Building out space for a replacement Stove... Advice?

[FatalXCept10n]

I bought a very old house, ca. 1710 recently, and one feature it has is a wood stove. I recently went to light a fire in it, and the whole thing began smoking out of every seam. We used this opportunity to replace it- it was ugly and disgusting as far as wood stoves go, and there had been some question about the safety of it anyway... We bought a replacement that I am going to use to redo the whole space, leaving intact everything from the pipe going out to the chimney intact (This had recently been cleaned and inspected by a local sweep, so I am using it as a starting point). Looking at the walls around the stove, it spears to be 1/4-1/2" thick flagstone on top of some kind of plasterboard- it does NOT look like a Wonderboard material. The old stove was about a foot away from it on both walls, and the front clearance was less than 6" to the carpet.... 12" if you count the tray in front of the door. The new stove is rectangular, and I have to build out the pad at very least if it were to fit even close to how the old one was.... The top of the new stove is at least 4-1/2 feet from the ceiling, so I am planning to just use the existing wall situation and build against it to make a decent-looking hearth. For the pad, I am planning to put down a frame around the outside of the pad and put in about an inch of self-leveling concrete- something intended for heat, then a layer of brick with mortar in between, and then cover the whole thing with ceramic tiles. Is this sound design for the pad?
Also, for the walls, I was going to look at spacing about an inch out with some sort of insulating board I read about in a NAMIC guide, then tiling over that with tile to match the floor. If I read things right, I should be able to put 12" between the stove and the wall with this setup. I am still planning on 18" just to allow for margins of error, etc. Can anyone let me know if I have any flaws in my design and reasoning? I appreciate the help!

 

[DAKSY]

You really need to go by the instructions in the stove manual for both the dimensions & materials for your hearth pad.
That also goes for the Clearance to Combustibles (CtC) for walls & ceilings.
Without knowing what "replacement" you bought, none of us can help.

 

[FatalXCept10n]

You really need to go by the instructions in the stove manual for both the dimensions & materials for your hearth pad.
That also goes for the Clearance to Combustibles (CtC) for walls & ceilings.
Without knowing what "replacement" you bought, none of us can help.

I wish I had that information but I don't. There is no marking or any other identifier on the stove, aside from a '26' cast into the top of the firebox...But aren't there NFPA guideline for generic stoves? It has at least 6" of clearance under the stove with the legs on it, and the two doors on the front are each a two-piece door with a hinge in the middle. It's not heavy as far as stoves go, but is not terribly light. I think it is steel. There is no firebrick built in to the firebox, chimney pipe is 8".... but that's about all I have to go on.

 

[bholler]

Post some pics of it but with no tag yes you will have to go with the clearances ect for an unlisted stove which means 36" to combustibles unless you make ventilated heat sheilds

 

[FatalXCept10n]

Post some pics of it but with no tag yes you will have to go with the clearances ect for an unlisted stove which means 36" to combustibles unless you make ventilated heat sheilds

I'll try to get some pics tonight. I am planning to build some kind of heat shields- probably brick spaced 1" off the existing walls with venting at the tops and bottoms. I should be able to go 18-12" space between the stove and brick, I would think.
The problem with the existing space is that it doesn't look like what I would think is "protected. Unless I am totally wrong about the building material, it looks like 1/4 slate on top of a 1" plaster wall.... shielding in front of it would be the precaution I would take. Might tile over the brick without sacrificing the venting, but above all just want the space to be built safely! stay tuned for pics later... and thanks for the advice!

 

[FatalXCept10n]

So above you can see the images of the stove. Included was an 8" elbow, which is resting on top of the stove. Obviously, I have done no installation- the new stove is standing on its legs on top of the old hearth pad, which is in very rough shape, and certainly not big enough. In the middle picture, you can see the door, which is wood and certainly combustible. What you cannot see is to the right of the door- there is some sort of a panel with a window in it that looks just like the door, but without hinges or a handle. The plan there is to swap the two, then put the brick heat shield in place, blocking the panel so that we protect that otherwise combustible surface. I think the hearth pad needs to extend out the roughly 3 additional feet this creates to give the required amount of rear clearance, as well as the front floor needed for ember protection. There is so much overhead clearance that the increased pad height should not be an issue. As you can see, that wall looks sketchy at best in terms of protection. So I need to make the wall about 6" thicker (1 inch airspace + 4" brick plus additional room for margin of error) on both sides. Since we had a sweep in and a home inspection, I think the pipe out to the chimney is fine. You can see it hovering a foot or so above the stove- after I have the stove on the new pad, I'll get the reducer and pipe for the chimney connection.... Anything I've missed?
Thanks!

