Am I screwed?

[FrankDog]

Hey everyone,

I’ve lurked on this forum for a while and have gotten several questions answered along the way. So thanks to everyone who contributes.

I recently bought a timber frame home and fell in love with the great room and it’s fireplace. I grew up with a wood stove and was excited to buy an insert. Until I learned the fireplace is a prefab. I’ve read quite a bit about that dilemma and it seems the general consensus is to tear down and replace. I’m attaching a picture (blacked out some personal artwork)

Am I to expect all of this stone coming down too? Even if I just needed to replace the prefab, same level of effort? The house is pushing 30 years old, so it seems like something I’ll have to deal with eventually. Can this job be done with minimum damage to existing fireplace and my wallet?

I plan on getting a hearth/fireplace company out here, but I’m in the boonies and it’s busy season, so I know I’ll have to wait quite a while.

Thanks for any help.

 

[DAKSY]

Can you find the rating plate identifying the unit? That can help us guide you...

 

[FrankDog]

Majestic SHR48.

 

[DAKSY]

Is the wall BEHIND the fire box accessible?

 

[FrankDog]

Sort of. A staircase wraps around it. There is access under the stairs, behind a closet. It’s not terribly big.

 

[DAKSY]

I'd say it's not gonna be cheap. That particular model does not allow for a solid-fuel (woodburning) insert to be installed in the fire box.
You WILL hafta tear it out, along with whatever venting is in there as well. Depending on the type of cultured stone & how it's installed, you are probably gonna lose some of it. Getting a heart shop involved will give you ideas, but I bet when it's all said & done, you're gonna be over $10K USD. Here's how the unit is SUPPOSED to be framed in.

 

[FrankDog]

My God. Why would they ignore that?

Thanks for taking a look. Hopefully they can cut it out of the front a little. I had never even heard of a prefab fireplace until this house. Didn’t know it was a thing.

 

[Ashful]

@bholler may be able to offer some additional details on project scope and cost, as he does this for a living.

Is this going to be DIY or hired out, if you pursue it? Depending on your heating costs, and your intended operation, this may still be reasonably amortized at $10k. I save at least $3500 in oil and electrons per year, heating with wood.

 

[FrankDog]

The goal is heat the home primarily with wood burning. But energy savings won’t be huge. The house has geothermal heating and cooling. So the bills aren’t killing me. However, especially since I’m borderline off grid, the power isn’t always reliable. And I have 10 plus acres of forest.

 

[FrankDog]

Oh. And I would outsource the work to a pro. Two things I don’t mess with, fire and water.

 

[bholler]

10k probably is a good starting guesstimate. Have you considered leaving the fireplace and installing a stove elsewhere?

 

[FrankDog]

Thanks for contributing. I have. However, my concern is that the prefab would have to be replaced eventually anyway. And it seems like it’ll be a pain either way. Unless I’m missing something.

Do you think the majority of fireplace could be retained? And just some of the stone surrounding the firebox removed? If that’s the case, it could be worth it.

If the whole thing has to come down, I don’t know what I’ll do.

Appreciate there’s some guesswork on your part. Still curious.

 

[mellow]

Could a rear vent freestanding stove be put in front of it and new 6" insulated liner be run up the 8" (hopefully) pipe?

 

[webby3650]

What makes you think the fireplace will need replaced at some point? Has it been used hard? Typically they are rarely used and if they are maintained well, it shouldn’t need replaced anytime soon. Water infiltration is big problem that’s often overlooked. I would certainly be looking into adding a woodstove in a different location and preserving the fireplace. It looks awesome, and adds good resale value.

 

[begreen]

I agree, it would be a tough one to replace and visually doesn't look to be in bad shape. If this is the ideal location then a rear-vent stove connected to a ss liner is worth considering.

 

[Zack R]

At my last house I was able to install a freestanding stove in front of a zero clearance fireplace, the 6" flex liner was routed through the existing zero clearance chimney.

 

[webby3650]

I agree, it would be a tough one to replace and visually doesn't look to be in bad shape. If this is the ideal location then a rear-vent stove connected to a ss liner is worth considering.

The chimney police won’t allow that though.

 

[FrankDog]

The idea behind assuming it’ll have to be replaced some day, is the “lifespan” of prefab. It’s going on 30. I replaced the refractor panels and grate to get what I had in working order. So that may help explain why it looks like it’s in good shape. I’m not saying it’s in bad shape. Just operating under the assumption it’s got a 30 year lifespan.

Ideally, even at 10k, the look can be retained, and something more effective can be inserted. Worst case would be leave as is, set up the stove elsewhere. Use sparingly.

 

[mellow]

A woodstock stove in front could be made to look just as nice as the fireplace.

A thread from a similar install: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-fireview-install-and-hearth-extension-updated.35988/

 

[bholler]

A woodstock stove in front could be made to look just as nice as the fireplace.

A thread from a similar install: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/new-fireview-install-and-hearth-extension-updated.35988/

I really don't like the look of those stoves. But there are tons of great looking stoves on the market

 

[Pertzbro]

My parents have a prefab with gas starter and the gas is always on at 50-100% throttle with wood. It's burnt HARD. Like retired grandmpa has a fire every single day and night in it hard. I dont forsee it needing to be replaced anytime soon. You should be fine. If you want to heat with wood, I'd look at a free stander somewhere else. Something about heating primarily with wood and inserts just dont rub me well.

 

[bholler]

My parents have a prefab with gas starter and the gas is always on at 50-100% throttle with wood. It's burnt HARD. Like retired grandmpa has a fire every single day and night in it hard. I dont forsee it needing to be replaced anytime soon. You should be fine. If you want to heat with wood, I'd look at a free stander somewhere else. Something about heating primarily with wood and inserts just dont rub me well.

When was the last time your grandfather's fireplace had a full inspection scanning the chimney inside and out etc? Very few hold up well to use like that.

 

[Pertzbro]

No cameras but regularly swept. It's an interior chase.

 

[bholler]

No cameras but regularly swept. It's an interior chase.

So without an inspection how do you know? With heavy use or after they got 20 years we pull the chase cover and do a full inspection every 5 years or so.

 

[webby3650]

I really don't like the look of those stoves. But there are tons of great looking stoves on the market

Kind of looks like a failed shop class assignment...