Hi all, I've been quietly looking and listening for about a year now, absorbing ideas and information from the wealth of knowledge you all share... and by the way, thanks for sharing!
My wife and I got our first house in 2007, and we got the wood-burning fireplace put in as an option. It was a basic zero-clearance fireplace, meant more for looks than for function, and we quickly experienced what I guess most folks do - not much warmth from the fireplace, and lots of heat going up the chimney. We began looking at options, but didn't seem to have a good solution, until I stumbled upon this thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/got-a-little-chilly-first-fire.39102/
Wow! What an idea! We began to discuss, and measure, and read Hearth.com, and discuss, and measure, and read wood stove manuals, and discuss, and measure some more... and finally came up with our answer.
We enlisted the aid of a local contractor, and set out on the adventure of removing the zero-clearance fireplace and chimney pipe that the builder had installed, and replacing it with a Lopi Endeavor, using double-walled stovepipe and Duravent flue to meet the tight clearances we were dealing with... Here are a few pics of the work:
This is the original fireplace and mantel.
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85079-5b1debfe39c46439fd8e6b57f1c75179.jpg?hash=OcEe5WzL-Y "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
We ripped out the mantel first, then opened up the wall.
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85080-97b3ccf3c79c5bdb4ddabb23bb0c339f.jpg?hash=8lrbTpXZBg "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85081-105f8bdaad653c01f1aa742ba2ef9faa.jpg?hash=kfNKEHfd-j "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
There we found our first issue - the header would make the ceiling height too low for a standard installation... and I had no desire to try an alcove install, so we had to move it.
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85082-a6dbb1e31d44d0077be0980dfdde8ac9.jpg?hash=aq8m4ESgWD "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
This is the finished chase...
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85083-a6772b68e56b68f831a7b5e14206b992.jpg?hash=ZVFWd7JMlK "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
Now, for the brickwork, with the appropriate 1-inch air gap, of course...
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85084-9a88dea0409d1ce73b5579c09db57f08.jpg?hash=OMIlhk0ojC "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
But can't leave it looking like that... so we decided to do stone veneer.
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85085-45a083e85abcd980545510fbf797a5ea.jpg?hash=ZPtQKNg2w3 "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
The Endeavor fits the space like a hand in a glove - clearances within a couple inches on any given side... but it fits!
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85086-9c94685b233ddd777ed1fa0696ffdb3e.jpg?hash=5yPhZZzlXz "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
Here's the first fire - and we've had plenty since!
![[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/85/85087-a6378f4bc215f07e9f636f5b46855ae4.jpg?hash=mCwUP05PTP "[Hearth.com] A new woodburner!")
We're a happy woodburning family now... haven't run the heat pump yet this winter, and loving every minute!
My wife and I got our first house in 2007, and we got the wood-burning fireplace put in as an option. It was a basic zero-clearance fireplace, meant more for looks than for function, and we quickly experienced what I guess most folks do - not much warmth from the fireplace, and lots of heat going up the chimney. We began looking at options, but didn't seem to have a good solution, until I stumbled upon this thread:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/got-a-little-chilly-first-fire.39102/
Wow! What an idea! We began to discuss, and measure, and read Hearth.com, and discuss, and measure, and read wood stove manuals, and discuss, and measure some more... and finally came up with our answer.
We enlisted the aid of a local contractor, and set out on the adventure of removing the zero-clearance fireplace and chimney pipe that the builder had installed, and replacing it with a Lopi Endeavor, using double-walled stovepipe and Duravent flue to meet the tight clearances we were dealing with... Here are a few pics of the work:
This is the original fireplace and mantel.
We ripped out the mantel first, then opened up the wall.
There we found our first issue - the header would make the ceiling height too low for a standard installation... and I had no desire to try an alcove install, so we had to move it.
This is the finished chase...
Now, for the brickwork, with the appropriate 1-inch air gap, of course...
But can't leave it looking like that... so we decided to do stone veneer.
The Endeavor fits the space like a hand in a glove - clearances within a couple inches on any given side... but it fits!
Here's the first fire - and we've had plenty since!
We're a happy woodburning family now... haven't run the heat pump yet this winter, and loving every minute!
!
