Jotul C450 Kennebec installed

[oconnor]

We now have it done.

We picked the C450 specifically because of how it can be mounted partially exposed into the room. We only have 600 sqft on main floor and 600 up for bedrooms/bath, so we couldn't go with a stove, too much room, but didn't want a fully recessed insert. That is also why we removed the brick facing of the old fireplace, to allow us to expose more top/sides of the insert without sticking it further into the room and losing floorspace.

There was a lot of work as the pics will show.

Stage 1 - Removed original mantle and brick facing that protruded into the room and was UGLY!
Stage 2 - Removed adjacent bookshelf and nasty plaster, cut back lathe to meet clearances, and removed old colored concrete hearth to cut out hardwood floor and extend hearth further. Thanks to my little guy and mom for their help getting the bookshelf and plaster off.
Stage 3 - Had textured concrete hearth and surround installed, as well as concrete mantle.
Note here - at this point I was really unhappy as I was certain the end result was going to look like a cardboard fireplace prop at the elementary school Christmas play. As the pics show, the colour is not done until it is finally sealed and cured. Even today, it looks better than it did the day it was finished, just because the concrete is now cured, as well as the sealer.
Stage 4 - install day -
Note here - read the manual over and over again, and measure things over and over again. I had a processional installer do the job, and all of is missed the 29" measurement on the Kennebec that allows the firebox sleeve lip to fit inside the fireplace, as we were all focused on the fireplace width at the back. In the end we had to cut 1/2" off each side of the sleeve lip to get it to fit back far enough to get the surround to meet the wall flush. I also missed the fact that we needed to insulate the liner to meet code requirements - still working on getting that fixed.
Stage 5 - My wife called me at work and said she had some work to do that night, and wondered if I had recorded my favorite show the other night, so she wouldn't feel bad about ignoring me that evening. The TV is 3 feet left of the stove, and my chair is prime real estate for a good view of both. I love her alot!!

The textured concrete, while explained by the fellow who did it as though it was some sort of lost black art, was nothing more than installing steel wire lathe to the wall, and applying the mix, and working it to get the desired texture, then applying a coloured releasing powder to the mix, and tooling it with a mason's pointing trowel to give it the desired look. After it dried, it was washed down, and a sealer applied. Again, my fellow described the sealer as some space age technology, and was nice enough to give me a pint for touch ups of any chips. When I checked the WHMIS sheet on it, it's just regular concrete floor sealer you can buy at the local supplier. The concrete was the same cost as having a tile shop come in and place tile on the wall and floor, and was much better at coping with the crooked walls and floor in our house.

 

[InTheRockies]

Very nice. All the demo and reconstruction will be worth it as you and the family enjoy those roaring fires this winter. I like the look of the new concrete fireplace--the insert's beautiful, too. The concrete does look like stone. Thanks for sharing the photos.

 

[WOODBUTCHER]

I bet your glad to have your living room back in order...nice look'in btw

WoodButcher

 

[BJ64]

That turned out really nice, excellent.

That was a lot of work and planning; and it was brave.

How did you convince he wife to go along with this?

 

[oconnor]

Her family has a 400 acre woodlot, so free heat was the main selling point.

Also removed a 10ft cast iron rad from the room, and with housing costs running between $1000 - 2000 sqft, we figure installing the stove bought us $10000 of our house back.

I wonder if that argument will work to get me a wall mount flat screen plasma TV?

 

[smokinj]

Very nice install!

 

[BJ64]

I wonder if that argument will work to get me a wall mount flat screen plasma TV?

It is worth a try!

 

[BrotherBart]

Beautiful. Enjoy!

 

[begreen]

Wow, that's quite a transformation. You've got a real heater now. The shots are great and your kid is cute as a button too!

 

[TinasArk]

Brent,

How thick (or thin) is that concrete mantel wall?

 

[67ref]

nice job on the install, kudos to you.
can't wait to get mine done.
we were looking at Jotul as well at one point but wanted a bay view instead.

 

[oconnor]

The wall is from 1/4 to an inch. The mantle rests on a brick support embedded in the wall, just below the top of my sons head in one of the pics.

 

[67ref]

Sure you got enought clearance on all that old wooden strapping around the unit there Brent ?

I understand you paid someone to do all the work for you and then it wasn't to code,
then you had to spend thousands more to get it right, that must have sucked huh ?

well, at least you learned from it and now know everything.

 

[d.n.f.]

Looks very nice.

