DIY Hearth Inspired by You

[mikerowe81]

This has been about a year coming, but I wanted to share my work with the hearth.com community since they provided the inspiration and guidance to get this done. Thanks everyone!

Here's all of the higher resolution pictures

I am by no means a pro, but through much advice, borrowing of tools, and a little trial and error...I think it turned out pretty good and my wife loves the wood heat.

A couple of of things I learned for any other DIY'ers out there.

- There are two types of cement board out there (at least at Lowes, which was pretty much my only option) 1) DUROCK Cement Board and 2) HardieBacker Backer Board. The durock is a couple bucks cheaper, and I used it on the floor, but the HardieBacker is flatter "sheet-rock" like board, which worked great on the wall. The cement board screws weren't long enough as I used 2 layers of strips of cement board to give an air gap between my backer board and combustible wall, so I used deck screws and had to predrill all the holes. Use masonry bits, and I used a large masonry bit to create a counter sink as the hardiebacker has pretty much 0 compression.

- I tried to follow the NFPA code as much as was practical as I was installing an older used stove, but for some things I ended following the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. HOWEVER, your situation may require more stringent adherence. Make sure you check with your insurance company first. I had a friend who installed his own mfd. chimney as I did, but his insurance required it to be installed by a professional in order to be covered. My insurance company said it would not require anything special.

- I was only able to get my stove 29in. from my left wall rather than the required 36in. and after getting my stove pretty hot a couple of times I was uncomfortable with how hot that wall was getting. Rather than build tile on that wall as well, I used the side panel from an old black metal computer case and just hung it from that side of the stove to function as a heat shield. So far it has worked perfectly.

- If you have an older stove like me, try to make it as air tight as possible. My first winter, the doors did not seal very well, so if I really stocked it full of wood it would get going and I had no way to control it as I could hear the air sucking in the side of the door. When the stove thermometer was up around 800 and the thermostat in the room said "98..99..HI" it was a little too hot for me. This winter I got a roll of 1/8" by 5/8" stove gasket to seal the doors and what a difference it makes. I can now control the stove temp.

- I have a single story older home with old windows (that I need to replace) and the back bedroom did not warm up very well from the stove. I tried putting some fans in the doorways which helped a little, but still had to use some space heaters. This fall I installed a vent over the stove and put in an 8in. insulated duct with a duct fan in the attic and another vent in the back bedroom. I then used a single pole cooling thermostat near the stove that kicks the fan on when the stove room starts to heat up and turns it off with the stove room cools down. I know it hasn't gotten too cold yet here in WV (30s and 40s), but already it seems to working pretty effectively as it sucks the hot air from the ceiling over the stove, blows it in the back bedroom and then circulates back through the house. And a 35watt fan is definitely better than a 1500 watt space heater.

Well, that's all I've got. Hopefully this will prove to be helpful to someone else.

 

[soupy1957]

Just wondering what it's like to work with a double-door front on the wood stove.

In my case, I have a single door. Seems a bit faster to close when I need to get things closed up fast, than a double-door setup would be.

The stove looks just fine.............just wondering what it's like to deal with two doors, is all.

I'm wondering why you ended up choosing not to kitty-corner the stove, in the corner????

-Soupy1957

 

[raybonz]

Excellent job on that hearth! To me it looks professional and the stove looks great too!

Congrats!

Ray

 

[pen]

Wish my old grandma bear sat in an area like that.

Even if it isn't a corner install :roll:

My record was 102 in my basement. I was starting to worry if there were clearance to non-combustibles issues at those temps!

Can air circulate around that shield you put on the side of the stove? When that sucker is cranking take a lit match near the opening at the top. Bet the air moving up behind that shield puts it out in quick order. Good call on using the shield.

Glad to hear the gasket helped. I never did gaskets but did build a baffle or smoke shelf inside mine.

My modern stove will hold a fire longer, but it doesn't throw the heat like that fisher could.

well done.

pen

 

[jimbom]

Very clever with the hearth carried along the adjacent wall. My hat is off. It looks great.

