First wood stove install

[Wardogg]

Greetings all,

Long time lurker first time poster. After our second winter in our new home heating with propane my wife and I have decided to rip out a double sided fireplace(that looks great but is worthless) and install our very first wood stove.

Quick run down of the house. Total sqft around 2400 with a 3/4 finished basement(meaning there is one section, a laundry room/furnance room/ hot water heater with just the cement walls and floors) the rest of the basement is finished. The upstairs is approx half the total sqft with a slight lean to less than half. Maybe around 1000sqft. 3/4 of that consist of the 3 main rooms-9' ceilling, with what will be no walls between them. There are 3 bedroom located on the western side of the house down a very small hallway attached to the 3 big main rooms(kitchen, living room, sittiing room).

I have yet to do any of the project, right now we are in the planning and cost estimate phase(and collection of wood phase as well 1.5 cords split and stacked so far).

I have decided to install an Englander 30NC(hopefully catching one of their spring time special prices) Cost being the primary reason, but also because I have yet to read a bad review about it, be it here at Hearth.com or any other website. The few questions I have for you fine folks is some advice as to where to get the supplies for the rest of the install.

Things I'm sure I'm going to need.

Hearth build materials: micore 160(to quickly help acheive the 1.5R factor I need), durock, maybe some metal studs for subfloor, tile, thinset,

Stovepipe: Would like some advice/opinions on double walled vs single walled and cost estimates that I should look for.

Chimney. Flat ceiling. The current installed chimney for the fireplace I am fairly certain is an 8" air cooled chimney that my local sweep says has to come out. Ive priced a few places and seen anywhere from $170 per 4' section to $256 per. Is this a common price range?

I think this covers the major components. I know there are some odds and ends I didnt list but these should be the major players cost wise.


Any advice, is greatly appreciated. I welcome any direction you have for me and look forward to hopefully be burning by this coming winter.

 

[begreen]

Is there a slab floor in the basement? If so, could you get back down to the slab if there is carpet covering it? That would save you building a hearth. Just tile the concrete floor.

Most important if installing a basement stove will be location. Will it be near the stairs? Is this location somewhat central to the house floorplan?

 

[Wardogg]

The install is going upstairs. Not in the basement. Only one bedroom down there will need heat. I think geo thermal temps will take care of the laundry room.

 

[begreen]

Got it. So 1400 sq ft first floor and 1000 sq ft upstairs? Or does the 2400 sq ft include the basement? A floor plan sketch and a picture of the current ZC fireplace would be helpful if you can post them.

And welcome to hearth.com.

 

[Wardogg]

My terminology is confusing. 2400 with basement. It is a one story house with a basement. Mainfloor above ground is the one I will be heating. My guestimate is around 1200 sqft give or take. Ill try to get a floor plan drawing put together and a few pics of the fireplace. It will be some time tomorrow before I can get those up.

 

[begreen]

No problem, the internet is not the easiest way to communicate. 1200 sq ft in KS should require about a 2.0 cu ft stove unless the house is poorly insulated and leaky. The 30NC is a bit large. You might want to look at the Englander Madison. It's a bit smaller and has easy, ember protection only, hearth requirements. Another stove that would work is the PE True North TN19.

 

[Wardogg]

Ok here is my crude floorplan drawing. Nothing is to scale. The sqft numbers are fairly accurate. So with the two bathrooms included Im looking at a minimum of around 1500 sqft I need to heat. The ceilings in the kitchen and living/dining room are 9ft(including above where the stove will go) The dining room is vaulted to around maybe 12ft, there is a dropdown in the hallway leading to the bedrooms down to 8ft ceilings. Two of the bedrooms have a vaulted ceiling the other is an 8ft ceiling. The stove would be going where the FP currently is. The chimney is directly above.

 

[begreen]

That should work. The 30NC is going to be a bit oversized except for the coldest weather, but you can do partial loads to compensate. The toughest area to heat will be the far bedrooms. This could be improved with an insulated duct that intakes from the far left walls and outputs in the living room. With a quiet inline bathroom fan blowing the cooler air toward the stove temps should even out quite a bit at the left end of the house.

 

[Wardogg]

Great. Thanks for taking a look. I am looking forward to the project getting started.

 

[begreen]

FYI Englander now makes an in-between sized stove with easier hearth requirements called the Madison.
(broken link removed to http://www.amfmenergy.com/50masmheup18.html)