The presence of a wood-burning stove helped make up our mind to buy our home a few years ago. However, we don't like the surround / hearth, and I'm starting a project to remodel it.
We have what I believe is a Fisher Grandma Bear, possibly a Deluxe version. I have the manual and other supporting documenation, so, if anyone is collecting scans of Fisher manuals, I'll happily offer one up.
In any event, the stove is one the corner of our basement. It is adjacent to the exterior wall on one side and an interior wall on the other. We have used the stove infrequently. It does not heat the house as well as we would expect, but it does help somewhat. It has back-puffed when the dryer is running; we usually correct this by opening a door to the house for a short while.
Here's the photo:
The old surround material on the walls was "z-brick," mounted directly on the on the drywall in some kind of mastic or mortar. I've removed the drywall, as seen in the photo (It didn't go easy). Please note the backerboard pictured isn't mounted, I just propped it there to check its size.
The upper part of the surround, just barely in the picture, is some kind of wood paneling -- possibly flooring! It goes to the ceiling. This will stay in place unless it's a safety problem.
That's also Z-brick on the floor of the raised hearth. It will have to go. I have been able to reach under the hearth; it feels like it is a wooden frame with plywood on top, although it is possible some kind of backerboard is in the mix, as well. Beneath it all is the concrete pad on which the house rests.
It is our intention to place porcelain tiles to make the new surround. I have done tile work in the past, so no worries there.
The simplest plan:
* For the floor, pry off each z-brick and tile over the existing surface.
* Mount backerboard on the walls and tile over them.
Questions:
1) Would placing insulation between the backerboard and the concrete exterior basement wall significantly improve the heating capability of the stove?
2) For reasons I can't discern, the studs on the interior wall have what I think are called "furring strips." These strips extend from the studs and were used to attached the drywall on which the z-brick was mounted. Would they have a fire-safety purpose?
However, we are curious if it is possible to do two things:
1) Remove the raised hearth and drop the stove down to a level flush with the rest of the floor, tiling directly over the concrete pad. We would keep the same setbacks from the wall and carpet.
This seems like it won't create any danger, but I don't want to make any assumptions: I don't know if the raised hearth was originally put in for safety or aesthetics. We'll also probably have to round up an extension for the chimney connector, as well. I don't know if a DIY can handle the extension, or if I'll need a professional.
Question: Is some additional thermal protection necessary between the tiles and pad?
(Why do this? The room is long and narrow, and the raised hearth is rather huge within it. I don't know if this would affect the heating capability, either.)
2) Additionally, we would like learn if it is possible to move the stove closer to the corner, again, to create more space in the room. It probably isn't. I fully understand this may create a danger and certainly don't want to do it if that's the case, but all the promotional photos for the stove seem to put it much closer to the walls.
I have marked the current setbacks in the photo. These are in accordance with what is required by the manual. Is it possible to move it closer to the walls if materials with a sufficiently high r-value are placed as wall materials? Would this also mean removing the wood paneling on the walls above the stove?
I don't know what minimum r-value is recommended for the Fisher Grandma Bear, however.
In any event, there may come a day when we replace this with a more modern stove that is approved for burning on bad air-quality days and can stand closer to the walls. In the meantime, we'd like to improve the attractiveness of the hearth and (hopefully) make it fit within the room a little better.
Thank you for any advice you all can provide.
Regards,
John Lumpkin
We have what I believe is a Fisher Grandma Bear, possibly a Deluxe version. I have the manual and other supporting documenation, so, if anyone is collecting scans of Fisher manuals, I'll happily offer one up.
In any event, the stove is one the corner of our basement. It is adjacent to the exterior wall on one side and an interior wall on the other. We have used the stove infrequently. It does not heat the house as well as we would expect, but it does help somewhat. It has back-puffed when the dryer is running; we usually correct this by opening a door to the house for a short while.
Here's the photo:
The old surround material on the walls was "z-brick," mounted directly on the on the drywall in some kind of mastic or mortar. I've removed the drywall, as seen in the photo (It didn't go easy). Please note the backerboard pictured isn't mounted, I just propped it there to check its size.
The upper part of the surround, just barely in the picture, is some kind of wood paneling -- possibly flooring! It goes to the ceiling. This will stay in place unless it's a safety problem.
That's also Z-brick on the floor of the raised hearth. It will have to go. I have been able to reach under the hearth; it feels like it is a wooden frame with plywood on top, although it is possible some kind of backerboard is in the mix, as well. Beneath it all is the concrete pad on which the house rests.
It is our intention to place porcelain tiles to make the new surround. I have done tile work in the past, so no worries there.
The simplest plan:
* For the floor, pry off each z-brick and tile over the existing surface.
* Mount backerboard on the walls and tile over them.
Questions:
1) Would placing insulation between the backerboard and the concrete exterior basement wall significantly improve the heating capability of the stove?
2) For reasons I can't discern, the studs on the interior wall have what I think are called "furring strips." These strips extend from the studs and were used to attached the drywall on which the z-brick was mounted. Would they have a fire-safety purpose?
However, we are curious if it is possible to do two things:
1) Remove the raised hearth and drop the stove down to a level flush with the rest of the floor, tiling directly over the concrete pad. We would keep the same setbacks from the wall and carpet.
This seems like it won't create any danger, but I don't want to make any assumptions: I don't know if the raised hearth was originally put in for safety or aesthetics. We'll also probably have to round up an extension for the chimney connector, as well. I don't know if a DIY can handle the extension, or if I'll need a professional.
Question: Is some additional thermal protection necessary between the tiles and pad?
(Why do this? The room is long and narrow, and the raised hearth is rather huge within it. I don't know if this would affect the heating capability, either.)
2) Additionally, we would like learn if it is possible to move the stove closer to the corner, again, to create more space in the room. It probably isn't. I fully understand this may create a danger and certainly don't want to do it if that's the case, but all the promotional photos for the stove seem to put it much closer to the walls.
I have marked the current setbacks in the photo. These are in accordance with what is required by the manual. Is it possible to move it closer to the walls if materials with a sufficiently high r-value are placed as wall materials? Would this also mean removing the wood paneling on the walls above the stove?
I don't know what minimum r-value is recommended for the Fisher Grandma Bear, however.
In any event, there may come a day when we replace this with a more modern stove that is approved for burning on bad air-quality days and can stand closer to the walls. In the meantime, we'd like to improve the attractiveness of the hearth and (hopefully) make it fit within the room a little better.
Thank you for any advice you all can provide.
Regards,
John Lumpkin
