Low clearance, wood stove in fireplace install, 1800s house

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

MattRock

New Member
Nov 27, 2018
5
Stouffville
Hello,

I would like to know if anyone can guide me to a low clearance wood stove setup that would meet clearance requirement in my old fireplace.

While I have done some reading and searched the forums, I am not sure if there is anything at would work in this situation. Specifically, I am unclear on the clearance requirement from the front of the stove pipe to a combustible.


The dimensions of the fireplace are:
36" height
36" wide
12" depth at top
17" depth at bottom
29" width at back of fireplace

The wood moulding measures:
39.5" height
39" width

There is another fireplace on the opposite side of the house which is slightly larger. At the moment we burn oil primarily.

Thanks in advance
[Hearth.com] Low clearance, wood stove in fireplace install, 1800s house
 
Last edited by a moderator:
National Fire Code
  • This ordinance states that any combustible material (such as a wood mantel surround or shelf) must be at least 6 inches from the fireplace opening.
  • In addition, for every 1/8 inch that a trim or molding piece on your mantel juts out, another 1 inch of clearance is needed.

I'm no Xpert on installing this kind of equipment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bholler
Hello,

I would like to know if anyone can guide me to a low clearance wood stove setup that would meet clearance requirement in my old fireplace.

While I have done some reading and searched the forums, I am not sure if there is anything at would work in this situation. Specifically, I am unclear on the clearance requirement from the front of the stove pipe to a combustible.


The dimensions of the fireplace are:
36" height
36" wide
12" depth at top
17" depth at bottom
29" width at back of fireplace

The wood moulding measures:
39.5" height
39" width

There is another fireplace on the opposite side of the house which is slightly larger. At the moment we burn oil primarily.

Thanks in advanceView attachment 234271
I dont think there are any stoves that can work with those clearances. It certainly is not safe as a fireplace either. And the vinyl tile would need to go to.
 
I just assumed it was ceramic tile, because I can't imagine why someone would put vinyl in front of a fireplace. We haven't been here long but, you're right, I double checked, it is vinyl of some sort on both fireplaces.

I've read some folks have been able to make some of the Blaze King stoves, work in low clearance situations.

A pellet stove is my fall back but, it would be best to find a low cost installation to burn wood for heat since there is wood on the property.
 
Last edited:
I dont think there are any stoves that can work with those clearances. It certainly is not safe as a fireplace either. And the vinyl tile would need to go to.

@bholler has helped me and countless others here many times and is an extraordinary support and expert, however, I'm not sure if I agree with this. I dealt with close clearances to a mantel (albeit not as close as yours) and was stumped for years! I finally resolved it two times, and I believe both would work for you:

1) First, I put in the very small but handsome Jotul F100 and used top and side mantel shields which I custom made with 22 gauge steel, a pair of metal cutting snips and some high temp paint. I met clearances and passed inspection no problem - I believe you would too. Here's a link to the manual: (broken link removed to http://www.tallpinesfarm.com/web_ext/Owner's%20Manual/139678_R01_Manual%20F%20100%20NA_EPA.pdf). If you are rear venting the stove (which you should so you don't have to stuff the stove in the firebox loosing a lot of heat to your brick), you will likely need double wall flue pipe to connect to your liner, which has a 6" clearance if you get the right stuff (I use Selkirk). I soon realized that the F100 was waaaaay undersized for my space, and the short burn times and barely any room to get 16 inch splits in drove me nuts, so I went back to the drawing board (see number 2 below).

2) Second, I discovered that the people at Woodstock not only make some of the world's greatest wood stoves, but they will also help you every step of the way, including looking at photos and measurements of your setup, and your whole home size and layout, as well as what you are trying to achieve (i.e. 24/7 burning, just supplemental heat, etc.), and will help you every step of the way and stand behind you and their products. If you are willing to pull a free standing stove out a bit in front of your mantel, you can have up to 24 inches of vertical (with a slight incline upward) double wall stove pipe from the back of your stove to your T connecting to your chimney liner. You will almost definitely need far less than the 24 inches and will likely just need to get the stove a few inches in front of the mantel, and thus will make top and side clearances (Woodstock will discuss if you need to take rear clearances into consideration doing this, and if so, their stoves have rear heat shields to reduce clearances). I believe that this can work for you, and you can get one of the best stoves out there with a few different models to choose from.

A few other considerations you will need to take into account are what shape are your chimneys in and how big they are on the inside, as you will likely need to put in a full six inch insulated liner. In terms of your hearth, you can easily put a simple hearth pad down on top of the existing vinyl, which you can build or purchase, and will need to take into consideration if you need just ember protection or a certain R value, which will depend on the stove you go with. This is something you can purchase or make. I decided to go simple, easy and relatively inexpensive with this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MSAG5ZP/?tag=hearthamazon-20 and it actually worked out quite well. It's not a beautiful work of art that some people have for their hearth pads, but it isn't ugly either and is simple enough that keeps the focus on the stove.

Tell us a bit about your space, layout and square footage, and what you are trying to achieve with heating and we may be able to be of more help. Also, start cutting and stacking your wood asap, as you'll need some time to get wood dry enough to burn (depending on the wood, if you get some now, you might be ready for next season).

