Jotul Oslo installation thread (with photos)

I thought that since my favorite photographer was taking lots of photos of my project, that I would post my progress here for all to see. I am finally taking out this old fireplace to get the new stove in. This summer has absolutely flown by, and it will be time to build a fire soon so I decided I better get on with the job. It was a zero clearance fireplace that had been converted to gas logs. They did not work, and I planned to take it all out and replace with a wood stove anyhow. We both thought the tile was unattractive, and wanted a stove to do most of the heating in our house. The room it will be installed in has lots of windows and was the coolest room in the house, so it is the perfect spot for it.
Here is a before pic:



The fire box was a bit difficult to get out. The flue pipe refused to separate from it, so it took some beating to get it in apart....



But I won! After working with that box, I can say I am glad I no longer have it in there. Even in the photo it is visibly bent up from my abuse. It does not seem substantial enough to safely contain a fire to me. It was really flimsy and weak.


Then onto the task of taking the framed insert down. Notice how the slackers who built the place decided that 2 insulation batts were sufficient?




Santa??? Nope... More like the grinch!! Next was up on the roof to remove the roof top bird bath that was covering my chimeny chase. This POS was rediculous. The birds thought they had Trump towers up there or something. That cover was so sunk in it was totally rusted and it was funneling water right into the chase. That accounts for the water damage and rot I had seen below. This junk should not be allowed on houses. It was a really thin gauge sheet metal that would sag under it's own weight, so it was probabally leaking about 3 days after it was placed there.... I am building one out of steel that an Elephant could stand on. The birds will be disappointed, but they will get over it.


Out comes the old pipe...




Since I was making a cover anyhow, and since my pipe hadn't been delivered as promised, I decided to go ahead and make a ladder that I will install permenantly on the chase. The mostly completed cover is visible in the corner behind me, waiting for the few final modifications to be done when the pipes exit location is determined.


She does like taking photos... Must be nice to be able to watch me work so hard so she will be warm and toasty this winter!




Just kidding! She is elbow to elbow with me most times assisting however she can. I decided that I did not want to have to haul a ladder up onto the roof everytime I needed to clean or inspect the chimney like the one I was using in the above photos. It seemed like it would be lots easier and way safer to use a ladder that was permenantly mounted, and therefore could not slip or fall while I am working on it. The end of the house where the chase is located is about 40 feet to the ground, so if you fell most likely it would be game over. I also will be making a safety ring which will be welded on the cover to hook a fall harness or lanyard to while I am up there on top of the chase. Nobody ever planned on falling off of a roof! I will get all of these parts powdercoated by my friend before I install them. They should last a really long time with the protection the powder offers. If I painted them, it would only be a matter of time before I would be up there sanding the rust off and painting again. I dont like doing things twice!

That's all for tonight, but I got my pipe delivery today and got my ladder installed also, so more updates soon

Awesome effort so far and thanks for sharing as we all are in it together and pulling for ya.
I bet you would of loved to have a nice flat non-flammable table to build that ladder of yours on.
I save welding in position for at work. :lol:
Looking forward to your other posts to show my wife we are not the only ones that have to go through these things.

Awesome work Joe! Love all the pics. Can't wait to see the finished product.

I have been wanting to build a nice welding table for some time now, but have been too busy with projects to take the time to do it. I have made my mind up to go ahead and get one built once this woodstove is complete. The frame in the background is heavy steel with some heavy duty casters on it. My dad got it since the state was going to throw it out and gave it to me. I chopped some material off of it to use for my ladder, but am planning to shorten it and modify it to make a roll around table. I am sick of this crawling around on the ground routine every time I make something like this. Now all I need is the time to do it!

Nice work, can't wait to see more.

Great pics . . . love watching the progress and seeing someone not afraid to tear into things and get a job done right. The sweet reward will happen in a few months when you light up the Oslo for the first time . . .

Lookin' good. My chase had a similar "bird bath", had to be recovered and partly reframed from all the rot. All of my neighbors have the same cover too.

Tonight I got the ladder mounts permanently installed on the outside of the chase. It is now complete except for taking it to get it powdercoated. The knuckle draggers who installed the fireplace and the flue pipe used a chainsaw to rip an opening through the decking that protruded into the chase area to allow clearance for the pipe. I opened it up the rest of the way, cutting it back to the braces I installed under it. The builders put no bracing under one side of this chase. One side was supported by the outside wall, and the other side was tied into the roof decking directly between 2 trusses and thats was it! It was pretty shaky. It is amazing how crapy of a job some people will do. I got a bottle jack up there and jacked a couple of 4X4 braces into place and it is lots better now. I will also install a few diagonal braces inside it to give additional stability. I also got the new chimney pipe installed tonight.

Here is the first piece going into place:





I have it all the way up and out of the top of the chase. Here is a couple of shots looking up the chase. This shot also shows the mangled truss that the other idiots cut, along with my 4X4 braces to support the decking that is holding the unsupported side of the chase.





Tomorrow I have to complete the chase cover so I can get it off to be coated along with the ladder. I will feel better when there is a proper cover up there again instead of a tarp! So far the weather has been cooperating, but who knows how long that will last.

Looks great so far!! Keep us posted!

