- Nov 27, 2012
- 0
Question:
Hello, I bought a house that has a wood stove set-up (no wood stove though) in the living room. Is there a zero-clearance wood burning fireplace product that I could install using the existing venting system? The pipe (6" or 8" diameter) goes through the wall starting at about 5.5 feet high and out to a concrete block chimney with a liner? If I want a fireplace, do I have to rebuild the chimney? any idea of cost? I have seen free-standing wood burning fireplaces (mostly in Europe) could you recommend a source for such a thing if it exists in the US?
Answer:
I don't know of any woodburning "z/c" fireplace that could utilize what you're thinking of doing. Zero-clearance fireplaces are specifically tested & listed with certain chimney systems. Your application does not fall under that.
A masonry fireplace may have some bends, but typically these do not exceed 30 degrees. Your application involves one to two 90 degree bends, which are draft restrictions when dealing with a large fireplace opening.
There are various types of masonry "stoves" that you've seen in Europe, in fact there was one in the house where my father grew up in Poland. But, the construction and design of the stove dovetailed with the flue. Again, you'd be hard pressed to have a match with an existing flue system.
You have two choices. Buy a wood or gas stove that will accommodate your fireplace aesthetic needs and install into your existing flue system (providing that it's requirements are met by your flue system). Or two, remove the flue and start from scratch. You have to think of the whole project as a "system." The flue & appliance must match up or else the performance will suffer.
Hello, I bought a house that has a wood stove set-up (no wood stove though) in the living room. Is there a zero-clearance wood burning fireplace product that I could install using the existing venting system? The pipe (6" or 8" diameter) goes through the wall starting at about 5.5 feet high and out to a concrete block chimney with a liner? If I want a fireplace, do I have to rebuild the chimney? any idea of cost? I have seen free-standing wood burning fireplaces (mostly in Europe) could you recommend a source for such a thing if it exists in the US?
Answer:
I don't know of any woodburning "z/c" fireplace that could utilize what you're thinking of doing. Zero-clearance fireplaces are specifically tested & listed with certain chimney systems. Your application does not fall under that.
A masonry fireplace may have some bends, but typically these do not exceed 30 degrees. Your application involves one to two 90 degree bends, which are draft restrictions when dealing with a large fireplace opening.
There are various types of masonry "stoves" that you've seen in Europe, in fact there was one in the house where my father grew up in Poland. But, the construction and design of the stove dovetailed with the flue. Again, you'd be hard pressed to have a match with an existing flue system.
You have two choices. Buy a wood or gas stove that will accommodate your fireplace aesthetic needs and install into your existing flue system (providing that it's requirements are met by your flue system). Or two, remove the flue and start from scratch. You have to think of the whole project as a "system." The flue & appliance must match up or else the performance will suffer.
