We recently moved into a home, and there's an original fireplace that's rather plain and terrible at putting out any heat.
Now, my wife is rather taken with the looks of a freestanding stove, so we're wondering if we could put it on the existing fireplace hearth, and perhaps partly inside the fireplace. The problem is that the opening is small -- about 25 3/4" tall by 36" wide. The hearth extends out about 20" from the front face of the fireplace.
This won't be our main heat source (and honestly Denver doesn't get *that* cold), so it's just a supplemental heater and a decorative item for our living room. What I'm getting at is that it doesn't have to be huge.
A few questions:
1.) Is it difficult (i.e. expensive to hire a professional) to raise the lintel? From what I've read, adding some inches to the top would let us choose from more different stoves. I can only tell that the Jotul F3 *might* fit in our current fireplace, but even that's iffy.
2.) Alternatively, do you think a stove might work sitting fully out on the hearth? Again, maybe the Jotul F3 for that scenario? Or is there another stove that would work better?
3.) Any other suggestions on how to install a stove without breaking the bank?
Photos of the current fireplace:
http://i.imgur.com/Cq25def.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uuSfNEn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tgGBFkK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UEb3PPN.jpg (left side lintel from below)
http://i.imgur.com/beBZvph.jpg (lintel from below -- sorry for quality)
Now, my wife is rather taken with the looks of a freestanding stove, so we're wondering if we could put it on the existing fireplace hearth, and perhaps partly inside the fireplace. The problem is that the opening is small -- about 25 3/4" tall by 36" wide. The hearth extends out about 20" from the front face of the fireplace.
This won't be our main heat source (and honestly Denver doesn't get *that* cold), so it's just a supplemental heater and a decorative item for our living room. What I'm getting at is that it doesn't have to be huge.
A few questions:
1.) Is it difficult (i.e. expensive to hire a professional) to raise the lintel? From what I've read, adding some inches to the top would let us choose from more different stoves. I can only tell that the Jotul F3 *might* fit in our current fireplace, but even that's iffy.
2.) Alternatively, do you think a stove might work sitting fully out on the hearth? Again, maybe the Jotul F3 for that scenario? Or is there another stove that would work better?
3.) Any other suggestions on how to install a stove without breaking the bank?
Photos of the current fireplace:
http://i.imgur.com/Cq25def.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/uuSfNEn.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tgGBFkK.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UEb3PPN.jpg (left side lintel from below)
http://i.imgur.com/beBZvph.jpg (lintel from below -- sorry for quality)
