Help - relacing BR42 Firebox with Zero Clearance or Freestanding wood stove?

[Davidpsalt]

I bought a house that has a vaulted two story entry and living room that opens up into a dinning room - approx 900 sq ft. Needless to say, this is a bear to heat hence I burn a lot of natural gas from November thru March.

To make things worse, the previous owner had the builder install a small prefab fireplace in there as seen below. It is a Majestic BR42 and the fire box measures 42"W x 19"T x 16" D. It feeds into Majestics SK8" flue pipe.

My question is this - I have been considering buying and installing a very large zero clearance fireplace/woodstove i.e. FPX 44 Elite, etc. but am shocked at the cost - approx $4,500 - $5,300 pending accessories, plus new flue pipe, etc. and installation. Close to $6,000 or more intalled.

Another alternative would be to rip out the prefab and then line the opening with non combustibles and put in new flue to support a large free standing wood stove I could source on Craigslist. I could do the demo and install of the non combustibles myself and have an installer deal with the new flue pipe, etc.

Has anyone done Option 2? Advice? Pro's - Con's?

Here is a pic of my living room:

 

[FyreBug]

That's a nice room you have and a nice fireplace mantle. A new Zero Clearance will be a lot more than $6,000. It's a big project. You'll have to tear down your current fireplace & Mantle. Plus the cost of the chimney, lumber, labour etc... You are well over $10K.

If you have the coins and this is a big room, it may be well worth it. The room will look finished and will add value for a future potential buyer. When shopping around you may want to look at two variables. You can buy a ZC that is EPA certified. It will look nice but will also heat your house (buy the biggest you can find if you have a large room - Small ZC look out of place in a large room) The advantage of an EPA certified ZC is you can put a 'forced air kit' that will automatically turn itself on an bring heat in another room or dump the warm air in your furnace plenum to heat your house. However they may not be as big as the 'decorative' ZC.

If you want more of a 'decorative' fireplace, they will look nice but will not throw much heat. There's a new EPA regulation now for decorative fireplace called 'ASTM low mass'. It means those decorative fireplace will be more efficient. Rennaissance by Rumsord an Antoinette, Frontenac from Valcourt are some example.

Now if you dont have enough coins you can put a stove in front and vent it. It may not look as nice but you'll get heat. You can also try to see if an insert may fit in there.