 

[bholler]

So above you can see the images of the stove. Included was an 8" elbow, which is resting on top of the stove. Obviously, I have done no installation- the new stove is standing on its legs on top of the old hearth pad, which is in very rough shape, and certainly not big enough. In the middle picture, you can see the door, which is wood and certainly combustible. What you cannot see is to the right of the door- there is some sort of a panel with a window in it that looks just like the door, but without hinges or a handle. The plan there is to swap the two, then put the brick heat shield in place, blocking the panel so that we protect that otherwise combustible surface. I think the hearth pad needs to extend out the roughly 3 additional feet this creates to give the required amount of rear clearance, as well as the front floor needed for ember protection. There is so much overhead clearance that the increased pad height should not be an issue. As you can see, that wall looks sketchy at best in terms of protection. So I need to make the wall about 6" thicker (1 inch airspace + 4" brick plus additional room for margin of error) on both sides. Since we had a sweep in and a home inspection, I think the pipe out to the chimney is fine. You can see it hovering a foot or so above the stove- after I have the stove on the new pad, I'll get the reducer and pipe for the chimney connection.... Anything I've missed?
Thanks!

Ok what are your intentions with this stove? If you are going to try to get any heat from it you need a different stove. What you have is called a Franklin stove because it was originally designed by Ben Franklin as an upgrade from open fireplaces. And yes it is an upgrade from that but not by much. It ill eat wood like crazy and not put out much heat. If it will just be for ambiance then it will be fine but if that is a 6" chimney it will not work well and will probably smoke into the room. You will also need allot more than just ember protection on the floor I would go with a minimum of 4 layers of durarock next gen or 6 or regular cement board.

 

[FatalXCept10n]

Ok what are your intentions with this stove? If you are going to try to get any heat from it you need a different stove. What you have is called a Franklin stove because it was originally designed by Ben Franklin as an upgrade from open fireplaces. And yes it is an upgrade from that but not by much. It ill eat wood like crazy and not put out much heat. If it will just be for ambiance then it will be fine but if that is a 6" chimney it will not work well and will probably smoke into the room. You will also need allot more than just ember protection on the floor I would go with a minimum of 4 layers of durarock next gen or 6 or regular cement board.

The room it is in is a living room, so ambience will be a big part. That room is also very drafty, so I figured the stove would offset that factor and make the room a bit more comfortable. I was envisioning a 4-8" thick pad under it- starting below the carpet, but extending out plenty far enough to catch anything that might shoot out from the front of the stove. I was thinking of putting down a bottom layer of some sort of cheap particle board, then a layer of concrete, then brick, then durarock and perhaps tile or something on top- balancing function with form and safety as the priority. If it works the way I am thinking, then the radiant heat from when the doors are open should create a balancing effect on the temperature fluctuations around it and gently warm the room.

 

[bholler]

If it works the way I am thinking, then the radiant heat from when the doors are open should create a balancing effect on the temperature fluctuations around it and gently warm the room.

Yes it will give off radiant heat but it will at the same time be sucking allot of air that you have already paid to heat up and out the chimney.

extending out plenty far enough to catch anything that might shoot out from the front of the stove.

You need to be 18" infront of the stove with your floor protection.

 

[bholler]

sorry it is 16" not 18

 

[begreen]

That looks like a too tight space for a stove unless the wall behind it is 100% masonry with no studs behind it. The pictures may be deceiving but it looks closer than 12" to the door side and rear. Even if there was 12" it's too tight for practical use. Is there another more central location in the house to put a stove? If not, could that door be eliminated?

 

[Easy Livin’ 3000]

View attachment 193873 View attachment 193874 View attachment 193875

So above you can see the images of the stove. Included was an 8" elbow, which is resting on top of the stove. Obviously, I have done no installation- the new stove is standing on its legs on top of the old hearth pad, which is in very rough shape, and certainly not big enough. In the middle picture, you can see the door, which is wood and certainly combustible. What you cannot see is to the right of the door- there is some sort of a panel with a window in it that looks just like the door, but without hinges or a handle. The plan there is to swap the two, then put the brick heat shield in place, blocking the panel so that we protect that otherwise combustible surface. I think the hearth pad needs to extend out the roughly 3 additional feet this creates to give the required amount of rear clearance, as well as the front floor needed for ember protection. There is so much overhead clearance that the increased pad height should not be an issue. As you can see, that wall looks sketchy at best in terms of protection. So I need to make the wall about 6" thicker (1 inch airspace + 4" brick plus additional room for margin of error) on both sides. Since we had a sweep in and a home inspection, I think the pipe out to the chimney is fine. You can see it hovering a foot or so above the stove- after I have the stove on the new pad, I'll get the reducer and pipe for the chimney connection.... Anything I've missed?
Thanks!

Time for a new(er) stove! I contemplated the exact stove that you have pictured. Please don't be offended, it is a POS. If you can't afford something else, defer your install, and start pinching pennies (per Ben, in the spirit of Franklin, a penny saved is a penny earned). Once you can, buy something that will do right by you and your historic house. In the meantime, get the area up to code and be ready for Fall 2017. I recommend Craigslist if looking for a used stove (and by all means to sell that old Franklin to someone who isn't as enlightened as you obviously are, as you came to hearth.com for advice). If you want something new, lots of good recommendations will be forthcoming, just need to ask.