Good luck and keep asking questions!
 
Thanks for your detailed feedback Kennyk.

You've given me some hope and a good direction to head in. I will call Woodstock. It doesn't seem like there are too many stove installers left in my area and the ones I spoke with insisted on removing the wood work on the chimney. This seemed sacrilegious, since its got to be 100-150 year old hand work.

The house is about 2400 sqft. Two stories, centre hallway, high ceilings, not too drafty for an old house but, we haven't done a winter here yet. We are a little North of Toronto, our climate growing zone is 5a (if that gives you any idea of our winter) I would like the stove to provide 30-40% of the heating needs of the house.

I've got a fair bit of dry standing poplar, some of it on the ground in rounds. I know, not ideal but, its easy and dry. I have a couple face-cords of apple wood curing for next year. There is some maple on the property.

We own a Drolet eco 65, which heats a small garage so moving this indoors is my fall-back but, I'll keep the pellet talk to a different thread
 
Thanks for your detailed feedback Kennyk.

You've given me some hope and a good direction to head in. I will call Woodstock. It doesn't seem like there are too many stove installers left in my area and the ones I spoke with insisted on removing the wood work on the chimney. This seemed sacrilegious, since its got to be 100-150 year old hand work.

The house is about 2400 sqft. Two stories, centre hallway, high ceilings, not too drafty for an old house but, we haven't done a winter here yet. We are a little North of Toronto, our climate growing zone is 5a (if that gives you any idea of our winter) I would like the stove to provide 30-40% of the heating needs of the house.

I've got a fair bit of dry standing poplar, some of it on the ground in rounds. I know, not ideal but, its easy and dry. I have a couple face-cords of apple wood curing for next year. There is some maple on the property.

We own a Drolet eco 65, which heats a small garage so moving this indoors is my fall-back but, I'll keep the pellet talk to a different thread

My home is from the 1890s and I have a beautiful wooden mantel. In my desire for a woodstove I considered removing it, and I very glad I found another solution and didn’t! For the size of your place, you could consider the Woodstock Progress Hybrid, or the Ideal Steel, which depending on your layout could possibly heat your whole home and can also go low and slow for shoulder seasons. Or you could go smaller perhaps with a Woodstock Fireview if you aren’t looking to heat your whole home (you’ll still probably get good heat for your whole first floor), or if you wanted you could put in two stoves as you said you have two fireplaces, but that means twice the stove and liner expense and two stoves to tend to. I look forward to hearing how things progress! If you want, see my thread here for a bit about my most recent Woodstock stoves adventures!: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/hows-this-used-woodstock-fireview-look.171200/

Good luck!
 
Hi KennyK

I've read most of your posts concerning stove clearances. I've also been doing some of my own research, I've talked to Woodstock, looked at the PE and Jotul stoves, and had chimney sweeps through the place to help me understand the quality and capacity of the chimneys.

I am getting little closer here but, I do have a couple questions.

I am fairly certain, a clearance requirement is a measured perpendicularly from the stove face So, if I install a stove in a fireplace with wood surround, I only need to be concerned with the combustibles which are measured with a 90degree angle from he stove face...the stove may protrude beyond the combustable but, one would not measure at an oblique angle backwards towards the surround (a combustible). Does this sound correct?

It seems that, with a rear vented stove like a Woodstock, I could bring the stove out into the room and increase the hearth pad size and meet clearance requirements. Otherwise, it seems that with a top vented stove like the Jotul 45, I could set the stove in the fireplace, build heat shields at about a 2 inch width to protect the wood surround as it protrudes from the masonry fireplace and the stove will extend beyond the combustable surround (protected by heart shields) but the perpendicular side and top clearances will be satisfied.

Do do you know what the Jotul 45 or the PE T5 retail for?

Thanks for your feedback
 
Hi KennyK

I've read most of your posts concerning stove clearances. I've also been doing some of my own research, I've talked to Woodstock, looked at the PE and Jotul stoves, and had chimney sweeps through the place to help me understand the quality and capacity of the chimneys.

I am getting little closer here but, I do have a couple questions.

I am fairly certain, a clearance requirement is a measured perpendicularly from the stove face So, if I install a stove in a fireplace with wood surround, I only need to be concerned with the combustibles which are measured with a 90degree angle from he stove face...the stove may protrude beyond the combustable but, one would not measure at an oblique angle backwards towards the surround (a combustible). Does this sound correct?

It seems that, with a rear vented stove like a Woodstock, I could bring the stove out into the room and increase the hearth pad size and meet clearance requirements. Otherwise, it seems that with a top vented stove like the Jotul 45, I could set the stove in the fireplace, build heat shields at about a 2 inch width to protect the wood surround as it protrudes from the masonry fireplace and the stove will extend beyond the combustable surround (protected by heart shields) but the perpendicular side and top clearances will be satisfied.

Do do you know what the Jotul 45 or the PE T5 retail for?

Thanks for your feedback
Clearances are not only measured perpendicularly