. Proud roofs are good. Make sure no trees interfere with the sun.
House layout.
It is much easier to distribute heat in a two story structure. You would want your stove room to be on the first floor, with a wide staircase leading to the second floor for natural air convection.
The stove room.
This is the room you will have your stove in. It should not be a room that you spend a lot of time living in, as normally you will have to overheat this room in order for the rest of the house to be warm. You can use this for activities that do not require one to be there for long periods of time.
Also, think of the path that you will use to bring wood into this room. That path, and the room itself will inevitably accumulate bits of bark and wood chips from bringing wood in on a regular basis. The path should probably not go through the whole house. An ideal situation would be a small hallway connected to an attached garage to bring wood in.
The Chimney.
The chimney should be in the center of the house and come up through the peak of the roof. Chimneys at the ends of the house will radiate and lose heat to the outside. Chimneys coming up through any place except the peak will have to be much higher because of draft considerations, and will be much harder to access for cleaning. In addition, the roof should be as flat as possible to facilitate walking on it for cleaning. Another consideration for roofing is not to use metal roofing. They have very unstable footing, especially with snow on them. There are currently available fiberglass 50 year elk shingles that carry a class A fire rating that have very good traction.
Ideally the chimney should incorporate the maximum amount of thermal mass possible. If possible and financially affordable, it could consist of a large cement block outer layer, with rock or brick facing on the cement blocks. Inside this would be rock rubble, with a masonry flue, lined or not as the case may be. This would extend on up through the second story and out the roof. One can additionally pile rocks around the stove and use rock for the hearth. When all this mass heats up, it will radiate heat for a considerable period of time. The chimney base should be designed from the start to have its own footings.
Upper living area design.
The majority of your living area should be on the second floor, and should have a very open design to allow heat to move freely. It is a good idea to wire in ceiling fans in some of the larger rooms.
DESIGNING A NEW HOUSE FOR WOOD HEATING
While most people have to make do with what they have when it comes to wood heating, for those building new and planning on heating with wood, there are a few things to keep in mind during the design phase.
Site Placement.
Firewood storage and splitting should be an integral part of the placement and landscaping. You will want access by pickup, and plenty of room to expand, and a place to use and store the splitter. Think of a place for several piles, one for green wood seasoning, and one for split ready to burn wood. The green pile can be some distance from the house, but the ready to burn should be easily accessible to the house.
An ideal set up would have additional short term places to store wood. An attached garage or wood shed could have room for a good amount of wood kept dry, and the stove room a day's worth.
It is also good during the initial placement to keep in mind passive solar gain. With large windows oriented to the south, on sunny days it is possible to let the stove go out during the day. Calculate the roof overhang according to your latitude so that you get the low winter sun, and are shaded during the hot summer. Proud roofs are good. Make sure no trees interfere with the sun.
House layout.
It is much easier to distribute heat in a two story structure. You would want your stove room to be on the first floor, with a wide staircase leading to the second floor for natural air convection.
The stove room.
This is the room you will have your stove in. It should not be a room that you spend a lot of time living in, as normally you will have to overheat this room in order for the rest of the house to be warm. You can use this for activities that do not require one to be there for long periods of time.
Also, think of the path that you will use to bring wood into this room. That path, and the room itself will inevitably accumulate bits of bark and wood chips from bringing wood in on a regular basis. The path should probably not go through the whole house. An ideal situation would be a small hallway connected to an attached garage to bring wood in.
The Chimney.
The chimney should be in the center of the house and come up through the peak of the roof. Chimneys at the ends of the house will radiate and lose heat to the outside. Chimneys coming up through any place except the peak will have to be much higher because of draft considerations, and will be much harder to access for cleaning. In addition, the roof should be as flat as possible to facilitate walking on it for cleaning. Another consideration for roofing is not to use metal roofing. They have very unstable footing, especially with snow on them. There are currently available fiberglass 50 year elk shingles that carry a class A fire rating that have very good traction.
Ideally the chimney should incorporate the maximum amount of thermal mass possible. If possible and financially affordable, it could consist of a large cement block outer layer, with rock or brick facing on the cement blocks. Inside this would be rock rubble, with a masonry flue, lined or not as the case may be. This would extend on up through the second story and out the roof. One can additionally pile rocks around the stove and use rock for the hearth. When all this mass heats up, it will radiate heat for a considerable period of time. The chimney base should be designed from the start to have its own footings.
Upper living area design.
The majority of your living area should be on the second floor, and should have a very open design to allow heat to move freely. It is a good idea to wire in ceiling fans in some of the larger rooms.
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