New home and Encore install

[rybern]

Hey folks,

This is my first post and I'm already stirring up trouble.

My background: I have owned and installed a small Duchwest about 15 years ago and it left a good enough impression on me to purchase an Encore all these years later.

Wife and I are building a 2060 sqft home and going against the norm(fireplace) and installing a wood stove. We are in Alabama and the stove will be supplementary heat. We will be doing a corner install in a 9' ceiling living room. Living room will have tray ceiling and I've thought enough ahead to space the tray 2'6" from the wall(instead of 2'0"). I'm hoping this will allow a straight single wall pipe up to the ceiling and allow plenty of clearance for the double wall pipe through the attic space. I'm considering the 18.5" from combustible material corner to corner distance. Of course the wall will include 1" spacers and 1/2" Durock plus the hearth backing material.

Question 1:
Does the combustible material start at the Durock or do they measure from the exterior of the brick/rock/tile fasade?

Question 2:
We are building on pier and beam foundation. Wife is interested in fairly modern look. Beside brick and rock, what are other good options for hearth and hearth backer? We're considering sliced brick and rock mortared to 1/2" Durock, but we are wondering what other options there might be.

Thanks for your help. If you think I have it all figured out then I mistakenly have you fooled. Please feel free to provide some input and suggestions.

 

[vinny11950]

Hey, Rybern, welcome to the forum. Your post should be in the Hearth section and not in the DIY section, just because you will get more knowledgeable eyeballs from experienced members on the other side. Hopefully a moderator will move your thread there.

I can't answer your questions but I believe there are better stoves than the Encore. With the Dutchwest they hit a home run, but not so much with the Encore. If I remember correctly, some users had issues, but I could be wrong.

Good luck.

 

[firefighterjake]

RE: Question 2: A lot depends on what you need for the R value (if any) for the stove's hearth. Some stoves require a specific insulation value while others only require ember protection. Those stoves that only require ember protection could get away with a sheet of tin metal under them (although I suspect most people would not be so keen on sheet metal in their living room as a decor choice.) Stoves with specific R values may require air gaps, extra layers of cement board or insulating material to achieve the required number.

That said . . . the hearth that shows can be pretty much any kind of non combustible material. Folks here have gone with glass, stone slabs (marble, granite and soapstone), brick, river stone, slate, steel and tile. I think two of my favorite looks in terms of unique were ones I have seen with large soapstone tile and another which used tiles that looked like wooden planks (this one raised more than a few concerns with the person posted the pictures without explaining it was tile as it looked very much like the stove was set directly over a wooden floor.)

 

[rybern]

Hey, Rybern, welcome to the forum. Your post should be in the Hearth section and not in the DIY section, just because you will get more knowledgeable eyeballs from experienced members on the other side. Hopefully a moderator will move your thread there.

I can't answer your questions but I believe there are better stoves than the Encore. With the Dutchwest they hit a home run, but not so much with the Encore. If I remember correctly, some users had issues, but I could be wrong.

Good luck.

Thanks for the response. I have posted a similar thread over there.
The local Hearth store sells the newer Encore 2040 but said they sometimes get in 2550 and refurbish them. I appreciate your honesty about the Encore. We haven't purchased it yet and I'd be happy to consider other recommendations.

 

[rybern]

RE: Question 2: A lot depends on what you need for the R value (if any) for the stove's hearth. Some stoves require a specific insulation value while others only require ember protection. Those stoves that only require ember protection could get away with a sheet of tin metal under them (although I suspect most people would not be so keen on sheet metal in their living room as a decor choice.) Stoves with specific R values may require air gaps, extra layers of cement board or insulating material to achieve the required number.

That said . . . the hearth that shows can be pretty much any kind of non combustible material. Folks here have gone with glass, stone slabs (marble, granite and soapstone), brick, river stone, slate, steel and tile. I think two of my favorite looks in terms of unique were ones I have seen with large soapstone tile and another which used tiles that looked like wooden planks (this one raised more than a few concerns with the person posted the pictures without explaining it was tile as it looked very much like the stove was set directly over a wooden floor.)

Thanks for the info Jake. Stone slabs sound pretty appealing. I talked with the mason we're using for our block and brick and got a rough quote of $2K to lay stone and $1700 for cut brick. That sounds kind of high to me. This price doesn't include the hearth. Price also considers that I will do the spaced out Durock work.

I'll search this DIY section and see what I see.

 

[begreen]

Combustible material is measured from the first combustible, ie: the wood or sheetrock, behind the durock. Is a shielded wall necessary for this installation in order to reduce clearances? There are other stoves that have closer clearances and will perform well. In a tight new house you may want a less radiant stove.

Note that as soon as the flue exits the room at the ceiling it must switch to chimney pipe from connector stove pipe. Have you considered using double-wall stove pipe instead of single-wall? That would reduce stove pipe clearance down from 18" to 6". Chimney pipe clearance is typically 2".

Before going a lot further it would help to start penciling out the stove location, flue location and hearth design and posting them here.

 

[webby3650]

another which used tiles that looked like wooden planks (this one raised more than a few concerns with the person posted the pictures without explaining it was tile as it looked very much like the stove was set directly over a wooden floor.)

That was my plan all along!

 

[rybern]

Combustible material is measured from the first combustible, ie: the wood or sheetrock, behind the durock. Is a shielded wall necessary for this installation in order to reduce clearances? There are other stoves that have closer clearances and will perform well. In a tight new house you may want a less radiant stove.

