Remodel hearth... insert vs freestanding

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agz124

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Jul 16, 2007
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Hello,

Here's the deal. I have been heating my house (1600 sqft. built in '49, 1.5 story, poor insulation, south central PA, etc.) with a 12 year old Quadrafire 4300 st for 3 years. We love heating with wood and plan to stick with it for the long haul. We have also decided that we want to remodel our living room are considering re-doing the fireplace to make a stone, raised hearth with a large insert instead of the free standing stove. Check out the pictures below. As you can see the Quad is in the center of our living room and takes up valuable space. I am also assuming that a raised hearth with insert will be a bit cleaner (as most dirt will land on the hearth rather than the floor) and my new plan will include a wood storage space on/in the hearth. So...am I crazy? If not, what insert has a flush fit that will heat just as well or better than my Quad?

Any help/ advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 

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agz124 said:
Hello,

Here's the deal. I have been heating my house (1600 sqft. built in '49, 1.5 story, poor insulation, south central PA, etc.) with a 12 year old Quadrafire 4300 st for 3 years. We love heating with wood and plan to stick with it for the long haul. We have also decided that we want to remodel our living room are considering re-doing the fireplace to make a stone, raised hearth with a large insert instead of the free standing stove. Check out the pictures below. As you can see the Quad is in the center of our living room and takes up valuable space. I am also assuming that a raised hearth with insert will be a bit cleaner (as most dirt will land on the hearth rather than the floor) and my new plan will include a wood storage space on/in the hearth. So...am I crazy? If not, what insert has a flush fit that will heat just as well or better than my Quad?

Any help/ advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...


You might be disappointed. Your current setup seems like it will spread more heat than the insert would. Right now you have heat moving really well in three different directions. The insert won't do that. That isn't to say an insert won't heat the area, but it will be different. And sometimes 'different' is mighty hard to get used to.
 
Agreed. If you get a larger insert that throws higher heat than the current stove, you might be okay. Get something with a powerful fan. I love my Jotul Rockland.

Keep in mind that the fan ( dependency on electricity) is the key. If you have a power outage, the insert will not be even 40% as effective as the stove.
 
agz,

What my invoke some more comments is a bit more of the current and projected floor plan,,

i am trying to imagine what is that white inside corner (looks like a wall) in the very nicely done concept drawing. Is it an interior wall vs exterior wall, etc And/or is the kitchen back and to the left dining room or is the dining room open to the kitchen, living room to the right etc.

Dirt with raised hearth, I would argue, if you are going to store wood inside the home, you will have more dirt no matter if the hearth is raised or not.

And the above comments are spot on regarding insert vs stove.

I like stone, and stoves (see signature link), and off the top of my head, I would place the stove so that it could exhaust straight up, so the stove would sit ~ where the existing fireplace is, stone the wall from the guitar and mandolin into the dining room area ( ie only the width of your white tile) and raise up the hearth just like in your drawing.

Crappy msPaint picture to help convey the above.....
 

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I have to agree with madison.. now that I have spent some time hanging out with several woodburners around here (the shop we bought from encourages a bit of a cult and has get-to-gethers and such..lol) the heat from an insert is different from a free standing stove, and the power outage deal is a real concern around here. I would really think about removing the current fire place and moving your existing wood stove to it's spot or near where it is.. may be scary sounding, but after you knock out that first brick, it's all easy from there.. and a free standing install would open up that room visually a lot.. (selling point to wife if needed..lol)
 
+2. That is what we did and with no regrets. It's a dusty, messy job, but that can be mitigated with some advance planning and tenting off of the demolition area. (Tip, create a clear path to the nearest large opening window or door and tent from ceiling to floor that area. Also, get a box fan to keep the dust blowing out of the space. You want to create a negative pressure zone in the tent.)

A freestanding stove is a superior heater, especially when the power is out or if you just don't want to run a blower 24/7.
 
Thanks so much for all the comments and ideas. Here is a the entire first floor. There is a half story above everything from the existing chimney to the right (I can't heat the upstairs with the woodstove and don't think I ever will so that is not a concern or a goal). If I go with the insert it would be pushing hot air out in the correct direction as on the left side of the chimney there is just a small area with a dining table. The brick chimney (roughly 3'x7' goes up about 27' from the floor all the way through the second story) so removing it completely would be a MAJOR issue as it would require a lot of exterior and interior work (more than I am willing to do at this point). I should also mention that the gas furnace and duct work is located in the basement about 2 feet to the right of the wood stove. The thought about using a Quad 7100 and hooking up to ductwork crossed my mind....I really like the look of the 7100 but the 8 inch chimney is a constraint as well as the thousands of dollars it would take :). The local stove shop told me that the Quad 5100 insert will heat just as well if not better than the 4300 but I find that hard to believe and everything I am hearing from you guys seems to back up my suspicions. I am still interested in more comments and ideas... Thanks
 

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Understood, I was curious if the existing chimney also contained the furnace chimney, and with the entire floorplan (very cool, ? what program was used to get it done). I would also probably opt out for the insert if a major remodel was out of the question.

Nonetheless, PERSONALLY, I would not bother with the recessed wood storage, and I can not fathom how you would do a raised hearth, without a major overhaul which you are trying to avoid. But someone with a better aptitude or experience with that may chime in later.

As far as the insert, and you have read it here many times, stick the largest thing in you can....

FYI, born and raised yorker here... long since moved out of the area
 
if it ain't broke,
don't fix it.

I like what you have there-my 2c, and am contemplating reverting back to that as my hearth reno plans/daydreams.
 
For those who were curious about the software used for the floor plan it is Google SketchUp and it is FREE. I watched Google SketchUp For Dummies (youtube) and was able to draw my complete house in about 2 hours! Great program. Google it.
 
agz124 said:
The thought about using a Quad 7100 and hooking up to ductwork crossed my mind....
Click to expand...

If you are looking to free up floor space, have a cleaner burn area, etc, how about an add on furnace in the basement and then put whatever you want to look at in the existing fireplace? It would heat the whole house and you won't have to listen to a blower 24/7 in your main living space.
 
mainstation said:
if it ain't broke,
don't fix it.

I like what you have there-my 2c, and am contemplating reverting back to that as my hearth reno plans/daydreams.
Click to expand...
I also like it a lot, you have a nice looking home so leaving it as is would not be all bad.
 
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