Jotul Rangeley Install before and After Pictures... Any thoughts?

firefighterjake said:

I would love it if you could give some details as to how you did the wall . . . what you used . . . how you attached it, etc. since I would definitely consider doing something similar to my own installation. I tell ya . . . this looks wicked sharp.

Click to expand...

OK here it goes....

I originally got quoted $6500 (including stove) for a complete install, without a non-combustible wall. After seeing that number I said to myself, let me try this on my own.

As you see I started out with an empty canvas. I needed to do everything from scratch, down to the chimney. I started off my studying the Jotul specs and clearances needed as well as pulling the permit to do this job. So I measured, designed on paper, then ordered everything.

I started with the floor. There is an inch of cement board with stone on top. I spread semi-dry mortar to create a bed for the stone and when "it fit" I spread thin-set under the stone and added a bit more water to both clean the stone and create a nice "seam" between the stones. I created a mold of the air vent and found a rock that would fit over it in order to punch it out after the inspection. I know people might shriek at this, but I feel its far back enough that amber wont get in as it is also on the side that the door opens to. This floor is enough according to Jotul.

Next the wall... I cut concrete board to fit the area I needed. I used the left over cuts to create the 1" spacers that I needed from the sheetrock. Marked up the board and made sure I was securing it to the studs. I put up the concrete board and was ready to lay up the rock.

Next the stone... I used New England Thinstone. I tried laying it out on my deck to get the pattern, which I did, but as soon as I started I ended up braking the pattern and went stone by stone. That is the art and most difficult of the job. It does require patience and since I was doing this for myself and not getting paid for it, I put in the extra love. I also purchased corner pieces to make the edges work cleaner. As you build the wall you have less and less pieces to work with and my lucky stars, I had pieces that worked well at the top being nice and flat. i again used thin-set since it has better bonding properties than the old mortar.

Finally, placed the stove in place.