Today I hauled the cover up to the top of the chase to be sure it would fit properly and to mark the location for the hole I needed to cut for the pipe to pass through. Then I removed the ladder and cover to take to get them coated in the morning. After removing the cover I had to cut the hole for the pipe, weld in a raised lip to keep water from draining into the pipe hole along with a brace and some mounting points. Here are some photos of them in place:





I found out today that the stove is ready for pick up, so I will be going to get it after work tomorrow. I will have to start thinking about how I want this wall to go back together....


Also, here is a you tube clip of the pipe coming out. I thougt I would post it on there just for kicks, so figured I may as well post it here too.






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I believe he said he was going to get it powder coated.

Again . . . love the pics . . . looks like you're the sort of guy who when he does something does it right the first time.

Looks good. Permanent ladder.. hmmm.......

Everything went well, and I made it home with the new stove as planned on Friday. I even had time to stop by the JR outlet store and get some deals on some new cigars since I had to pass by it anyhow. I went ahead and put it in the living room instead of waiting for help to arrive the next day.





And here it is all in place. Just in time to enjoy a cold PBR for happy hour!




I did not think that I could pull it up the stairs from the garage with only the help of my assistant, so I decided to jack it up to the level of the floor and drag it inside with the help of a come-a-long. It took a little while, but it required no heavy lifting. The only casualty was the threshold to the door. Apparently the dolly was stuck under it somehow and I ripped it up when tipping the cart back. The whole process was caught on video by my sneaky photographer. You cant hide anywhere from the paparazzi these days it seems! Here it is incase anyone is interested:

Hahaha, awesome! I could have screwed up the come-a-long part about 394083 ways. That's one of the finest looking stoves on the market, by far.

Joe, really cool vid. Glad to see someone unafraid of putting it out there for all to see,...even tearing up the threshold! :lol:
Anything to get that bad boy in the house.
I like that your wife is right in there helping.
Is that a real rotary phone on the wall? I haven't seen one of those since.........well, a long time ago.

Thanks for the compliments. The phone is a replica, and is just hanging there to cover the wall plate. I just stuck it there as we were moving in but I kind of like it there. We went to the stone place to pick out the stone we wanted to put on the wall. I will be building a non-combustible wall from steel and stone behind the stove to cover the chase area.



It doesnt look like much in the truck, but it will be the biggest jig-saw puzzle I have ever done. We started laying them out and it will take a while to get it right. It will take me a while to get the wall ready to be closed up again anyhow. I did a bit of sealing and reinforcing today to seal up some cracks to the outside, but mostly I was a bit lazy and drank beer instead of doing work like I should have been. It is good to relax every now and again.


I need to cut the access vent for the outside air pipe for the stove and also want to install a vent fan for the room downstairs since I have access through the floor right now. Funny how one project always starts another, right? I intend to eventually build a lounge/bar area in the room directly below the family room. Since I want to be able to smoke the occasional cigar inside if the mood strikes, I want to install an adequate exhaust fan there. It makes sense to do it now since it is all pretty accessable. I am also waiting for the adapter to hook onto the T to convert to the single wall stove pipe. I need it to figure out exactly where I need to build the wall and place the stove. The idea is to sink it all back as tight as possible to the T so the stove and wall take up no more space from the room than is necessary.

". . . but mostly I was a bit lazy. . ."

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I don't think anyone following the progress of your install would consider you lazy . . . even a bit lazy Joe. Keep up the good work . . . it's fun watching the progress.

I like your hearth pad. I also thought the wood frame had to be drywall, maybe not in your area. Niced stove but whos the goofy looking guy in the chair

Thanks for including the pictures of unpacking the stove. Since I am getting a floor model, I get to live vicariously through you.

youll like the stove joe. Sometimes their a little finicky, but all in all you made a good choice

I drank PBR for a while too after dishing out for the blue/black Oslo. lol. Great pics. I got the same stove and wouldnt want any other one. Enjoy.

Monday evening I picked up the ladder and the chase cover from being powdercoated. They looked great and it should last a very long time. I know I have seen a few people on here in the local area, so if you ever need anything done take it to Tom at Carolina Custom Powdercoating. His number is 919-460-9600. He does it right, and takes pride in his work! I just did get it all mounted in the last few minutes of day light. This evening I went back up there to install the flashing around the pipe and to do all the needed caulking. I think an elephant could Irish dance up there now and not damage it. Hopefully it will never leak again.




I also pulled the wire up through the wall from where the switch will be in the downstairs room to get it ready for wiring up the new exhaust fan I mentioned. I ordered it today, and it should be delivered tomorrow. I hooked up the adapter to my "T" so I could hang my 90 and see exactly where the stove is to sit. I then went out and started placing rocks. I had a couple of people tell me it is best to just do a wall on the "fly" and not lay then out ahead of time, but I dont think that would work for me. It will take me quite a while to get them how I want them to look with all the time hunting and trimming that is needed. I definitely am no mason, but I will figure it out. I made a frame on the deck that is the size the wall will be and will get them all in position out there. Once I am ready for them I can get the mortar ready and transfer them into their final position on the wall.


And by the way, I dont just drink PBR when the funds are short. It is one of the staples that I try to always have on hand in the beer fridge here. When you are in the mood for a good domestic beer it is hard to beat. To me it is one of the best American Pilsner style beers on the market, but then again... I tend to like ALL beers!
;-)

Nice custom fab work...and excellent choice of beer! I rock the PBR too.