Cabin Expansion - Stove to Fireplace?

[koselig]

Hi all! What a great forum!

We live just inland from Lake Superior in a very snowy microclimate. My wife and I with our 4 kids live in a cabin originally built as a 1bd/1ba, and after 3 years are expanding it into a still relatively modest 4bd/3ba home.

Currently we heat using radiant in the basement slab (to keep everything from freezing when we aren't home in the winter) and a Jotul stove on the ground floor. The stove is installed roughly centered on the South side of the cabin in the living room which is open to a loft upstairs. The sole bedroom is accessed to the East from the open loft.

The new structure will expand to the East with the existing upstairs bedroom becoming a hall/sitting area and my son's bedroom, leading into an addition which will comprise 2 more bedrooms and a kids' bathroom. The ground floor expansion will include the kitchen and a master bedroom/bath.

We have always pictured a fireplace on the Western wall, between a window and a douglas fir timber post. But I realize this is far from ideal in terms of centrally distributing heat through simple convection.

So my 2 questions are:
1. Simply, how practical is the idea? Is it just crazy to put a powerful zero-clearance wood fireplace on the far end away from the bedrooms, even though the room is open to the loft above? Or could this still blow enough heat out to be practical as well as beautiful?

2. I am between an RSF Opel and the Jotul Rockland. It is important to me that the unit be EPA 2020 compliant - but I believe the Jotul is not (yet)? What do you think?


This structure has no forced air heat, so I am not thinking of ducting in the Opel, but it might be nice to run a duct straight down into the basement as there will be a family room just below. We will be updating the air exchanger with either a Broan HRV or a CERV (which combines an air exchanger and heat pump), so that should help distribute some heat too.

Because heat distribution has been an issue even with it as-is currently, we will be expanding the radiant system with hydronic radiators in the bedrooms. These will be run on a Navien condensation boiler which will also provide hot water. We have the same unit in our shop which is also my office, and it has worked well. My plan is for the hydronic system to be plumbed in such a way that we could amend it with an indoor wood boiler, ground loop, or solar collector in the future if budget allows.

We have had a lot of trouble with the windows so part of this project is to switch them all out for Duxton fiberglass triple pane. As a result the cabin will be tight and should be quite efficient. I want to make sure our heating system goes hand in hand with this design ethic.

Please share your thoughts! Thank you all for sharing your time and experience with this novice!

Cheers,
Patrick

 

[begreen]

These are not the same animals. The RSF Opel is a Zero Clearance fireplace. The Jotul Rockland is an insert that requires a masonry fireplace in which to be inserted ($$$!). Have you considered a freestanding stove? That will work the best if the goal is 24/7 heating, though it will not help heat the basement.

 

[koselig]

These are not the same animals. The RSF Opel is a Zero Clearance fireplace. The Jotul Rockland is an insert that requires a masonry fireplace in which to be inserted ($$$!). Have you considered a freestanding stove? That will work the best if the goal is 24/7 heating, though it will not help heat the basement.

Got it, I suspected that but wasn’t sure.

We have considered a new larger stove to replace our existing smaller Jøtul like the new EPA2020 compliant Oslo. But I’m trying for the ‘fireplace’ look/feel first to try to get the feel my wife is hoping for, if it’s possible. What do you think about the ‘far end of the house’ issue?

 

[begreen]

What do you think about the ‘far end of the house’ issue?

That's why I mentioned trying to centralize the heat source. It's common in modern homes to tack the fireplace at the far end in a great room, but not very practical from an even heating standpoint. Add a cathedral ceiling in the stove room and the far end bedrooms at the end of a hall are going to get short-changed for heat. With some ZC fireplaces it may be possible to duct heat to them from the fireplace, depending on the distance.