 

[begreen]

The tile work is beautiful. It's a great setting for the stove and looks picture perfect. There is a problem with the wall shield if it doesn't ventilate. I don't think the installation is that dangerous. There is some insulative value to the captive air space. But how much and how well it will work is unknown.

For future posterity and instruction, the wallshielding is not NFPA 211 and can't be used legally for clearance reduction. Why? Ventilation is the key to a good wall shield. There needs to be an open, 1" or more, vertical air channel so that the wall behind the wall shield remains cool. In this installation the air is captive. There is no bottom or top opening and most importantly, at the 4 ft level, the shim strips are horizontal, blocking airflow. If shim strips are used to create the air gap, they should be vertical only.

 

[fossil]

Well, it looks nice...however there are some troubling aspects to it, in my mind.

First: NFPA 211 is not a Code...it has no force of law. NFPA is an industry group that publishes and maintains Standards...basically recommendations. Your local Authority Having Jurisdiction is the body that establishes Code for where you live. Many local AHJ's have adopted NFPA 211 word for word and put it in place as Code, but not all. It's up to you to find out what the local law says.

Second: As BeGreen pointed out, your well-intentioned wall shield behind the stove is not properly constructed, as far as meeting the definition of a ventilated airspace.

Third: CTC to the left wall, as you pointed out, is insufficient. Your solution was to hang a piece of sheet metal off the stove. Clever ad-libbing, but not a sloution that documented/specified anywhere. The proper solution would be to build and install a properly ventilated wall shield.

Fourth: I can't tell exactly what you did for the hearth beneath the stove, but unless that's a concrete slab on grade directly beneath the Durock (which it may be, in which case it's a non-issue so nevermind), it's insufficient.

Fifth: The ductwork and fan you installed...unless the register where the fan takes a suction is at least 10' away from the stove, it's probably in violation of Mechanical Code.

Sixth: By your own admission, you're not a pro. That being the case, I'd have to say you've no business putting out stuff like this, "...for some things I ended following the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law. HOWEVER, your situation may require more stringent adherence." That's not the kind of advice we typically like to see dispensed around here. Rick

 

[mikerowe81]

Thanks to everyone's input. I did want to make clear as it is difficult to see from the pictures, that there is an air space behind the tile on the wall with an opening at the bottom and top.

My plan is to eventually replace the stove with a newer more efficient stove with lower clearances, but as I didn't have the cash to do it all in one year, (the stove, hearth, & chimney), I decided to go this route.

soupy1957: The double doors have presented no problems in my experience, but I really can't compare as this is my first stove. Also, I did not put it in the corner because it would have to have come out into the room more and there is a window on the left that I was worried about being too close to.

 

[begreen]

Thanks to everyone's input. I did want to make clear as it is difficult to see from the pictures, that there is an air space behind the tile on the wall with an opening at the bottom and top.

My plan is to eventually replace the stove with a newer more efficient stove with lower clearances, but as I didn't have the cash to do it all in one year, (the stove, hearth, & chimney), I decided to go this route.

The horizontal shims prevent a free flow of air behind the shield. This makes the air behind it captive. It is not considered a ventilated airspace. In addition, I don't see a 1" air gap at the bottom of this wall.

I was hoping that you were considering an upgrade. I think almost any modern stove will have lower clearance requirements. Hopefully that will make the CTC issue a moot point.

 

[Gasifier]

Very nice mikerowe81! Looks classy! Enjoy.

 

[firefighterjake]

Beautiful work . . . but as mentioned this would not be approved in some places . . . and could be an issue if there is ever a problem. I'm not one of those guys who thinks every law on the books is great and government is wonderful . . . but in my opinion there are some things and some times when it's a very good idea to follow the recommendation to a T -- and when it comes to installing a device which has the potential to burn down one's house I would tend to not only follow the letter of the law so to speak, but even exceed it when possible. That's the bad news.

The good news is that it sounds as though you are planning on upgrading within a year or so . . . it still doesn't make this installation any safer while it's in use now . . . but I suspect you will be OK in the short run.

 

[firefighterjake]

Oh yeah, one more thing before I forget . . . a sincere welcome to hearth.com.