Hey everyone,
I've been looking around and reading everyone I can possibly digest on hearth.com for several weeks and I figured I should introduce myself and hopefully get some answers to a few of my questions.
Here's my story:
My partner and I purchased a 950 sq. ft stucco home in summer 2007. I grew up with a wood stove in my parents home and always hoped to have one of my own eventually. The house has two fireplaces, one in the living room and another in a bedroom that we use as an office. Without doing much research, I decided I would like to have a wood stove installed where the existing living room fireplace is located. I didn't put much thought into what type of stove, etc. In fact, I obtained one from my uncle for free, a Vogelzang boxwood. The deluxe model. I know, I know. I wish I had done some reading about those stoves prior to having it installed, but the fact is that it was free, and we live on a very tight budget. I paid a chimney sweep company to clean and inspect the chimney (which they said was in good shape) and to install the stove. $600. There went most of my tax refund. I've included pictures for reference on the install. Basically they cut through the brick hearth, installed a clay thimble into the chimney, cemented it in place, connected the stove to the thimble with 90 degree stove pipe, added a fire proof mat beneath the stove where it extends beyond the existing hearth and added a clay topper and galvanized steel chimney cap.
I started burning in late October. I burn nearly 24/. I've done my best to obtain only seasoned wood, but I'll admit not all the wood has not been as dry as I would prefer. The stove draws well, but it can be a real pain to control the air intake. It's drafty and not very well sealed at all. It also overfires to beat the band. I keep a very close eye on it. I go through a LOT of wood, about a rick a month, sometimes more. Also, our central heat/air went on the fritz so using that isn't an option right now. Even if we did run it, we were paying $300 a month with the thermostat set on 65f. Our only other means of keeping warm are space heaters. I'd already decided that as soon as the money became available, I was going to purchase a better stove and possibly use the Vogelzang (after making some repairs and sealing up the air gaps) to heat my detached garage/workshop.
So, my tax refund should arrive in 6-8 weeks so I went ahead (after much reading, research and consideration) to purchase an Englander 12-NC from homedepot.com. I'm hoping to be able to install it myself since it looks like I'll be able to basically pull out the 'zang and reattach the stovepipe to the Englander. They're nearly the same height. Even if I need to buy a different bend of stovepipe, that shouldn't be a problem.
My next issue. Yesterday I got onto the roof to check the top of the chimney. Loads of creosote, lining the top of the chimney cap, dripping down the sides. I purchased a brush from Rutland and the poles are on the way from ebay. (Why Ace Hardware didn't have the poles sitting beside the brushes, I'll never know.)
Here's my main question. I can get onto the roof, remove the cap, clean it, and clean the chimney, but where is all of that creosote going to go? As best as I can tell, any creosote I've knocked loose will fall down into the space that used to be the fireplace and is now sealed off with a piece of durarock. How am I going to get the stuff out? A shop vac with bunch of hose from the roof? The only other way would be to disconnect the stove and stove pipe and snake a vac hose down into that space. That seems nearly impossible plus I'd have to shut the stove down and the house gets really cold, really quick.
I would like to do as much of this myself rather than paying someone. Any ideas? Other thoughts, comments, etc are welcome. This seems like a really great community. I've learned a lot. I just wish I'd known a little more up front.
Fireplace/hearth set up prior to wood stove installation
The current deal
I've been looking around and reading everyone I can possibly digest on hearth.com for several weeks and I figured I should introduce myself and hopefully get some answers to a few of my questions.
Here's my story:
My partner and I purchased a 950 sq. ft stucco home in summer 2007. I grew up with a wood stove in my parents home and always hoped to have one of my own eventually. The house has two fireplaces, one in the living room and another in a bedroom that we use as an office. Without doing much research, I decided I would like to have a wood stove installed where the existing living room fireplace is located. I didn't put much thought into what type of stove, etc. In fact, I obtained one from my uncle for free, a Vogelzang boxwood. The deluxe model. I know, I know. I wish I had done some reading about those stoves prior to having it installed, but the fact is that it was free, and we live on a very tight budget. I paid a chimney sweep company to clean and inspect the chimney (which they said was in good shape) and to install the stove. $600. There went most of my tax refund. I've included pictures for reference on the install. Basically they cut through the brick hearth, installed a clay thimble into the chimney, cemented it in place, connected the stove to the thimble with 90 degree stove pipe, added a fire proof mat beneath the stove where it extends beyond the existing hearth and added a clay topper and galvanized steel chimney cap.
I started burning in late October. I burn nearly 24/. I've done my best to obtain only seasoned wood, but I'll admit not all the wood has not been as dry as I would prefer. The stove draws well, but it can be a real pain to control the air intake. It's drafty and not very well sealed at all. It also overfires to beat the band. I keep a very close eye on it. I go through a LOT of wood, about a rick a month, sometimes more. Also, our central heat/air went on the fritz so using that isn't an option right now. Even if we did run it, we were paying $300 a month with the thermostat set on 65f. Our only other means of keeping warm are space heaters. I'd already decided that as soon as the money became available, I was going to purchase a better stove and possibly use the Vogelzang (after making some repairs and sealing up the air gaps) to heat my detached garage/workshop.
So, my tax refund should arrive in 6-8 weeks so I went ahead (after much reading, research and consideration) to purchase an Englander 12-NC from homedepot.com. I'm hoping to be able to install it myself since it looks like I'll be able to basically pull out the 'zang and reattach the stovepipe to the Englander. They're nearly the same height. Even if I need to buy a different bend of stovepipe, that shouldn't be a problem.
My next issue. Yesterday I got onto the roof to check the top of the chimney. Loads of creosote, lining the top of the chimney cap, dripping down the sides. I purchased a brush from Rutland and the poles are on the way from ebay. (Why Ace Hardware didn't have the poles sitting beside the brushes, I'll never know.)
Here's my main question. I can get onto the roof, remove the cap, clean it, and clean the chimney, but where is all of that creosote going to go? As best as I can tell, any creosote I've knocked loose will fall down into the space that used to be the fireplace and is now sealed off with a piece of durarock. How am I going to get the stuff out? A shop vac with bunch of hose from the roof? The only other way would be to disconnect the stove and stove pipe and snake a vac hose down into that space. That seems nearly impossible plus I'd have to shut the stove down and the house gets really cold, really quick.
I would like to do as much of this myself rather than paying someone. Any ideas? Other thoughts, comments, etc are welcome. This seems like a really great community. I've learned a lot. I just wish I'd known a little more up front.
Fireplace/hearth set up prior to wood stove installation
The current deal
