Hey everybody. I was last active on this site a couple of years ago when I planning to place an insert in my fireplace. I had lots of issues with clearance to the mantle and all the other combustible things around the fireplace. I really wanted a free standing woodstove, but getting one would eat up to much of the living room. What I ended up doing was getting a cheap drolet insert at menards, and installing it without the metal surround. To my eye the surround made the thing look like a pizza oven and not a wood stove, but that's just my own personal taste. I toyed with the idea of tiling over the metal surround to make it look nice, and even experimented with some heat resistant silicone caulk and natural slate, but eventually gave up on that idea.
The project turned out to be a lot more involved than I had anticipated, mostly because I had to cut away so much floor to make room for a hearth that was up to code in terms of size and r-value. I also had to trim back a bit on the wood surrounding the fireplace. The funny thing is that even if i build the biggest raging fire I can, the surfaces around the fireplace barely get warm to the touch. I'm glad it's up to code, but in retrospect I question how truly necessary all that insulation is.
Placing the flexible chimney liner was a bear because it was january, freezing cold, there was a foot of snow on the roof, and because of time constraints I had to drop the thing in at 1:00 in the morning.
As far as the drolet insert I am very satisfied. It is simple and robust and burns well. The fan moves quite a bit of air and the noise is not bad. I was not satisfied with the thermocouple that turns the fan on and off (takes forever before it kicks in), so I just bypassed this and operate the fan manually. The electric cord wraps behind the unit and then down the ash drop and into the basement where there is an outlet. I housed the cord in that spiral metal electric conduit, and routed it such that there is no contact between the conduit and the insert. The only complaint I have with the drolet insert is that if the cover over the fan is not fully in place, as small gap can from between the fan cover and the insert. If a hot cinder falls into this gap, it will get blown out the vent at the top of the stove. This happened once. No damage done, but an eye opener. has not happened since and I am careful to have the thing fully in place.
The total cost of the project, including the insert, chimney liner, insulation kit, building supplies, and some new power tools was about $1900, but the tax rebate that was available at the time cut the cost to under $1500. I have no idea what it would have cost to get the thing done professionally. But with cutting a hole to the basement and rebuilding the floor, I reckon it would have cost a fortune.
Thank you everybody for all the advice with this project. Here is a link to some of the pictures I took along the way. Also, I have an extra sheet of micore 300 in my garage if anybody wants it.
https://picasaweb.google.com/zachhandler/FirePlaceProject
The project turned out to be a lot more involved than I had anticipated, mostly because I had to cut away so much floor to make room for a hearth that was up to code in terms of size and r-value. I also had to trim back a bit on the wood surrounding the fireplace. The funny thing is that even if i build the biggest raging fire I can, the surfaces around the fireplace barely get warm to the touch. I'm glad it's up to code, but in retrospect I question how truly necessary all that insulation is.
Placing the flexible chimney liner was a bear because it was january, freezing cold, there was a foot of snow on the roof, and because of time constraints I had to drop the thing in at 1:00 in the morning.
As far as the drolet insert I am very satisfied. It is simple and robust and burns well. The fan moves quite a bit of air and the noise is not bad. I was not satisfied with the thermocouple that turns the fan on and off (takes forever before it kicks in), so I just bypassed this and operate the fan manually. The electric cord wraps behind the unit and then down the ash drop and into the basement where there is an outlet. I housed the cord in that spiral metal electric conduit, and routed it such that there is no contact between the conduit and the insert. The only complaint I have with the drolet insert is that if the cover over the fan is not fully in place, as small gap can from between the fan cover and the insert. If a hot cinder falls into this gap, it will get blown out the vent at the top of the stove. This happened once. No damage done, but an eye opener. has not happened since and I am careful to have the thing fully in place.
The total cost of the project, including the insert, chimney liner, insulation kit, building supplies, and some new power tools was about $1900, but the tax rebate that was available at the time cut the cost to under $1500. I have no idea what it would have cost to get the thing done professionally. But with cutting a hole to the basement and rebuilding the floor, I reckon it would have cost a fortune.
Thank you everybody for all the advice with this project. Here is a link to some of the pictures I took along the way. Also, I have an extra sheet of micore 300 in my garage if anybody wants it.
https://picasaweb.google.com/zachhandler/FirePlaceProject
Small fireplace, little clearance to mantle and I want a good sized stove! After getting lots of great suggestions on this site, I still find myself in the same boat as you and am now considering taking off my mantle. I got a recommendation for someone in my area who does this work and is very reasonable, so I'm going to have him take a look. I'd love to see your pics (I too couldn't see them on the link as it said page not found). As of now, I have a very beautiful fireplace and mantle, so it will be a shame to have to change it unless I can make it look nice, but I want some good heat. So, was it all worth it? 
