Clearances question for Avalon Arbor / Lopi Leyden

[woodsmith]

Howdy,

First post here and I'm looking for some help with interpreting the clearance requirements of my stove.

I purchased an Avalon Arbor (Lopi Leyden) wood stove 1.5 years ago to install in a new construction 1,700 sq. ft. single story home. I provided the manual to our chimney guy who built a brick hearth and back wall for the stove. There is no 1" air space behind the brick back wall. There are gaps of 1/4" here and there, but it was not set off from the drywall with spacers. Single wall stovepipe connects the stove to a clay tile masonry chimney via the thimble. A masonry pass through goes through the wall from the brick to the chimney. I know that this was built to the 12" x 12" specs because I saw the chunk of wall that he cut out (the house is a factory-built modular).

So, given the lack of 1" air space between the brick back wall and the drywall behind it, how close can I place the back of my stove to the brick wall? Does the unventilated brick provide any clearance reduction at all?

Here is a link to the Arbor owner's manual: http://avalonfirestyles.com/TravisDocs/100-01190_003.pdf

As a down draft stove, this thing gets quite hot in the back when the combuster is lit. It has a built-in rear heat shield.

I'll take measurements of my current clearances and post photos of the install this evening.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[begreen]

The manual is the guiding document here. It states that if you want to reduce clearances you will need to switch to double-wall connector pipe. However, Travis does give you an exception in the manual:

"Clearances may be reduced by methods specified in NFPA 211, listed wall shields, pipe shields, or other means approved by local building or fire officials."

If this is full brick, you can achieve a 33% reduction for the rear of the stove to the wall. But the stove pipe is still an issue. I would add the pipe shields or better yet, switch to double wall, for complete compliance and peace of mind.

Here's the NFPA 211 clearance reduction chart:

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/NFPA_Wall_Clearance_Reductions/

 

[woodsmith]

Thanks for the reply BeGreen. The brick wall is 6" thick of real brick. The more I look at it, I wonder if the brick wall is hollow on the inside. It almost seems like the guy who built it just capped the ends (6" of brick and mortar with 1/4 inch gap to drywall), because when I shine my flashlight in the gap it looks like it could be hollow with just the 3 1/2" of full brick that you see on the face of the wall. It's too tight to see for sure. Attached are some photos of the wall and hearth.


Here are my current clearances:
1. 12" from brick to connector or 18" from combustible wall to connector (Clearance E in the manual)
2. 18" from brick to back of stove or 24" from combustible wall to back of stove (Clearance B in the manual)
3. 10" of hearth protection on each side of the stove (manual requires 6")
4. 10" of hearth protection in front of the stove (manual requires 16" so I know I need to either move the stove back 6" or extend the hearth)

I guess I need to know for sure if there is an air space behind that brick wall. I'll plan to call the guy who built it this weekend.

So knowing all of this, how should I proceed? Can I go back any further with my single wall pipe or should I switch to double wall? I need to move the stove back 6" in order to meet the front hearth protection requirement.

Thanks!

 

[begreen]

He built the hearth a bit shallow, but the rest is pretty good. Can you ask the mason if there is a hollow, brick-width space behind the brick wall?