Adding a woodburning fireplace to existing structure.

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Flightguy

Member
Jan 29, 2011
10
Southwest MO
Hey All, just stumble across this site. Lots of great stuff here, I'm sure I'll learn a lot. I am a novice at all of this fireplace stuff but we are thinking of putting one in our house. I am basically wondering if its a big deal to have a fireplace put into an existing house that has no chase/chimney. We would like to use it as a primary heat source. We are looking at a high efficiency EPA approved woodburning fireplace to heat 3200sq ft. Thanks for the help.

I should probably add the house is less than 10 yrs old. We live out in ths country with no close neighbors and nearly no building codes so there should be no problems there.
 
It is definitly possible to add to your existing structure, depends on how much do you want to spend.

When you say fireplace do you really mean a wood burning stove? There is a difference.

Also, even though there are no codes in your area, I would get a professional's advice before you begin, follow the manufacturuers recomendations and clearances. Read the forums here, a lot. Wood heat is safe and dependable but only if it is installed correctly.

Good Luck
 
Flightguy said:
Hey All, just stumble across this site. Lots of great stuff here, I'm sure I'll learn a lot. I am a novice at all of this fireplace stuff but we are thinking of putting one in our house. I am basically wondering if its a big deal to have a fireplace put into an existing house that has no chase/chimney. We would like to use it as a primary heat source. We are looking at a high efficiency EPA approved woodburning fireplace to heat 3200sq ft. Thanks for the help.

I should probably add the house is less than 10 yrs old. We live out in ths country with no close neighbors and nearly no building codes so there should be no problems there.

Welcome to hearth.com! You will find a LOT of knowledge here. If you are talking about a woodstove vs a fireplace you are in the correct portion of hearth.com.

If you have a thinking about a particular woodstove, check out the ratings by actual users here: https://www.hearth.com/ratings/search.php

The picture gallery of installs is here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/gallery/
(Carefully! The pictures of installs is addicting!)

One suggestion: If you are 'thinking' about adding a wood burning appliance, NOW is the time to start gathering your firewood. Your wood must be normally cut/split/stacked a good 12 months in advance of burning. The new EPA woodstoves are very picky about using wood with less than 20% interior moisture. More info on wood cutting/splitting/storage is located over here: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewforum/27/

Again: Welcome!
 
A fireplace won't serve as a primary heat source...all your heat will go up the chimney. They are primarily for looks. For primary heat source, you need a woodstove or pellet stove, or wood-fired boiler.
 
Yes this can be done. Some units can even be ducted. If you want heat, look at zero-clearance models by Kozy, RSF, Fireplace Xtrordinair, Quadrafire and BIS. But note that it will cost a bit more than installing a nice, large, freestanding woodstove without necessarily producing more heat.

http://www.kozyheat.com/products/woodburning/z42/index.html
http://www.icc-rsf.com/en/rsf/rsf-fireplaces-woodburning-fireplaces
http://www.fireplacex.com/
http://www.quadrafire.com/en/Products/7100-Wood-Fireplace.aspx
http://www.bisfireplaces.com/index.html
 
Welcome Flight Guy. Bookmark this site because you will get hooked on it. For the area you are going to heat you are going to need a big stove. You will get a lot of good advise on different stoves here from satisfied customers . There are a lot of good stoves out on the market. You have to first take the advice on the different stoves and then find dealers in your area. Then research the dealer for reliability, do they deliver etc. Now I am going to make a plug for the Quadra-Fire 5700. It would heat your area just fine. I have 2. One at my camp and one in my house. After having it for 5 years I got one for the house and have no regrets. It will give you a good overnight burn. Loaded mine up last night at 9:30, got up at 7:30 had plenty of coals to just load up and start over. My glass stays clean and I only burn at the most 25% air. It comes with and optional blower that attaches to the back that I would recommend however I don't run it all the time. You can get different trim levels with it so you have the option of basic black and or you can dress it up with gold trim. If your power would ever go out you could cook on it. As with most stoves this size it is heavy. The dealer brought 4 guys to carry it into my house. It burns splits that are 22 inches long which is a plus. I would recommend getting wood that size because anything smaller like 18 means 4 less inches of btu's. It has replaceable fire brick inside. I have never had a creosote problem with either of mine. The newer ones come with what they call ACT. This is a nice feature although I don't use it all the time. What it does is when you start up a fire it gets it going with a lot of air but there is a timer on it that gradually reduces the air as it goes and then when you have a good fire going after about 20 minutes it starts cruising at where you want it set for air control. It saves you a lot of time running back and forth adjusting it. It comes with an ashpan but I just use shovel and galvanized can. If you look at the ratings link you were given you will find everyone was satisfied with this stove. Now you should know that the old stoves did have a problem with cracks in the side. But the new ones have different welds where the firebrick retainer is and there isn't that problem now. Check out a variety of stoves and see what works for you , but do yourself a favor and make this one you do check out.

Happy burning
 
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