driving myself crazy with clearances and other questions before purchase.

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Boiler74

Burning Hunk
Nov 30, 2012
225
West Lafayette, IN
Hello all. Thank you for taking the time to read my thread and hopefully help me out. I am driving myself a little crazy with questions before my first wood stove purchase. I am planning to purchase a Woodstock Progress Hybrid. I have a 6 year old house, well insulated, 2300 square feet.... but with a great room that is 32' x 25', tall 19' cathedral ceilings at the peak, and LOTS of windows. Great room opens to a 2nd floor loft bedroom that is 30' x 16'. The house is only 1 bedroom right now with a garage that can be converted easily if the need arises (meaning marriage and family). Right now, I'm single and don't need more space. So, with that large volume of space in the great room/loft bedroom, I figured I would need a decent sized stove. Plus with the possiblity of 900 more square feet of finished space, I want to size correctly. Hence the Progress Hybrid. Seem right?

Now, for the clearancees. I have a true masonry fireplace. It is faced with brick all the way up to the ceiling, and is 6'6" wide at the face. I do know that the brick on the very edges, like 2", overlays drywall and the brick above the firebox is on drywall from about 5'6" and up. So call the true masonry fireplace at 6' wide and 5'6" tall. I will be bringing the liner out of the back of the Progress and up my chimney... about 20'. I plan to insulate the liner as well.

My hearth is too tall and not deep enough. So I'm going to remove the existing brick hearth and replace it with a hearth that will be about 7" tall, with a first row made up of brick laying flat and the top of the hearth made up of brick sitting on the edge. The hearth will be the full width of the fireplace, 6'6" wide, and about 37" deep in order to accomodate the Progress at 25" with the 12" for the front hearth clearance. I may get the ash lip so I can shrink that 4 inches, but that will be a game day call. There is cement cantilvering out from the fireplace foundation to support the hearth. My new extension will be extending out over a plywood subfloor, and will lay directly over a joist. So I'm not worried about support. I know the Progress is heavy, but I am reducing the load of the hearth and will tie the new work into the cantilevered masonry under the existing hearth. And the original mason will be helping me, so I know it will be done well.

So, is that 7" of brick enough? By my reading, that gives me an R-Value of about 1.2. The manual calls for .8. I am assuming that the brick's mortar carries the same R-Value, or is that a different game? There is mortar between each brick. If that carried heat differently and through the hearth, then that would be an issue.

Where I am really driving myself crazy is the clearances around the stove. The Progress will sit in front of the firebox, so I'm not worried about the rear clearance. The stove will have about 2' of hearth on either side of it. My concern is about the wall clearances. The manual calls for 24" of distance from the sides of the stove. Now, I have that in a direct, perpendicular line to the stove. No problem. But am I also supposed to take that from the back corner of the stove? Remember, there are two or three inches of drywall under the very edges of the brick face on either side. I built a cardboard mock-up of the stove, and placed in in position. From the corner, I can get 24" to the very edge of the brick face. Under that, there is a combustible. Am I worrying about that for no reason, or is this a concern?

Any other advice, comments would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Josh
 
Seems ok by the description. You could send a drawing and picture into Woodstock for verification.
 
I'm not familiar with the requirements of that particular stove, but the stoves that I have studied generally have a lesser required clearance from the corners than the they do from the sides. I know that is for an approximately 45 degree installation in a corner. However, If I understand your post correctly, you are concerned whether the 24 inches from the corner of the stove to the edge of the brick protective surface is enough, on a stove that specifies 24" clearance to the sides. My reaction is that it should be plenty. What's the corner clearance spec on the stove you are proposing?
 
I'm not familiar with the requirements of that particular stove, but the stoves that I have studied generally have a lesser required clearance from the corners than the they do from the sides. I know that is for an approximately 45 degree installation in a corner. However, If I understand your post correctly, you are concerned whether the 24 inches from the corner of the stove to the edge of the brick protective surface is enough, on a stove that specifies 24" clearance to the sides. My reaction is that it should be plenty. What's the corner clearance spec on the stove you are proposing?

Thanks for the help. And nice Avatar. I have a John Deere 4710 with a 448 hoe on it. Good little combination.

