Jotul 500 Question Mantel Question.

[Texas123]

Right now I am frustrated and I need the help of this board..

Within three weeks I will be having installed a new Jotul 500 stove and I admit to being concerned in the wrong direction.

I will be mounting it on a 5ft by 5ft hearth pad so that is not the problem My problem is above the stove.

I will be venting it into the fireplace and it will be immediately in front of the fireplace box. My problem is, the mantel will not be the 16 inches minimum above the top of the Jotul 500. Even if I went with a smaller stove only the 602 would fit in terms of air space clearance to the mantel.

So, I accept the fact that the mantel has to go, but above it on the wall is wood paneling and behind that is standard wallboard.

So, can I keep the wood paneling which starts at about 14 inches above the top of the stove, or do I need to remove it and have a better insulated wall section?

If I need to remove and insulate the wall above, what would be the best way to do this, other then brick up that entire section of the wall?

I am thinking some concrete backer board as used behind stoves and in bathrooms, placed above the stove should do the job but I am not sure.

Thank you very much

David

 

[begreen]

Maybe a mantel shield can be fabricated to solve the problem. Can you post a picture and give us the current dimensions of the mantel height above the hearth?

 

[webby3650]

I definitely would look into a mantel shield. Not pretty but is a common solution to your issue.

 

[begreen]

Sometimes a discrete shield can be attached to the bottom of the mantel. There have been a few posted here that weren't too prominent.

 

[Texas123]

I removed the mantel this morning. To make it look better I intend to have one row of firebrick on top of the remaining brick wall around the fireplace. I still intend to remove the wood paneling above and replace it with concrete backer board.

Second and correlating to another thread, I talked to the head of installation at Leonard's Stone and Fireplace and they will be installing an insulated six inch single wall stainless steel liner. It will be wrapped with the appropriate bands and connections to secure it to the liner.

He did say I was the first one in Texas to request a double walled or insulated liner given the 'warmer winter temperature" in comparison to the northern states; where such are needed to avoid creosote condensation. I cited this website and the codes and all of a sudden he became most understanding.
Thank you for your advice, I don't want to screw up the last major improvement to my house unless I have to rebuild after a tornado

 

[webby3650]

That's a lot of work, considering there's wood framing behind the paneling I'm not sure cement board will be of any benefit.
Did you not like the mantle shield idea?

 

[Texas123]

That's a lot of work, considering there's wood framing behind the paneling I'm not sure cement board will be of any benefit.
Did you not like the mantle shield idea?

I became too eager and removed the mantle before I read the mantle shield ideas. Otherwise I would be doing this. But, what is done is done.