Love it and new to Wood Fires

[MountVernonLog]

Hello friends,
Happy new year! Today is 4 Jan 2026, I am new to this forum and recently moved to the Mount Vernon, VA area. I stumbled upon this forum by accident and honestly regret not having this resource available sooner (In one of the forums Cartalk guys are mentioned...and I had to sign up immediately).

I recently purchased an Invicta Aaron wood stove for my open living room. My single floor house has wood floors and a crawlspace (no basement). I plan to install a ceiling fan in the living room eventually too for circulating the hot air down.

Installing: I am soo new to wood burning, that I called several local contractors to help install the oven and flue/piping. My oven is still enroute being delivered possibly around February or March 2026 (I bought it overseas cheaper!). Most contractor do not want to install self purchased ovens. But those that were willing to reply to my requests quoted me two prices for labor and material: One installer quoted me $5K without a site visit and the other in the mid $4K after he conducted a site visit. I went for the $4K guy since he gave that personal touch and appeared sincere and experienced, plus the cheaper price included him being licensed which is apparently important in Fairfax county, VA. The $4K includes only the piping in the middle of the room straight through the roof and attic, proper insulated flue and roof pieces, permits, and scheduling for county inspection. All which I think are reasonably priced.

Hearth: One issue I have is were to put the Invicta Aaron stove. I have wood floors and a crawlspace. So I am concerned about the weight of the stove and anything I construct or purchase to place the stove on. I want the bench space to be functional (not sure but a bench that at min stores some firewood or a place to sit maybe, or even put some items to dry?) I am thinking of using a general contractor to build something like this or purchase myself the black invicta bench/stand:
Sample1:

Sample 2:

Sample 3:

My questions or concerns:
1. What are some things I should pay attention to as a first time wood stove user?
2. Should I reenforce the floor for the additional load under the crawlspace?
3. What imflammable carpet or hearth mat options do you recommend?
4. Should I be worried about the attic? Can I add some sort of heat exchange to keep my attic warm? (water lines are routed through the attic)
5. What other questions should I ask you all that I forgot?

If all goes as planned I am more than happy to post more pics of the delivery, install, and possible construction of some sort of a bench.

I will sit aside and pull into other interesting posts here that I enjoy reading (even the once that do not apply here). This forum is great and I appreciate everyone's input.

-MountVernonLogger

 

[Jsjac1]

I see you bought your new stove from outside of the United States. I wonder if it is UL rated. Most insurance company's like the stoves to be UL rated.
Interesting looking stove. Can not say I seen one of those before. I like how you can see the fire from both sides.

 

[begreen]

The weight shouldn't be a major issue, it's distributed across several joists. However, if it is a concern, a support post could be placed under the carrying beams. To keep things simple, there is the base meant for this stove. It weighs about 250#.

Invicta Aaron or Preston Support Bench

Made with the Aaron and Preston model wood burning <a href="https://www.efireplacestore.com/wood-stoves.html">stoves</a> in mind, this Invicta support bench the perf

www.efireplacestore.com

This stove is listed as a fixed burn rate stove with no secondary air, and is EPA exempt, which means it is probably listed as a fireplace. It will require a hearth pad that extends at least 8" past each side and the back and at least 16" in front of the stove door. This can be made of any non-combustible material (metal, stone, glass, grouted tiles, brick, etc.)