New home build-needs a new wood stove- recommendations?

[RUMBLON]

Im in the middle of a new home build on 175 acres in Idaho. My last stove which is now in my cabin is a Jotul. I love the stove but its green and its chipped up. This time I was a black stove thats not going to break the bank and is efficient.

House specs: roughly 2,000 very open

30x40 Barn style home with a 24 ft loft. Here are a few pics. I am building this entire home out of pocket as I don't want a mortgage as the land is paid off and I plan on keeping it that way. I developed a home plan that is cheap to build due to simple construction, roof lines ect but its not the most efficient if moving heat around.
This home is a one bedroom master suit home with ALL living space on the first floor and the loft is my wife's art studio and can house guests if necessary. I also have 1000 sq ft cabin that we are living in now that can be a guest place.

My home is designed to have a wood stove at the right front corner, near where I have 8 large windows that face my pond. see pics. Its going to be hard to get heat back to the bedroom, so im planning on a second small wood stove or propane stove back there for occasional use.( probably propane to keep it clean and I will ask about those in the gas section. The house will have a HCAC system that will be propane.

So the framing is done and Im waiting for roofing and using up material so its time to build the hearth framing.
I can do some decent masonry so like my cabin I will do a frame, use flagstone base bottom and use river rock up the wall and a corner mantle.

Unlike my cabin, I am having to place my wood stove in the corner to keep my view windows large.

Im looking for suggestions on a good stove to use here as well as stove pipe or any other advise while Im in the framing mode and everything is exposed? The hearth is not going to look exactly like the pic in the photo. I am even open to suggestions on that as well.

I have included pics of the house exterior to give you an idea o what Im building. also pics of the front four large 50x50 windows as the stove goes in the corner to the right of them. A pic of the height of the ceiling in that corner as the rock may go kinda high depending on how tired I get. and last a pic of out current hearth as it going to be kinda like that.

Thanks for any advise.

RUMBLON

 

[Poindexter]

2x6 exterior framing?

What is the R value on your big windows?

How cold does it get outdoors?

How warm do you want it indoors?

 

[RUMBLON]

2x6 exterior framing?

What is the R value on your big windows?

How cold does it get outdoors?

How warm do you want it indoors?

Im not sure on the R value of the new windows. Double pane 5.0x5.0 bottom and 5.0. 4.0 on top.

yes 2x6.

R38 will go in the ceiling vaulted trusses with a one foot energy heel.

and it can get below freezing at times, well below in the minus factor on rare occasions.

we like it around 72 or so.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

A few years back my wife and I were in the Cambridge, ID area. There was a old ranch property for sale ~50 acres, ranch house, guest house, swimming pool, greenhouse. All heated with hot water from on-site geothermal spring running around 180 degrees year round. I think they only wanted about $175,000. Was tempted but it might have taken all the fun out of wood-burning!

 

[begreen]

Very nice location and house. I would invest in a good stove for the most even heating and not fret too much over the cost. It will be a one time investment. There are many to choose from. With the high ceilings the loft is going to get hot in comparison to the main floor. You'll want a way to help keep the heat from stratifying up there. At a minimum, there should be a couple ceiling fans. A ducted system that scavenges the heat and sends it to the MBR would be interesting.

 

[Poindexter]

I havent seen the floor plan for the upper level, but i would be super tempted to drop a spiral staircase from above into either the mbr walkin shower or mbr tub - just for a cold air return from up to down - that should meet fire code.

Otoh if you build good and tight and utilize the walkhrough pantry in cold weather as an air lock you might be able to get away with smaller stove.

I was @first thinking 3cf firebox minimum, but begreen is right (again) about stratified air.

If you are using the mandoor on the glass wall in cold weather youll want i think 3cf firebox minimum to keep the great room warm, but it will be roasting hot on the upper level.

Is swapping out the pocket door for a swinger with weather stripping an option?

Just asking. Your deep winter is a couple weeks of my shoulder season on each end, so i kind of have to drag my frame of reference around and count universes traversed when i respond to these threads.

