Wood Insert Dimensions

I am new to the fireplace thing so thanks in advance for your patience

I took all the measurements of the fireplace and the inserts I am looking at installing should fit. Well they would fit if the back of the fireplace wasn't curved. And that is where the problem is. The curve starts low in the back of the fireplace and arches up towards the front. I don't believe there will be enough clearance for an insert. Is this something that an installer would be able to remedy? I'm just kind of curious if I am SOL here or if I might be able to make something work. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Shari said:

First of all: Welcome to hearth.com! A really, really great group of gurus hang out here and I'm sure they can help you more than I.

The only suggestion I have is: Have you looked into a free standing wood stove? Check my avatar - wood stove is hearth mounted into our 1950's 'former' fireplace.

Shari

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Drats. I was afraid you would say that. Any idea why the curved the fireplace in the first place? Is it to help with heat flow into the house or something?

Shari said:

Folks here LOVE pictures! If you could post pics & dimensions the gurus will be better able to help with an insert/suggestions other than a wood stove.

BTW - There are lots of photos here on various wood stove installs: https://www.hearth.com/gallery/pics/woodcoal/

Shari

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I figured a picture would be a good idea, and if my infinite wisdom, I forgot to take one when I was out at our house last night. We just bought the house and are trying to control our heating costs some. They put in all electric heating in a huge house so we're looking at astronomical heating costs if I can't get some sort of alternate heat. I'll take a better picture tonight (this one is just from the realtor). The dimensions that I have right now are as follows:
Front Width: 40.75"
Front Height: 30.25"
Back Width: 34"
Depth (at bottom): 21"
Depth (at top): Forgot to measure, but it ain't much.

tickbitty said:

Aw heck, that's plenty big for most any insert, unless the curve at the top is REALLY tight at twenty some inches tall . Here is one of Lopi's biggest.

If it's the right setting though you may well want to highlight a freestanding stove like Shari's, why not?!

What is the mantel and surround on the stove? That will make a big difference. And are you thinking more of a flush insert type or something that extends into the room a fair amount?
There are other inserts that sit about half in, half out of the firebox that would work if your depth really is a problem.

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Yeah I looked at that model and had narrowed it down between that one and the quadrafire 5100i. My fiancé likes the looks of keeping it pretty much flush though. The room isn't very deep so any extension cuts into seating quite heavily. And i want to say the current hearth is only about 10"-12" deep so we can't stick out too far.

The mantle is wood. And the surround appears to be some sort of marble tile.

I actually think the curve starts right near the bottom and continues all the way to the top. I want to say the depth at the top is no more than the depth of the chimney (i'll have to verify that though).

Shari said:

Regardless of wood stove or insert, have you measured the clearance to combustibles? Looks like with either install you might have a problem with the wood around the face of the existing fireplace and your hearth may also be too narrow assuming an insert has the same requirements of 16-18 clearance to combustibles as a wood stove.

Shari

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That's a good point. I'll have to measure that depth. I guess worst case I could match the tile around the fireplace and lay one more layer of tile around the hearth. Or I could build up the hearth a little bit so it is bigger.

Or could I use something as simple as a hearth pad?

BeGreen said:

How big is the house and room? Is this room part of an open floorplan or is this area somewhat closed off from the rest of the house.

There are some nice flush inserts that would look good in there. It would be close, but I would at least measure up to see if a Lopi Declaration/ Avalon Perfect fit would fit in there. Also checkout the Jotul C550.

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The floor plan is pretty open. Not as open as a more modern house, but certainly not as closed up as some of the older home. We have a large kitchen open to this space and a large family room that is just off of the space (opening is about 8'). I'd say total we are looking at about 1200' in just those three areas. I'd hopefully like to get some heat circulating to the rest of the house but I know that is a bit optimistic. We've got two floors plus a basement and we're at about 3400 sq ft.

I'll have to take some measurements to see how big the hearth is. My guess is that it is probably 16" as the probably laid two 8" tiles.

Also, the problem with those flush mount units is they require more depth which won't work because of the curve on the back of the fireplace.

I hate retrofitting homes :-(

So I measured the hearth and it is right at 16" from the front edge of the opening. So it sounds as if I am stuck with a flush mount if I don't want to extend the hearth. I took a bunch of other measurements too, but don't have them with me. I will post them tonight and see what you guys think. The Jotul Rockland or the Lopi Declaration might work.

Pondman said:

You may have more room than you think. Based on what was posted earlier, your fireplace is 30" tall. But you will only need at most 23" of that height. The remainder gets covered by a faceplate/screen. The point is, you only need that required depth at 21-23" off the floor. Hope that helps.
Speaking of floor, some of that beautiful hardwood floor right in front of the fireplace may need to go or get covered by a non-combustible pad for a safe install. Even the flush-mount inserts specify 16-18" in front.

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I figured that much I have to double check what i have available at that height. Right now my hearth is 16" from the front face of the marble tile. If I do a flush insert, that should be enough right?

BTW, I see you are in NEO. Any recommendations of dealers/installers?

So as it turns out, Home Depot still has the tile they used to do the hearth. I am thinking I may just extend the hearth another 6" or so and that will open up a huge range of possibilities for me.

Any comments on how how hard a self install of one of these is? I'd like to take advantage of the tax credit for buying the stove, but since I need to extend the hearth I don't know that I will be able to get it done this year before the holidays (we just moved in and there is a lot to do). So I am thinking about buying the stove now and doing the install sometime this winter. I'm fairly handy, but have never done a fireplace install before. Should I just leave it for the pros?

Wow. I just realized I left this thread incomplete. As it turns out, I was not able to get the stove purchased before 12/31. Other expenses took a priority. The credit is much less now, but I am still thinking this might be a good thing to install.

The flue on my chimney is at the top. There may have been one lower at one point, but it may have been replaced with one at the top of the chimney. Not sure.

I thought about just extending the hearth, but my fiancee doesn't think she would like the way that looks. I've got a friend that is really good at laying tile so I could ask him to some help me out I think if I do decide to extend the hearth another 6".

The firebox is still an issue though. Is it permissible to just bust out the fire brick in the back to make the thing fit. The top curve is keeping from just about every insert that I'd like to install. What are the odds that the brick behind the firebrick is a square box? I'm wondering if knocking out the firebrick will even help the problem.

I've talked to a local guy and he says that his installs usually run about $1000 or so. I'm debating about just doing that, but I don't know. I don't know if that includes the electrical box that I'll have to install to get get power to the blower either.

Billy123 said:

The Regency CI1250 would fit and it mounts flush. You won't get long burns like some other stoves, but it sure is pretty!

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I think the problem there is that my fiancée would like to maintain as much viewable area of the fire as possible. With the firebox being so large that insert would look relatively small inside it.

BeGreen said:

Have you taken her to look at the Hearthstone Clydesdale? That would look very nice in this fireplace and it has a great fire view.

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Looks like that might be an interesting option. Upon looking at the installation of the unit I notice the the 18" hearth it calls for is from the front edge of the insert that goes flush with the fireplace, not the front edge of the glass bay window area. Does that sound correct? I thought it had to be from the front edge of the bay window area.