Wood boiler, Wood stove , or Masonry heater ?

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Nicholas

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Feb 25, 2007
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Sup,
I built My house 3 years ago (designed and built)
At that time I knew I would put wood heat in of some form in the near future but was not 100% on where/how, so I left it out.
I did pour a foundation and run block up to ground level for an outside chimney (before I knew better)
We have 20 acres of oak so it is a no brainer.
The floor plan is a very open 2600 sq ft with a main great room.

I am looking for something to heat the house 24/7 so just a wood stove is lower on the list (too much tending)
I was going to go with a gasifacation wood boiler in the basement, that would have me building the exterior chimney (2 flues), install boiler, water tank, duct coils, control, but I would still need to install a wood stove in the great room for looks (with the boiler in the basement)

Or I could go with a Masonry heater in the great room:
Cut up a 5'x8' chunk of the unfinished basement slab, dig and pour footer, run 12" reinforced block up to the great room floor, frame opening in the floor, pour cap slab even with the great room floor, All this as a base for the MH.
This foundation would cost Me about 800-1000 in materials
About 5500 for the MH core/hardware (engineered kit assembled by Me)
About 1500 for facing laid by Me
About 500 for class A metal, transition, roof penitration, cap
About 500 for a Domestic hot coil and pump tied to the water heater tank

So I would have about 9000 in the MH with My labor ( I enjoy the work)
The boiler and wood stove route would have about 10,000 by the time I was done.

I was in structural concrete for 10 years and lay block with no problem ( I do all my own foundation work) and did the "fake stone" work on the house, so I have Average mason skills for a small time contractor.

Any words of wisdom ?
I am kinda on the fence since both ways would be about the same price, My only problem with the MH is that You can not just light a fire anytime for looks (like when having a dinner party)

Attached are a few pics of the house and great room.

Nick
 

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Lovely house. I say go for the masonry heater. It will fit right in and you are so ready for it. Wish I could say the same.
 
I second the masonry heater. If done right it needs no moving parts, no electricity and few if any replacement parts. Also, I'm not sure how it might work with a pre-built kit like a Tempcast core for example, but when I was looking at some options I found a few site built heaters which had a flue bypass damper so that the heater could be used more like a fireplace or just to take the edge off in the spring and fall. That may not fit with your plans though.
 
Nice place. We built in 2001-- about 1200 ft² -- with the same heating decisions: masonry, or wood furnace, stove(s). The foundation for the MH was not a problem since the house was a "floating" slab on ledge.

Here's how we decided on wood stoves.
There was a stove in the attached "cottage" --no plumbing --already.
A new wood stove cost, excluding chimney, was $2200. plus hearth, side insulation, etc.. total of $2600.
Wood stoves are a familiar technology, reliable, and routine. We don't mind the loading a few times per day in deep winter
The MH calculated net cost , including most of our labor, for materials and "kit" alone would have been an easy $10,000. The payback was not right compared to a wood stove.
We wanted a small, easy to heat and manageable place. The MH takes up a lot of space for the mass to work. The footprint of the house would have had to be at least 10% larger to get the same ft². Extra cost building from the ground up. The house was designed around the wood stove in the center and next to a stairway for heat to convect upstairs.


The Kacheloffens or large mass wood heaters, in northern Europe are efficient, and expensive. They work very well with their limited wood supply. The MH construction means you're going to tear up that beauitiful finished place. Your call.
 
I was wondering where you would put a stove (masonry or perhaps a big soapstone stove) so that it has the least impact on traffic flow, yet appropriate visual placing. From what I can see the TV set location appears to be a possibility, would that work?

PS: Nick, did you make the antler lamp yourself? That's pretty cool.
 
The antler lamp is from "Lowes" .

If We went with a wood stove, it was going on against an outside wall of the great room (after building a hearth)
If We go with a MH it was going smack dab in the middle of the Great room, may be shifted slightly for traffic flow.

Even with the Wood stove I would be building a "masive stone hearth" so there would be some masonry coming up from the basement plus the evil outside chimney.

Nick
 
BeGreen,
"If" I ever build again, I am refining this design and making that center "Core" A Masonry Heater. (The area behind the TV)
As it is now if the Stove/MH was to go where the TV is, the flue would go straight up and block the walkway above. Behind that wall is a bath room. And above that is where all the roof framing comes together (see pic)

But the great room is big enough that if I make the MH "taller" not "wider" that it can work being in the middle.
We will build a cardboard mookup and move it and the furnature around.

Nick
 

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We will build a cardboard mookup and move it and the furnature around.
Click to expand...
The kids will love that!

If you end up deciding on an outside wall, there can be an insulation barrier between the actual flue and the exterior stone veneer. That is how my brother-in law did his. But an entirely interior design will have less heat loss.
 
Nick, there are some good threads from Marty S who owns a Tempcast, also d.hebert. House looks great, I think a masonry heater would definitely add to it, 10k is a steal for these beasties.
 
Nick,

If you got the time and energy go with a masonry heater. I have a Temp-Cast and love it. It heats our entire 3000 sq ft house not including the full basement. You can have a fire for ambiance, just when the fire is out leave the damper and air intake open. This will send most of the heat out thru the chimney and have the added benefit of drawing fresh air into the house. See my post on masonry heaters for more info.
 
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