@begreen is a lot closer than me to your baseline climate and really knows his stuff.

 

[Poindexter]

I wonder if there is room to put in an HRV - heat recovery ventilation system- and put the primary intakes in the ceiling of the upper level.

They get expensive in a hurry, but a lot of them can do whole house humidify/ dehumidify and filter the incoming air all the way up to HEPA also.

That would be one to think hard about before the drywall goes on.

 

[begreen]

PS. If you like the look of enamel but don't want cracking consider a jacketed stove like a Quad Explorer III.

 

[RUMBLON]

A few years back my wife and I were in the Cambridge, ID area. There was a old ranch property for sale ~50 acres, ranch house, guest house, swimming pool, greenhouse. All heated with hot water from on-site geothermal spring running around 180 degrees year round. I think they only wanted about $175,000. Was tempted but it might have taken all the fun out of wood-burning!

Shoulda bought it because those prices are long gone. I bought 175 acres 14 years ago. retired 4 years ago. I couldn't afford it today if I had to buy now.

 

[Simonkenton]

Yeah, that loft is going to be 8 degrees hotter than the main room no matter what you do.
Definitely put in a couple of big ceiling fans to drive that heat down.

I have a Jotul 500 but it is probably not big enough for your house. Love the Jotul, though. Get the biggest Jotul you will be happy with it.

 

[RUMBLON]

Yeah, that loft is going to be 8 degrees hotter than the main room no matter what you do.
Definitely put in a couple of big ceiling fans to drive that heat down.

I have a Jotul 500 but it is probably not big enough for your house. Love the Jotul, though. Get the biggest Jotul you will be happy with it.

I have that Jotul Oslo in the hearth pic now in my small cabin. I like my Jotul except for the chips i the green enamel . I wouldnt mind a longer burn time. I do plan on using a whole house fan for the excessive hat issue in the summer

 

[Squirrely]

Im in the middle of a new home build on 175 acres in Idaho. My last stove which is now in my cabin is a Jotul. I love the stove but its green and its chipped up. This time I was a black stove thats not going to break the bank and is efficient.

House specs: roughly 2,000 very open

30x40 Barn style home with a 24 ft loft. Here are a few pics. I am building this entire home out of pocket as I don't want a mortgage as the land is paid off and I plan on keeping it that way. I developed a home plan that is cheap to build due to simple construction, roof lines ect but its not the most efficient if moving heat around.
This home is a one bedroom master suit home with ALL living space on the first floor and the loft is my wife's art studio and can house guests if necessary. I also have 1000 sq ft cabin that we are living in now that can be a guest place.

My home is designed to have a wood stove at the right front corner, near where I have 8 large windows that face my pond. see pics. Its going to be hard to get heat back to the bedroom, so im planning on a second small wood stove or propane stove back there for occasional use.( probably propane to keep it clean and I will ask about those in the gas section. The house will have a HCAC system that will be propane.

So the framing is done and Im waiting for roofing and using up material so its time to build the hearth framing.
I can do some decent masonry so like my cabin I will do a frame, use flagstone base bottom and use river rock up the wall and a corner mantle.

Unlike my cabin, I am having to place my wood stove in the corner to keep my view windows large.

Im looking for suggestions on a good stove to use here as well as stove pipe or any other advise while Im in the framing mode and everything is exposed? The hearth is not going to look exactly like the pic in the photo. I am even open to suggestions on that as well.

I have included pics of the house exterior to give you an idea o what Im building. also pics of the front four large 50x50 windows as the stove goes in the corner to the right of them. A pic of the height of the ceiling in that corner as the rock may go kinda high depending on how tired I get. and last a pic of out current hearth as it going to be kinda like that.

Thanks for any advise.

RUMBLON
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Wow... your location is stunning!

