Old Vermont Castings Intrepid Stove in cottage I bought

[Mr. Mark]

Hello,

My wife and I are in the process of buying a little old lake cottage and I was pleased to find a Vermont Castings Intrepid stove installed in the corner. This is an older version without the catalyst. We stayed in the cottage 1 night so I was able to use it a little. I don't know much about stoves but I know VC is a good brand. I'd like to reinstall the stove because I'm not happy with the current brick hearth, and also the chimney pipe which is obviously from some previous metal fireplace years ago. One of the glass inserts has a chunk broken out so I could not regulate the stove very well. I'd like to remove the big brick hearth and get the stove lower and a little closer to the wall. I noticed the flu pipe can be changed from back to top exit. I was thinking this would allow me to move the stove back a bit to keep the hearth from taking up so much floor space. Maybe someone can make suggestions. I was thinking about a soapstone or quarry tile base, maybe slightly raised 8" or 10". Also thinking about removing the wall/shelf on the left which would leave me with a flat wall instead of a corner. Also planning on replacing the exterior chimney pipe, cap, etc with new correct parts.
Here a link to some pictures:


Thanks,
Mark

 

[begreen]

Welcome. Do you have the stove manual for proper clearances? The current brick veneer wall behind the stove does not qualify for a clearance reduction. Check to be sure the stove has the rear heat shield attached.

Here's a link to the manual and installation guide:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/vermont-castings-older-stove-models/

 

[Mr. Mark]

Yes, the stove has a heat shield attached to the back. I'm not sure what you mean by "brick veneer".
The brick on the wall is a full course.

 

[begreen]

I can see that now with the additional pictures. It looked like veneer in the first shot. If full course then it warrants a 33% clearance reduction from the unprotected dimension. Note that the wall protected dimension requirements are for a ventilated NFPA211 wallshield, not masonry. You may be ok, but double check.

Has the chimney been cleaned and inspected? It looks like it's starting to rust.

 

[Mr. Mark]

I'm sure it's never been inspected. The cottage is on an island and closed-up during the winter. The stove was probably only used a little in spring and fall when the ice is out. We're not the owners yet, probably next week after the paperwork is done, so please direct any criticism to the previous owners. I plan on updating chimney, cap, etc so a little rust doesn't concern me. The old stuff is heading to the dump/recycler along the brick hearth.