Advice

[stryped]

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1. 
   strypedNew Member
   Joined:
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   Loc:
   kentucky
   I live in southern ky, almost at the tennessee border. My house was built in 1998. The main part of the house that is used the most is 1600 square feet. It is all on the bottom level except for a converted bonus room upstairs that my teenage daughter lives in. That area is not used a whole lot but is divided into two rooms and the entire area is about 12 feet wide by 50 feet long with 7 foot ceilings.
   
   I do not have a basement. I only have a crawl space which limits the things I can do in terms of heating. I currently have forced air propane unit in the crawlspace. I have an all electric small forced air unit that is separate for the upstairs bonus room. I have propane hot water.
   
   I would really like to reduce my utility bills. I think my biggest expense is the water heater as I have a family of four that likes to take a lot of showers.
   
   I have attached two pictures I took quickly this morning. One is of my never used "fireplace". I have contemplated putting a wood burning stove in it's place. However, this is not masonary. There is a chimney outside. It is wood/vinyle siding with single wall pipe for the chimney. I know it would have to be replaced. However, I am worried about insurance and if it would go up. I talked to my Allstate agent several years ago who said they would not allow me to put one in. (I am not sure if he knew what he was talking about as someone I work with also has All state and they said something different.
   
   The other thing that would be ideal with my set up is if I could place a wood burning furnace in my attached garage. Above the garage is an attic. The square opening you see in the picture is a concrete area under my house that is the entire length of the garage and is attached/part of the actual crawl space. The idea would be to run the vent from the wood burner and some how attach it to my existing forced air unit. Also, on the other side of the garage wall near that square opening is my current utility room with the water heater in it. I have seen add on heating elements for water that can be added to these furnaces. Because the water heater is higher than the furnace, I would probably not even need a water pump as I could take advantage of thermosiphon action. However, not sure if any insurance company would insure such a set up and actually, even though I heard a lot of people have wood burners in their garage, I actually looked up and it is a violation of the NFPA to have any solid fuel appliance in a garage. The theory is a garage has gasoline and things in it usually.
   
   Other option is to build a shed and put some sort of unit in it and run the lines in the ground to the crawl space. I live on 5 acres and in the country with not a lot of codes. (I in fact have amish neighbors). However, not sure how the insurance company would feel about an indoor appliance being used outdoors.
   
   Whatever I decide I will want to do the entire job myself. I am mechanically inclined and to be honest, there are not a lot of good contractors around here and I don't really trust anyone.
   
   I appreciate any advice!

 

[begreen]

I think if you investigate you will find that there are a lot of insurance companies out there that will allow a woodstove in the home as long as it is installed correctly. I know you want to do it yourself, but ask if a modern EPA stove installed and permitted by a certified installer and inspected by the local authority will pass. If not try another company. Wood stoves in a garage are generally a no-no and not permitted. An outbuilding furnace is going to be inefficient and may cost more than you think. If so the payback time could be in years.

 

[Eater309]

Stryped,
I'm no insurance broker so this is only my $.02 worth. My insurance company told me that there are more house fires started by Christmas Tree lights per year than by wood burners. That may not get you anywhere with your Co. but it is worth mentioning. Just tell them you are changing companies due to their polices about wood burners. As for the install.... way out of my league there. Good luck

 

[firefighterjake]

To me it doesn't really matter if the town a person lives in has an inspector or not . . . when it comes to bringing something into my house that can burn it down and kill me I want to make sure either myself or the guy I hire follows the best practices in installing it by the book . . . or in this case . . . by the code.

As mentioned . . . many insurance companies allow woodstoves installed inside a home. If you are looking for simple heat -- and not hot water -- this should be a possibility. If you explain what you want to put in your home and they will still not cover it (some companies will require an inspection, professional installation and/or an increase in premium -- it really depends on the company) . . . look elsewhere. In my own case I saw no increase in the premium, but did have to have the stove professionally installed and inspected.

 

[Beer Belly]

My Insurance carrier said they know the house has a fireplace, so adding a stove doesn't change anything.....it didn't matter to them, but I did take it upon myself to have it installed by a pro, and inspected to make sure it's up to code