Note that as soon as the flue exits the room at the ceiling it must switch to chimney pipe from connector stove pipe. Have you considered using double-wall stove pipe instead of single-wall? That would reduce stove pipe clearance down from 18" to 6". Chimney pipe clearance is typically 2".

Before going a lot further it would help to start penciling out the stove location, flue location and hearth design and posting them here.

I did consider using double wall pipe all the way up but we're doing a corner install.

Here is our plan and the proposed stove location. Stove flue is drawn 20" to the center of flue from each wall.

 

[begreen]

What does a corner install have to do with the stove pipe choice? If the connector pipe run is long it should be done in double-wall stove pipe, especially for a cat stove.

 

[webby3650]

What does a corner install have to do with the stove pipe choice? If the connector pipe run is long it should be done in double-wall stove pipe, especially for a cat stove.

Since it’s in a corner, double wall pipe won’t reduce clearances so it's an extra expense. Most salesman don’t know the importance of using double wall, so they don’t steer the customer in the right direction.

 

[rybern]

What does a corner install have to do with the stove pipe choice? If the connector pipe run is long it should be done in double-wall stove pipe, especially for a cat stove.

Webby nailed it. The corner install clearances to the stove will require the flue to be far enough away from the wall to not need double wall pipe.

 

[begreen]

Webby nailed it. The corner install clearances to the stove will require the flue to be far enough away from the wall to not need double wall pipe.

The need and advantages of double-wall are not just closer clearances.

 

[rybern]

The need and advantages of double-wall are not just closer clearances.

Double wall has better draft too right?

 

[bholler]

Double wall has better draft too right?

It keeps internal temperatures up better which can improve draft and can help reduce crosote buildup.

 

[rybern]

It keeps internal temperatures up better which can improve draft and can help reduce crosote buildup.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Dobish]

i have the 2040, with a corner install. I have a tile floor, so I did not need any extra protection on the floor. Looking at your drawing, you will have plenty of clearance.

I love my stove, and have had very few issues. It is sensitive to wet wood, so you want to make sure that you have good dry wood. We also have a short stack, which effects draft a little bit. We do burn 24/7 in the winter, and it is our primary heat source. There are a couple of threads about the 2040.


With the minimum clearances

Where my stove is at:

 

[Dobish]

 

[rybern]

Thanks for the info Dobish. Glad to hear that you like your 2040. I found the owners manual on line, but it seems that the flue pipe and the stove clearances both have to be satisfied, then take into account if surfaces are protected or not. Blaze King is similarly called out. I find neither has simply called out the corner specs.

I'm now really leaning toward a Blaze King 20 now.

Your stove and hearth look super great (in your avitar).

 

[Dobish]

Thanks for the info Dobish. Glad to hear that you like your 2040. I found the owners manual on line, but it seems that the flue pipe and the stove clearances both have to be satisfied, then take into account if surfaces are protected or not. Blaze King is similarly called out. I find neither has simply called out the corner specs.

I'm now really leaning toward a Blaze King 20 now.

Your stove and hearth look super great (in your avitar).

thanks. i think if I were to do it again, I would go blaze king, but there were no local dealers with 30% off sales going on when I needed my stove.

 

[rybern]

thanks. i think if I were to do it again, I would go blaze king, but there were no local dealers with 30% off sales going on when I needed my stove.

Wow, that's encouraging to hear about the BK.

Also, 30% off. How do I find out when they might offer that? Our new home won't be finished until Jan, so I have time wait for a sale.

I'm still a bit torn between one of the 20s or the Boxer 24. I suppose the Boxer 24 is only appealing because I won't have to re-cut the wood I already have cut and split. Now that I've typed that out, I can see that I have narrowed it down to choosing one of the three BK20's.

 

[Dobish]

we bought ours from a local dealer VC dealer, offering a promotion to move some stuff. I think I just got lucky. I have never seen BK be that much on sale, and I am not planning on replacing my stove for quite a while, but I do like that most people enjoy very long burn times and lower maintenance.

 

[Woodsplitter67]

I know a couple people who have the 2040 and are super happy. One burns 24/7 and heats his house with his. He has had no problems. I purchased mine based on knowing how well his ran, and mine has had no issues. I get long burn times and its ran flawlessly. I installed mine with the 8in pipe, i wanted to make shore draft isn't a problem. I burn 24/7 i have swiched to heating with wood only. There will be people saying all kinda problems, but i dont know anyone who has. A friend of mine ownes a stove shop and i have spoken to him. VC has no more issues than the other stoves he sells. There is no creosote issues if you burn correctly, you may hear that one come up as well

 

[bholler]

I wont bash vc again needlessly. But my experiences working on stoves dont reflect those of the vc owners here. Yes they can work well but they are harder to operate correctly and much harder and more expensive to maintain than almost all other stoves on the market. But they are improving and there are people who love them. We do 3 or 4 rebuilds a year on them so people must like them.

 

[webby3650]

I wont bash vc again needlessly. But my experiences working on stoves dont reflect those of the vc owners here. Yes they can work well but they are harder to operate correctly and much harder and more expensive to maintain than almost all other stoves on the market. But they are improving and there are people who love them. We do 3 or 4 rebuilds a year on them so people must like them.

Same experience here. We see lots of calls each season from VC owners needing repairs. Way more than any other brand.