We built with the same approach as yours except on a much smaller scale to fit our budget so as to be able to finish the project without becoming enslaved to a mortgage, just like you're doing. One bdrm, 2 bath,. 24' x 30' footprint, with a loft, downstairs one open room cabin style. We also built conventional and didn't try anything too clever in order to keep costs down.

Do keep us posted on your progress as building is a genuine "American pioneer" adventure.



Greg

 

[RUMBLON]

Wow... your location is stunning!

We built with the same approach as yours except on a much smaller scale to fit our budget so as to be able to finish the project without becoming enslaved to a mortgage, just like you're doing. One bdrm, 2 bath,. 24' x 30' footprint, with a loft, downstairs one open room cabin style. We also built conventional and didn't try anything too clever in order to keep costs down.

Do keep us posted on your progress as building is a genuine "American pioneer" adventure.



Greg

Greg, no mortgage is a must. I sold a home in Northern Nevada for 250K that was once a 600k home. That destroyed my plans of living large but also showed me that we dont need much. I did have to sell my hot rods (mopar muscle cars ) to pay everything off and start this build. But you can't eat a Cuda convertible and I still don't trust this economy as people are already buying more than they can afford. We could have gone smaller but its basically a 1200 sq ft bottom floor with a huge loft and that loft is wide open except for a full bathroom and utility room for hot water heater and HVAC. The loft is my wife's art studio.

I am utilizing materials I source on the cheap, but not cheap materials. a large island bar out of a 4 inch thick fir live edge slab I am buying tomorrow for $300 for a 36" wide by 14 ft slab. Im near a lot of local private mills and its much cheaper than retail. First thing in the AM I am picking up a whole kitchen cabinet set for $275.00 Either knotty alder or hickory Cant tell in the pics. I will use most of it. Also the pantry has no POCKET door, its going to be a wide open butlers pantry that mimics the kitchen decor. There is no exterior door in the pantry in favor of a exterior door near the hearth.

My crawl space on the back half is standard but in the front half its almost 5 feet deep. I am using a retired plumber for cheap advise as I will do it myself. He suggested that I put the HVAC in this very deep crawl space to reduce ducting costs as there is a lot of room down there. I have a lot to learn about that.

In all honesty Im just trying to get this enclosed and weather tight prior to the snow flying, then I will take my sweet time. I buy and sell hot rods on the side to help finance this so I have to fix those too to make a few bucks along with y pension.

We currently live in a comfy little cabin. Only heat is this Jotul oslo and last winter WE GOT HAMMERED. AND I MEAN A 60 YEAR WINTER. I had way over five feet sitting here but received a lot more over the whole winter. Just hoping that does not happen again.

 

[begreen]

Heavily screen the crawlspace vents and consider making them closeable and insulating the crawlspace so that it acts more like a conditioned space in the winter. That will keep your floors warmer and and less heat loss from the ductwork. You'll still want to heavily insulate the entire HVAC system supply and returns. Investing now will save you later, year after year.

Sounds like our record rainy winter ended up in your backyard. I was wondering what was happening once it got over the mountains.

 

[WoodyIsGoody]

Heavily screen the crawlspace vents and consider making them closeable and insulating the crawlspace so that it acts more like a conditioned space in the winter. That will keep your floors warmer and and less heat loss from the ductwork. You'll still want to heavily insulate the entire HVAC system supply and returns. Investing now will save you later, year after year.

Sounds like our record rainy winter ended up in your backyard. I was wondering what was happening once it got over the mountains.

I had 3-4 feet of snow in Glacier (elev. 1000') last winter. Cumulative snow was much higher because it kept compacting and melting between snowstorms. It made for copious fresh, dry snow higher up.

 

[Squirrely]

.

Greg, no mortgage is a must. I sold a home in Northern Nevada for 250K that was once a 600k home. That destroyed my plans of living large but also showed me that we dont need much. I did have to sell my hot rods (mopar muscle cars ) to pay everything off and start this build. But you can't eat a Cuda convertible and I still don't trust this economy as people are already buying more than they can afford. We could have gone smaller but its basically a 1200 sq ft bottom floor with a huge loft and that loft is wide open except for a full bathroom and utility room for hot water heater and HVAC. The loft is my wife's art studio.

