British Style Wood Stove Surrounds, Why so rare in the U.S.?

[ColdIsland]

I really want a wood stove, my house has zero fireplace but is built to be very traditional in style, so we're worried about a 16' tall black stovepipe being an issue when we go to sell, I'm a Realtor and know this style of house does not work with those and people here will be snobby about it. We also really want that mantel for stockings and family photos. My family is from Britain and there wood stoves are typically built into fireplace type surrounds, like in these photos, even in new houses. I've read about the huge height clearances on a lot of wood stoves, I'm so curious as to if there is something different about the woodstoves here, maybe made more basic?

I've look into zero clearance fireplaces, the room we have isn't very large and the only tax credit ZC option is insanely huge.

 

[begreen]

It's all about clearance requirements for the stove. It's not uncommon for a house in Britain to be made of stone and stucco. Many of those pictured are in masonry alcoves with no combustibles involved. If that is the case then clearances are not an issue, though the one with the wood mantel is questionable. But that stove is not sold in the US, so hard to say. As noted, this type of install is not usually done with US/Canadian stoves so there is not a lot of documentation on this type of installation. It can be done, but only with strict parameters and if there are combustibles around the stove then manual must be honored for alcove installation.
The stove installs I have seen in the San Juans were more pragmatic. The value of good heat during extended power outages was more important than concerns about the look of the stovepipe as long as the job was done well.

 

[Dakotas Dad]

Depending on the construction of your home/fireplace, and how much work you want to do.. It's doable..