Alcove fireplace advice

[Saspilla01]

All,

Thank you for reading this post. I have started preparing an alcove in my living room to accept a wood burning stove. I would like to get your opinion in regards to safety before doing any more work. I have consulted with the fire department, insurance company, and have ready several articles on wood stove installation. Still, there is nothing like good old fashioned advice from experienced people so here I am asking for your 2 cents.

I added a wood frame inside the alcove to anchor the durock boards that make the heat shield. This gives most of the combustible wall 2” of air space from the Durock (1 “ wood frame + 1 “ ceramic spacer mounted to the wood frame). My main concern at the moment is that the two Durock boards on each side of the alcove touch the wood frame that holds the Durock on the back of the alcove. (1) I am not sure if the edge of the durock touching the wood frame will become a hazard. The wood frame positioning also causes air circulation behind the back Durock to be limited. I drilled holes in the floor behind the back wall to help with air circulation but (2) I am not sure if this is appropriate. What are your thoughts?

By now you are probably thinking why the wood frame was placed where it was. The answer is I wanted to make sure there was enough support for the weight of the tile that will be mortared to the Durock.

I plan to use a metal shield to protect the wood shelf on top of the stove (see picture).

I am very interested in your opinion. Thank for your help!

 

[begreen]

Most stoves have a clearance from the top of the stove requirement greater than what appears to be showing here. Depending on the stove, typically the alcove needs to be at least 84" tall. What stove is this and what are the side and top clearances? How will it be vented? If straight up, that also brings in clearance requirements for the connector pipe.

PS: Welcome to hearth.com!

 

[Oldman47]

All,

Thank you for reading this post. I have started preparing an alcove in my living room to accept a wood burning stove. I would like to get your opinion in regards to safety before doing any more work. I have consulted with the fire department, insurance company, and have ready several articles on wood stove installation. Still, there is nothing like good old fashioned advice from experienced people so here I am asking for your 2 cents.

I added a wood frame inside the alcove to anchor the durock boards that make the heat shield. This gives most of the combustible wall 2” of air space from the Durock (1 “ wood frame + 1 “ ceramic spacer mounted to the wood frame). My main concern at the moment is that the two Durock boards on each side of the alcove touch the wood frame that holds the Durock on the back of the alcove. (1) I am not sure if the edge of the durock touching the wood frame will become a hazard. The wood frame positioning also causes air circulation behind the back Durock to be limited. I drilled holes in the floor behind the back wall to help with air circulation but (2) I am not sure if this is appropriate. What are your thoughts?

By now you are probably thinking why the wood frame was placed where it was. The answer is I wanted to make sure there was enough support for the weight of the tile that will be mortared to the Durock.

I plan to use a metal shield to protect the wood shelf on top of the stove (see picture).

I am very interested in your opinion. Thank for your help!

View attachment 159422

Be careful using wood framing to mount the Durock. That just means that you have moved the combustibles, wood framing, closer to the stove. Instead of wood framing, use a couple of strips of the Durock material to get that inch of air spacing. For the air flow, use an open space about an inch tall under and above the Durock. That will give you good air flow for temperature control. As begreen said, most specify a minimum alcove height of 7 feet so be sure to observe that also.
Since you are new here you may not realize that I have almost no experience while begreen has lots of experience. If he and I disagree, definitely pay attention to what he tells you.

 

[bholler]

Be careful using wood framing to mount the Durock. That just means that you have moved the combustibles, wood framing, closer to the stove. Instead of wood framing, use a couple of strips of the Durock material to get that inch of air spacing. For the air flow, use an open space about an inch tall under and above the Durock. That will give you good air flow for temperature control. As begreen said, most specify a minimum alcove height of 7 feet so be sure to observe that also.
Since you are new here you may not realize that I have almost no experience while begreen has lots of experience. If he and I disagree, definitely pay attention to what he tells you.

We use metal studs laid on their side as spacers and it has worked well for us. I have tried layers of cement board and found them a little awkward but that comes down to preference. And i totally agree with bg that looks way to short check the specs of the stove

 

[Grisu]

What are you planning to put under the stove as a hearth? That does look like combustible flooring so you will need at a minimum some ember protection if not thermal protection depending on the stove.

How do you want to run the chimney pipe? Will you have enough clearance to combustibles for that?

 

[Saspilla01]

All, thank you for your comments. Per the manufacturer, I can have 13" of clearance on the sides and 18" on the back after installing a heat shield. This is basically half the regular clearance for the stove (model 2007b USSC).

I was hoping the 7 foot clearance requirement to the ceiling could also be cut in half with the use of a heat shield. Is this possible?

The Durock is spaced from the wood frame with 1" ceramic spacers.

I plan to lay durock and tile under the stove to protect the floor. I placed the stove in the alcove temporarily just to get a better visual of things.

As far as the flue, I plan to use tripple wall chimney pipe all the way to the stove since I will bw tight coming into the alcove from the attic.

Thank you for the input!

 

[begreen]

This stove has a 7' ceiling requirement. There are no exceptions that I can see. I would get rid of the shelf and be sure the stove pipe is at least 18" from the drywall. Double-wall stove pipe needs 6" clearance from the walls. USSC does not list any NFPA 211 wall shielding option for a stove clearance reduction for this stove. It would be good to call or write them and get a written verification of the clearance reduction. With proper, ventilated wall shielding the clearances should go down to 12" rear and sides, but that need to be verified by USSC.

What is being done for the chimney?

 

[webby3650]

I really doubt USSC will allow any variance from whats stated in the manual. They are a cheap stove, so only the minimum testing was done.

You really need to stick to all the clearances that were published, especially the ceiling height.

 

[Saspilla01]

Begreen, I was in contact with USSC via email and they approved the clearance reductions for the sides and back. They could not tell me much about ceiling clearance reductions. That's one of the reasons why I am here... Do you think the construction of the shield I made provides suficient ventilation or do you recommend any modifications?

Is there a better stove to go in a place like the one I am working with that would allow me to keep the shelf for the tv?

I read that tripple wall chimney pipe has a 2" clearance. My plan was to use this for the entire chimney system from the stove to the outside of the house to help reduce clearances. Is this reasonable?

Thanks

 

[begreen]

Personally I do not think the shelf above the stove in an alcove is a good idea. I would not do this in my own house. Additionally, putting a lot of heat under electronics and wiring is also an invitation for problems. I would rethink this plan and consider relocating the tv.

Yes, there are many better stoves than this one on the market. The 2007b is an epa exempt stove which are now not sold. No need for triple wall pipe like DuraPlus. You can go with double-wall, class A chimney pipe and it will be 2" less in diameter. I would run the class A to the alcove ceiling then use double-wall connector pipe to the stove.