So I went back and read the manual again, then looked on Woodstocks website. I guess the Progress comes with a free rear hear shield. Clearances given using the UL listed Rear Heat Shield and 36" Vertical Stack Shield (which I don't need with a rear vent) are 7" rear, but stilll 24" side. This is for the stove sitting in front of a wall. Now, for a corner installation, clearances with the rear heat shield are; stove corners to side walls 12". Without the rear heat shield that number is 36". So I think that means I'm good, right? But the side number is still 24", so that is why it's so confusing.

Sorry if I'm beating this to death, but I built this house myself, and do not want to burn it down because I missed an inch here or an inch there. I wish I would have known then what I know now. I would have done things differently and designed an area in the middle of the house for a woodstove. Live and learn.

Once again, thanks everyone for looking.

Josh
 
You could make a cardboard template of the stove and necessary clearances, lay it down, and then leave a little extra. Plus, possibly a couple more inches for a different unit in the future...

Also, consider the possibility that there are studs behind the brick, which, are in contact with the existing brick which, in my research, does not count as it is in contact with combustionables.

I was doing template layouts for days prior to committing to hearth design and stove/chimney (diameter) purchase


"measure twice, cut once"
 
Hi boiler, I'm new around here and new to wood burning so take this comment with that in mind. I have just installed a wood stove and went through similar types of problems and concern with clearances. I originally bought a stove that I thought would be well within clearances for me. I have an install on a straight wall, and the nearest combustible was behind and out from the back corners. I thought that this would be fine because I was within the clearances for the corners, as shown in the corner install. However, since it was not a corner install, I learned that I had to use the clearances listed for sides, even though there was nothing to the sides, it was all behind off of the corners. I guess the point I'm making is that at the time it was confusing to me to have different clearances depending on the install, like why should I need more space off of the corners if its on a wall rather than placed in a corner, I figured clearance to combustible shouldn't change based on the install, I mean heat off the corner is heat off the corner, But it does change the clearances according to the manual. If you're doing a corner install, go by the clearance from the corner to the wall, if you're doing a straight wall install, even if your combustible is out from the back corner of the stove, you should go by the side clearances.

If Im wrong or missed the point entirely let me know. Like I said, I'm a newb here, but I hope it helped a little.
 
Sounds like you are good with the rear heat shield. Woodstock told me the side clearances were large due to the door swing on one side, not really sure why so large on the other. But I've definitely been glad to have lots of room on the door side when embers have popped out on me when I'm getting coals ready for a re-load.

Also check your mantel clearance - that was my gotcha with the Fireview - I had to have a heat shield made to reduce my clearance to the wooden mantel to 12", which I just barely make (honestly I think I've got like 11.75 inches to the shield). One day I'd like to remove the wood mantel and do a fieldstone covering on the fireplace, with a slate or bluestone mantel...mmmm....

Good luck and please post pics when you're done! Also if you are worried definitely send woodstock a picture, they will tell you frankly if it will work or what you need to do to make it safe!
 
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Welcome to the forum Boiler74.

Sounds like you are good to go but I suggest still keeping in close contact with Woodstock.


Also a welcome to kipp438. Good to have you guys on the forum.
 
Thanks for the help. And nice Avatar. I have a John Deere 4710 with a 448 hoe on it. Good little combination.

Josh
Mine is a JD 4600, with a 460 loader and a 48 hoe. Looks like I have about the same setup as yours, except mine is a generation earlier.

Sorry for the tractor talk interuuption, guys. Back to woodstoves...
 
Thanks everyone. I do think I'm ok with the clearances. I read on some of the FAQs that a brick face over drywall reduces the clearance requirements by 33%, I believe. So if I'm within 12 inches of the brick anyway, that gives me some added confidence that I'm ok. BUT, I am going to run this by Woodstock, just to be sure.

Going to ordre this week, and start doing the deconstruction of my hearth soon. I will take pictures, and if I can figure out how, I will post some of the process.

Looking forward to joining your community of wood burners. Now I got to start working on the woodpile. I have enough for this year, but it will get pretty thin next. I do have some standing dead around my property, so those will be the winter project.

Thanks
Josh
 
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