Sit down and have a beer.

 

[oconnor]

Sure you got enought clearance on all that old wooden strapping around the unit there Brent ?

I understand you paid someone to do all the work for you and then it wasn't to code,
then you had to spend thousands more to get it right, that must have sucked huh ?

well, at least you learned from it and now know everything.

Yes, it does suck to have to pay for the mistakes of others - you level of compassion is noted.... I am now well informed on the issue, and hope others can see thru thier situations to learn from my mistakes. Don't knoiw eveything - I am open to those with differing logical opinions who can express them respectfully.

Happy with the clearances - I had to pay close attention to the structural beam that runs in contact with the fireplace, and insulating the liner gives me a zero clearance requirement to combustibles in the chimney structure - that was my mitigation.

The strapping is cut back specifically to get it an inch away from the fireplace, so that I could have a code compliant fireplace before the install began, and it also kept what was behind the wall clear of the stove clearances - as required by my manual.

The only code compliance issue I have remaining is the fact that the Kennebec has really high hearth K/R value requirements - instead of simply stating that it needs to be on the hearth floor of a compliant fireplace, they spell it out - in the order of a K value of 2.82 if I recall - and I just couldn't get there given that I have a flush floor, so I went with a single pour concrete extension, from firebox all the way to hardwood with no joints or seams. There was no way for me to reasonably meet this requirement out to 18" in front of my door glass, and my installer didn't even know it was in the manual, and local code experts don't know a liner from stove pipe - but they are the authority having juisdiction, regardless of competency. I was able to meet it out to about 12", as thier are no combustibles beneath the fireplace structure there.

So I have my own risk managment in place - I know the risk, assessed it and now I happily live with it. I also noted that none of Jotul's other inserts have a similar restriction - not sure why.

but you knew that, didn't you 67ref? Or are trying to stir up old arguments.....

Glad you asked though, as the process of harm reduction and risk managment come hand in hand with burning wood, so long as the user can acknowledge the factors.

 

[67ref]

yeah that doesn't look to code at all, as a matter of a fact IMO an accident waiting to happen. Perhaps best to get a Fire Preventions Marshall to have a look at that.

Hate for you to burn down your house, then be flipping through a photo album later in life and seeing that picture of your kid giving the thumbs up.

FYI, in that second photo, would appear you have as much wood embedded as I do.

perhaps I can't tell clearly from any of your pics so I prolly shouldn't comment but I do not see any clearances to combustibles from the masonry work.

good look with that, nice stove thought, we were looking at that unit as well but when my wife saw the bayviews on the Osburn I lost all other bets on other units.

 

[oconnor]

yeah that doesn't look to code at all, as a matter of a fact IMO an accident waiting to happen. Perhaps best to get a Fire Preventions Marshall to have a look at that.

Hate for you to burn down your house, then be flipping through a photo album later in life and seeing that picture of your kid giving the thumbs up.

FYI, in that second photo, would appear you have as much wood embedded as I do.

perhaps I can't tell clearly from any of your pics so I prolly shouldn't comment but I do not see any clearances to combustibles from the masonry work.

good look with that, nice stove thought, we were looking at that unit as well but when my wife saw the bayviews on the Osburn I lost all other bets on other units.

I will not argue with you, one way or the other - I note your sarcasm and a lack of genuine desire to add constructive input to my situation - rather, you seem to want to rub my nose in it. I suspect it is because you didn't like what input was passed on to you when you asked for some concerning your install.

Your angry and in my view inappropriate replies to me and others are recorded elsewhere on this site, for the rest of time as it should apply to the internet. I was not the only one who objected to your construction materials, but somehow I am the one you have zeroed in on.

We must agree to disagree, go and enjoy our stoves, and turn our efforts to constructivley helping those who ask for the input of the Hearth.com community. Regardless of what you do/say, that is what I will do, warmly and safely.

 

[fossil]

You've both done very nice installations. Perhaps there have been moments during the interchanges here on the forum when the "doer's" level of frustration was raised by the responses he received from the "critics". Perhaps sometimes the "critics" are too quick to toss out their opinions and too slow to ask for clarification of something in a photo or a short explanation that doesn't look or sound right to them. Perhaps the "critic" doesn't know a woodstove from shinola...there's no exam to be a member here. Perhaps a bit more patience, humility, and willingness to constructively criticize rather than simply condemn out of hand would be traits we could all work on. These forums are an invaluable resource...let's all try to keep them that way, shall we? Rick