ZC Fireplace to Freestanding Wood Stove

[Hesco]

Good morning,
Been looking thru this forum for a couple months now and finally decided to pull the trigger on replacing my ZC fireplace. A lot of assumptions and I have learned quite a bit since starting this process. We went from considering a non-combustible alcove to a combustible alcove and now (thankfully) we have landed on just having a free standing wood stove in front of the partition wall between our kitchen and living room.

In the last picture, the front face of the wall will be coming off today and dealing with matching the ceiling will be the bane of this entire project. I am leaning towards Drolet Columbia II instead of the Legend III for our 1800 sqft home (20' x 32' main kitchen/dining/living room). I have an inquiry in to my insurance company to see what they need, and I am confident I can exceed clearances to combustibles.

I am looking into what I need for stovepipe and chimney pipe and am considering the Duravent 6DVL double wall stove pipe (9': one 48" and one 68" telescoping section) and the matching ceiling support box kit & triple wall pipe (7' two 36" and one 12" sections). I assume I will have to replace the cap on my prefab chimney.

We are planning on cement board and brick tile on the wall with a non-combustible mantle behind the stove pipe and the possibility of building out another 2x4 thickness of steel stud and cement board/ brick tile from the face of the wall, underneath the mantle for support and asthetics. An outlet will be installed somewhere inconspicuously for the blower.

Floor protection will be either tile or brick/stone on cement board to raise it up a handful of inches depending on what it looks like.

Am I missing anything? Anything I could/should add for functionality while I have things apart?
I looked for information on how much depth the blower adds, but couldn't find anything. Anyone know?
I plan on a rheostat switch somewhere to control the blower speed, while having the thermodisc to control the fan as well. Is there a preferred methodology in that? Should I let the thermodisc do its job and just control the speed by the switch in the back, or is it ideal to add that remotely?
I like the Legend III because of the length of logs N-S. Considering the size of the main open area and overall size of my house, is it worth it to spend the couple hundred bucks extra and go bigger?

Appreciate the wisdom!

 

[begreen]

Duravent is fine, but use the double-wall DuraTech chimney instead of the DuraPlus chimney. It's a better product with a smaller OD. About 95% of our stove loading is N/S. I won't be going back to E/W loading. Perhaps consider the Escape 1800 with legs?

 

[Dakotas Dad]

I remember them days.. a dozen seasons later and still the best thing we could have ever done..

 

[Hesco]

Duravent is fine, but use the double-wall DuraTech chimney instead of the DuraPlus chimney. It's a better product with a smaller OD. About 95% of our stove loading is N/S. I won't be going back to E/W loading. Perhaps consider the Escape 1800 with legs?

Use a double wall for chimney pipe? I thought it was all triple wall. The Dura products are a little confusing to me.

I initially ruled out the 1800 because to add the blower, you're right at the same price for the Legend III that comes with a blower anyway.

 

[begreen]

The naming is confusing. DuraTech is DuraVent's double-walled chimney pipe, DVL is their double-walled stove pipe. DuraPlus is their value-line, triple-walled chimney pipe.

 

[Hesco]

Well, my opinion keeps changing. I'm thinking about possibly doing a half-wall (steel studs, cement board and brick tile). I kinda like the openness.

Has anyone done this? I'd love to get some inspiration.

 

[stoveliker]

Yes I would; much better spreading of the warmth.
Can put some nice tiles on the half-wall too if you like.
Of course you will see the pipe, but a central stove is a benefit to any room, I'd say.

 

[begreen]

I like the openess too. Treat it like a clean palette. Maybe consider relocating the stove?

 

[Hesco]

I like the openess too. Treat it like a clean palette. Maybe consider relocating the stove?

I'm limited by the prefab chimney location a little. I really don't want to cut a hole somewhere, though I'm not 100% against it.

 

[begreen]

I'm limited by the prefab chimney location a little. I really don't want to cut a hole somewhere, though I'm not 100% against it.

We had to have our 3 yr old roof patched for 2 chimney holes in 2006. I was anxious about this, but it was done right by a pro. Also, I still had replacement shingles. You couldn't tell it was done and there have been zero problems since.

 

[Hesco]

We had to have our 3 yr old roof patched for 2 chimney holes in 2006. I was anxious about this, but it was done right by a pro. Also, I still had replacement shingles. You couldn't tell it was done and there have been zero problems since.

We had another round of changed today as we (I think) found a path forward. We are going to have two stoves in the house, one in the addition when it happens and one small one in the living room on a different wall. Gonna patch up the chimney and work on that next year methinks.

 

[FPX Dude]

I like the idea of a relo too, maybe to a corner or sidewall...