Need some help

[flusher17]

First things first. This is an excellent site. I have been reading for a while and contemplating my project.

I just removed a zero clearance fireplace from my house. The home is a one story 1600 sf log ranch with the family room at the far end with a cathedral ceiling in just that room. Now I have a 48 inch high, 50 inch wide hole in the center of the gable end wall. There is an unfinished breezeway just outside the fireplace location. I am hoping to put in a free-standing wood stove in this same location without extending the hearth any further into the room as the room in pretty narrow. I would like to frame a small bump out just a bit smaller than the current hole and about 1.5 feet deep and put the stove about 1/3 in the I bump out and 2/3 in the room. I really like the look of the stove install posted by Dakotas Dad on this forum.

Here is the issue: The house is log and I don't want to cut out any more of the logs. If I make the small alcove out of steel studs and Durock, can I do this? The manual of the stove I like(Jotul F400) says I need 36" in a protected alcove installation. That would 65" high and that is too high. Are the numbers the same if the stove sits mostly in front of the alcove? Is there a stove out there that allows for closer vertical clearances or closer rear clearances so I can fit it on my current hearth which is 30 inches from the wall?

Any opinions you guys have would be great. I don't really like the zero clearance fireplaces mainly because the nice looking ones are really pricy and I don't want to rely on a fan to push the heat into the house.

Thanks.

 

[flusher17]

I am new to the uploading process. More photos:

 

[SolarAndWood]

Welcome to the forum. Is the plan to run the pipe through wall and up the exterior?

 

[flusher17]

Yes, that would be the plan. I would like to go out through the back vent of the stove, through the back wall of the small bump out, to a tee, and Class A chimney up and insulated chase to the peak of the roof.

The pipe would run up the same place as the old air cooled pipe.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Here, the inspector takes a look at the clearance sheet and checks for the vertical clearance all the way around the perimeter of the horizontal clearance. Have you considered one of the inserts that extends out onto the hearth?

 

[flusher17]

Thanks for the reply. I would really like to check out all options for a free standing stove first. I may go with a smaller stove, like the Jotul F3 CB, and make the bump out only 6 inches deep or so.

The inserts need to be installed in a masonry fireplace, not a framed in enclosure, right?

 

[SolarAndWood]

Not sure but I have seen them installed through a wall with tile for a surround.