We are purchasing a home with a wood burning stove that the current owners use to heat the basement and the manufactured home above. Our concern when seeing the home and confirmed by our inspector is that the exit pipe is too close to the ceiling. I'm including picture for clarity. The sellers have not had any problems, stove was professionally installed with all of this great work so it seems strange that the pipe is so close to the ceiling. Not sure if the ceiling tiles are considered safe. I found this link on a previous forum ( https://www.hearth.com/talk/wiki/nfpa-wall-clearance-reductions/ ) and believe that the pipe to ceiling distance is approximately a foot not 18". We have three kids and plan a gate around the stove but I am concerned about this ceiling to pipe distance. Any recommendations? I know that just because it hasn't been a problem doesn't mean it won't be in the future and I guess that's my overall concern is safety.
Ceiling help
- Thread starter Lilly3
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The stove pipe is definitely less than 18" from the ceiling. The thimble appears to be about 2+ courses of brick away from the ceiling or about 8 or 9" instead of 18". You'll have to measure on site to verify. For safety, have the stove pipe changed from single-wall to double-wall stove pipe. That has a 9" clearance to the ceiling.
kennyp2339
Minister of Fire
Buy it as is, upgrade the stove to a more efficient heat (Englander NC30 or PE would look great down there) and replace the pipe with double wall (2) 45's instead of (1) 90deg bend and call it a day.
Will that be difficult or costly to do? Does it involve making the hole in the wall for the pipe larger? Or is it more like wrapping the current pipe?
Changing over to double-wall with a pair of 45s on an offset will cost a few hundred after labor and taxes. I'd consider just make the stove safe for this season, especially if funds are tight after the move. Have the chimney swept and inspected by a certified sweep and that person can change the stove pipe too. The Nashua was a decent stove for its day. It won't be as clean burning as a modern EPA stove and will use more wood, but it will get the job done. A new stove will run anywhere from $600 to $3,600 depending on what is chose. Modern stoves need fully seasoned wood in order to burn properly. The Nashua will be a little more forgiving.
Here is a diagram of a connection using 45s instead of the current 90º elbow.
![[Hearth.com] Ceiling help](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/199/199735-f76e1dd1bfdc491a52bb69e9b75168ff.jpg?hash=sRszvl_DLG "[Hearth.com] Ceiling help")
Here is a diagram of a connection using 45s instead of the current 90º elbow.
Is there any kind of ceiling heat shield that could be put in place until we could fix it correctly with the double wall pipe and better angles? For example could we purchase a tin ceiling tiles in that area or would there still be a heat transfer issue?
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