Chimney installation - better with double-walled stovepipe?

[mapper]

Hi everyone, first posting here, I've got a Woodstock Fireview stove on order and have had a local chimney installer out for a bid and am hoping some of you can give me your thoughts on the install.

House is a 2 story plus unfinished basement with no existing chimney. The stove is going in the first floor family room in a corner with one exterior and one interior wall.

I have the option of going up through the master bedroom closet and then through the roof, or up several feet inside then out the exterior wall and straight up for a total run of approximately 25 feet.

The installer recommended going out the exterior wall. He says I'll have plenty of draft due to the height of the chimney, and that it wasn't worth the closet space/expense to stay inside. He bid this option with single walled stovepipe inside and class A chimney outside.

Any thoughts on this? For example, is there any reason to not go ahead and pay the extra $ for double-walled stovepipe? Wouldn't it keep the heat/draft/creosote build-up to a minimum by keeping the chimney as hot as possible until the gasses are outside, especially since my chimney will be mostly exterior?

Are there any other questions I should be asking?

All feedback appreciated, thanks!

 

[PaulRicklefs]

Hi everyone, first posting here, I've got a Woodstock Fireview stove on order and have had a local chimney installer out for a bid and am hoping some of you can give me your thoughts on the install.

House is a 2 story plus unfinished basement with no existing chimney. The stove is going in the first floor family room in a corner with one exterior and one interior wall.

I have the option of going up through the master bedroom closet and then through the roof, or up several feet inside then out the exterior wall and straight up for a total run of approximately 25 feet.

The installer recommended going out the exterior wall. He says I'll have plenty of draft due to the height of the chimney, and that it wasn't worth the closet space/expense to stay inside. He bid this option with single walled stovepipe inside and class A chimney outside.

Any thoughts on this? For example, is there any reason to not go ahead and pay the extra $ for double-walled stovepipe? Wouldn't it keep the heat/draft/creosote build-up to a minimum by keeping the chimney as hot as possible until the gasses are outside, especially since my chimney will be mostly exterior?

Are there any other questions I should be asking?

All feedback appreciated, thanks!

First off you are better off going through the heated interior space of your house with the chimney. Failing that then yes you are much better off with a double-walled stovepipe. It not only improves draft but is safer (in the event of a chimney fire) and lasts much longer. Sounds like you are on the right track.

Have you priced out the interior chimney method? There is one heck of a difference in initial draft when that chimney is warm and inside. Especially with a two-storey install. I think that would be the ultimate solution if it deems practical.

Paul Ricklefs

P.S. I have the exterior chimney in my house (came like that) and the draft takes forever to develop on a cold day. In my previous house the interior chimney would create draft without a fire going.

 

[mapper]

Thanks, Paul. I did not get a bid for inside - it is already pretty pricey (I live outside of D.C., expensive to do anything). I will ask, plus check with more installers, come Monday.

I will also change the existing bid to use double-wall stovepipe.

My house is only 5 years old, and well insulated/fairly tight, yet I know that there's a draft going on - I have gone upstairs and shut all the bedroom doors, and if I just crack one open, I can definitely feel a little draft - so I completely understand the natural draft effect, and how that might pull air down the cold chimney and out into the house when I'm starting a fire.

When I got the bid, I asked for the inside install, but the contractor assured me the exterior route would be much more cost effective and work just fine since we were going up 4 feet inside first, then out and up. And from what I've read, there's the balled-up-newspaper-near-the-flue trick, guess I'm hoping that works for me too.

I guess the question for me is, at what price do I trade-off the effort of getting the draft going vs the expense of the interior chimney?

Thanks again for your help.

Jackie

 

[PaulRicklefs]

At the end of the day I live with the exterior chimney setup and it works OK. I do have to use some newspaper to initiate draft as well but like I said, it works well with some habit modification.

Take care and enjoy your new stove!