We have had a Tulikivi wood and pizza stove in our house since we bought it last year, never used. Needed a WETT inspection before home insurance would allow us to use it. The inspector just told us that while this appears safe, the unit needs clearance of 8 inches minimum around each side to pass and wouldnt certify it. Annoying as the previous owner used it 200+ days a year for about 30 years and the way this was installed is that there is a notch in the house which fits this exact unit. I cant move this thing as it weighs about two tonnes and I also cant add any more clearance. Any ideas? Shop around for another certification guy?
Failed WETT on my Tulikivi, now what?!
- Thread starter kitch67
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Well I would reach out to Tulikivi to ask them some questions as you are right, you are moving that. I have typically seen these as stand alone in the middle of a house but there are images of some up against walls so not sure the setback requirements on these. Yours appears to be soapstone on top that never gets that hot but ideally it should be away from combustibles I would think. Sorry you are having to deal with this.
Edited to add others than seem to be up against drywall. Maybe this inspector does not know these well?
Edited to add others than seem to be up against drywall. Maybe this inspector does not know these well?
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EbS-P
Minister of Fire
yooperdave
Minister of Fire
Is it possible to get ahold of the home's previous owners? I wonder what they did for homeowners insurance; maybe they'd be willing to help out.
Here are a couple dealers listed on the tulikivi dealer locator page.
Contacts
4502 S Ferdinand St.
Seattle, WA 98118
Marinko Kordich
206-723-2102 (office), 206-300-7700 (cell)
Email: [email protected]
http://www.radiantstoneheat.com
Contacts
PO Box 2085
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Jason Temple
360-379-2877
Email: [email protected]
https://www.templefire.net/
Here are a couple dealers listed on the tulikivi dealer locator page.
Radiant Stone Heat
Contacts
4502 S Ferdinand St.
Seattle, WA 98118
Marinko Kordich
206-723-2102 (office), 206-300-7700 (cell)
Email: [email protected]
http://www.radiantstoneheat.com
TempleFire, Inc.
Contacts
PO Box 2085
Port Townsend, WA 98368
Jason Temple
360-379-2877
Email: [email protected]
https://www.templefire.net/
I built a masonry heater. I asked the inspector about clearances. He said at least 2". Well, there is a firebox, next 5" of firebrick, next a 1/4" gap, and lastly 5" of granite. So over 10" of thickness. If your MH is similar, 8" clearance seems excessive. Besides Tulikivi, you could also call the masonry heater association and ask for advice, https://www.mha-net.org/. Also, the Frisch family (James, Jim, Derek) are knowledgeable about this kind of stuff in your area.
| Western Masonry Inc. | James Frisch | 16315 Smokey Point Blvd #A Marysville WA 98271 United States | (360) 659-0100 Fax: (360) 659-0102 [email protected] |
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These are super low volume, exactly. I asked a dealer nearby but they weren’t super helpful. Will try another tomorrow
Great idea, maybe the clearance is supposed to be from where the firebox ends and not where the soapstone ends
We bought the house from the people who installed this. They assure us there was no funny business with moving it after the install and that it was all certified by an authorized dealer. But that dealer is defunct now as they installed it 30 years ago, so slightly challenging
that is interesting, did you get that from one of their catalogues? that does seem to suggest clearances come from the firebox...
Update: Tulikivi told me 3" would only fly if there was a heat shield in the wall, and there is not. Pretty frustrating as the sides dont get hot and this has been used for 30 years safely! https://docplayer.net/34819776-Tulikivi-technical-manual.html is a manual which discussed 3" clearances but I think only with a heat shield. So it looks like sadly this fireplace is not long for this world...
either dismantled and reinstalled with the proper clearance, or dismantled and given to the previous owner. either way is going to be expensive...
Why would a WETT inspection be needed in Seattle? WETT is a Canadian standard which often is stricter than the US.
What is the current clearance behind the fireplace?
Before giving up, another alternative might be choosing a different insurance company.
What is the current clearance behind the fireplace?
Before giving up, another alternative might be choosing a different insurance company.
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you are right, it is not WETT, some other kind of cert. I assumed it was that because that was in our last place (which was indeed in Canada), but back then we sailed right through it...
Good idea, will ask our broker, but I bet every insurer will want that. the previous owners were grandfathered in
How much would it cost to bump that wall out or rebuild it with a heat shield?
SpaceBus
Minister of Fire
My thoughts as well, it may be easier to rebuild the walls to spec rather than move the masonry heater.
Past history here shows a wide spread of insurance policy requirements from a quick overview, to a detailed report for the underwriter. We switched to Allstate a few years ago and they did not require much info on the wood stove in spite of having an agent come out and assess the property.
I think that would be my approach rather than losing the Tulikivi. In the least, I would try it for a season and see how I liked heating with it.
@kitch67 is the house in the heart of Seattle with close by neighbors or in a more rural suburb location? I ask because that might affect the frequency of use. If the technical details can be worked out, how would the stove be used? Special occasions, pizza nights, and power outages or 24/7 heating?
Do you have well-seasoned, dry firewood to run the fireplace?
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exactly, it is much easier to actually expand the wall to the house than move the unit (which requires disassebling it and a few stones likely break).
The house is next to neighbours but not in the center. I have access to wood, and might use this thing a dozen times per year.
The house is next to neighbours but not in the center. I have access to wood, and might use this thing a dozen times per year.
When we lived on Queen Anne we didn't burn there due to population density in the city where houses are on standard city lots.
As long as it is not irritating the neighbors I'd figure out how to keep it. My sister has a built-in, wood-fired pizza oven in their house and it gets used a lot.
As long as it is not irritating the neighbors I'd figure out how to keep it. My sister has a built-in, wood-fired pizza oven in their house and it gets used a lot.
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Given the thermal mass of it, you may need to run it for a while before any heat starts to radiate out of it.
I don’t think a Friday night fire will do much.
I don’t think a Friday night fire will do much.
Yes, it's designed to run a hot fire cleanly and can take some time to completely warm up the stones though I would expect there will be good radiant heat from the front as soon as the fire is burning strongly. I'm curious about how well it works as a pizza oven. It looks like that is directly over the firebox so that the oven heats up quickly.
I called Tulikivi tech. support. You say it has been fired 200+ times a year for 30 years. Wow, that thing looks good for its age. He said the mortar back then was different. To get it apart you would have to chisel away on it after you wet it down. He said that sometimes on older often fired stoves things get locked up in place and it can be a pain in the a** to get the stove apart - yours is probably one of these.
Even still if you would rather sell it, I would be interested (after doing more disassembly research).
Even still if you would rather sell it, I would be interested (after doing more disassembly research).
yooperdave
Minister of Fire
Regarding the post where it was stated "the stove has been fired 200+ times a year...(for 30 years)"
Sounds like it wasn't being used per instructions.
Sounds like it wasn't being used per instructions.
Using your stove - minimum effort required with Tulikivi
Wood heating does not always have a good reputation when it comes to the amount of work involved. In fact, traditional fireplaces and stoves consume large amounts of wood and have to be continuously supplied with fuel in order to obtain a constant heat. An appliance with a yield of 50% (which is already high compared to less efficient stoves) wastes half the wood used. In addition, it has to be regularly supplied with more wood, and therefore requires constant attention. With a Tulikivi, you only have to make one fire (in the evening, for example) and the appliance will stay warm without any fire for 24 hours, so that you are free during the day. Tulikivi produces yields of over 80% from the wood, so that you will no longer have to bring in wood for nothing.Similar threads
