Hi everyone,
My wife and I are thinking about getting a wood burning insert. We use the fireplace a lot in the winter, and frankly, it makes the house too damn cold. We don't intend to heat the house with it full-time, but in the evenings and on the weekends it'll see a fair bit of use. The house is concrete block, built in 1942, with reasonably leaky old double hung windows. 1400 SF upstairs, with a 600 square foot apartment in the basement, all on one, un-zoned, gas furnace. All in all, not exactly a model of efficiency.
I need a little advice.
We had a guy come and give us a quote for installation. ~$1400 total, not including the insert itself. About 50/50 materials and labor. The existing chimney is lined with an 8" liner that goes down to about 7" at the damper and has a good kink to the side in it about 5 feet up. He was going to install a 6" liner, mostly solid, with flexible stuff on the bottom portion. $1400 seems reasonable, but it's still $1000 after the tax credit.
I'm reasonably handy and leaning towards doing this myself. Help me make sure I've got this right before I bite off more than I can chew.
1) With the flexible liner, basically I climb up on the roof and work this stuff down (or pull it up from inside), attach some big hose clamps and, assuming the liner clears everything ok and doesn't get stuck on its way in, hook up the insert to power and the liner?
2) There are kits available on the internet for ~$350 for the 25' of liner we need, plus the top plate, rain cap, etc. Strictly speaking, do I need to spend the extra $200+ on an insulation kit? Is there an alternative, cheaper DIY means of insulating the liner? Will insulation pay for itself in reduced cleaning, better draft, etc? I've already got a 1" air gap on either side between the old liner and new one, it's not like there's direct contact with masonry if that matters.
3) Pacific Energy's inserts seem to be highly regarded, but are also >$2000. What would we be trading by going with a Drolet (or other more budget-oriented insert if you've got suggestions)? Firebox size/burn time? Is it worth the extra thousand bucks for someone who isn't looking to heat the house 24/7 on wood?
Basically, I'm trying to choose between the Cadillac option ($1400 install + $2300 insert) and doing it myself for ~$1700 total.
Thanks for any advice,
Pat
My wife and I are thinking about getting a wood burning insert. We use the fireplace a lot in the winter, and frankly, it makes the house too damn cold. We don't intend to heat the house with it full-time, but in the evenings and on the weekends it'll see a fair bit of use. The house is concrete block, built in 1942, with reasonably leaky old double hung windows. 1400 SF upstairs, with a 600 square foot apartment in the basement, all on one, un-zoned, gas furnace. All in all, not exactly a model of efficiency.
I need a little advice.
We had a guy come and give us a quote for installation. ~$1400 total, not including the insert itself. About 50/50 materials and labor. The existing chimney is lined with an 8" liner that goes down to about 7" at the damper and has a good kink to the side in it about 5 feet up. He was going to install a 6" liner, mostly solid, with flexible stuff on the bottom portion. $1400 seems reasonable, but it's still $1000 after the tax credit.
I'm reasonably handy and leaning towards doing this myself. Help me make sure I've got this right before I bite off more than I can chew.
1) With the flexible liner, basically I climb up on the roof and work this stuff down (or pull it up from inside), attach some big hose clamps and, assuming the liner clears everything ok and doesn't get stuck on its way in, hook up the insert to power and the liner?
2) There are kits available on the internet for ~$350 for the 25' of liner we need, plus the top plate, rain cap, etc. Strictly speaking, do I need to spend the extra $200+ on an insulation kit? Is there an alternative, cheaper DIY means of insulating the liner? Will insulation pay for itself in reduced cleaning, better draft, etc? I've already got a 1" air gap on either side between the old liner and new one, it's not like there's direct contact with masonry if that matters.
3) Pacific Energy's inserts seem to be highly regarded, but are also >$2000. What would we be trading by going with a Drolet (or other more budget-oriented insert if you've got suggestions)? Firebox size/burn time? Is it worth the extra thousand bucks for someone who isn't looking to heat the house 24/7 on wood?
Basically, I'm trying to choose between the Cadillac option ($1400 install + $2300 insert) and doing it myself for ~$1700 total.
Thanks for any advice,
Pat
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