I am utilizing materials I source on the cheap, but not cheap materials. a large island bar out of a 4 inch thick fir live edge slab I am buying tomorrow for $300 for a 36" wide by 14 ft slab. Im near a lot of local private mills and its much cheaper than retail. First thing in the AM I am picking up a whole kitchen cabinet set for $275.00 Either knotty alder or hickory Cant tell in the pics. I will use most of it. Also the pantry has no POCKET door, its going to be a wide open butlers pantry that mimics the kitchen decor. There is no exterior door in the pantry in favor of a exterior door near the hearth.

My crawl space on the back half is standard but in the front half its almost 5 feet deep. I am using a retired plumber for cheap advise as I will do it myself. He suggested that I put the HVAC in this very deep crawl space to reduce ducting costs as there is a lot of room down there. I have a lot to learn about that.

In all honesty Im just trying to get this enclosed and weather tight prior to the snow flying, then I will take my sweet time. I buy and sell hot rods on the side to help finance this so I have to fix those too to make a few bucks along with y pension.

We currently live in a comfy little cabin. Only heat is this Jotul oslo and last winter WE GOT HAMMERED. AND I MEAN A 60 YEAR WINTER. I had way over five feet sitting here but received a lot more over the whole winter. Just hoping that does not happen again.

What you experienced just might be one effect of another impending Ice Age. Lately we've had a severe drought in California which has had previous droughts lasting as long as 200 years. Droughts in some areas are typical of Ice Ages. We're planning on this one lasting the rest of our lives, so we reclaim process and store every drop of water from our household raw sewage, and use it to irrigate the fruit trees and grape vines.

Yeah, we did the same and really jammed to get things wrapped up... I quit work for 6 months in order to get the house marginally liveable so that we could move in quicker.

The criteria: one sink, one toilet, one shower.

I admire your creative material sourcing. Our source was basically Home Depot.

After we got our C of O, I took a jackhammer under the house and converted the crawlspace into a crude basement. You might consider digging out some extra space if the conditions under your house are favorable enough. This was when it was about 3/4 done, and took a year to dig it all out to the same depth.





Greg

 

[RUMBLON]

Yesterday was a decent day. I picked up a ton of Knotty Alder cabinets (very heavy) yesterday along with a granite counter top that will eventually replaced with a new chiseled edge piece thats much nicer.

I got a nice 60 inch island base which is what I built the island lay out for and three nice lower bases for other areas and 8 upper cabinet with the granite for $250.00

Then i picked up a 3 plus inch thick by 13 ft slab and a 14 ft 2 1/2 slab for a total of $400.00

We are using a small amount of granite on the counters. The 3 inch piece is now in place (pics later if you are interested) I cut it into an 8 ft slab and the rest will be a nice table for my wife. The 2 12 inch will run an 8 ft plus almost six foot corner run in the butlers pantry.

 

[begreen]

Back to stoves. Have you looked at any? Any questions on them?

 

[RUMBLON]

Back to stoves. Have you looked at any? Any questions on them?

I have looked on line. I have nothing to compare then too but my Jotul Oslo. I love the look of the Oslo but not the chips in the surface. I would also like a little longer burn time when turned down overnight.

I kinda like the look of the Quadrafire Explorer III. i am wondering how the coated surfaces hold up compared to my Jotul. I will heat primarily with wood so I dont mind spending what I need to to buy a nice one.

I have had people recommend a soapstone stove but I just dont like the looks of them.

 

[begreen]

I have looked on line. I have nothing to compare then too but my Jotul Oslo. I love the look of the Oslo but not the chips in the surface. I would also like a little longer burn time when turned down overnight.

I kinda like the look of the Quadrafire Explorer III. i am wondering how the coated surfaces hold up compared to my Jotul. I will heat primarily with wood so I dont mind spending what I need to to buy a nice one.

I have had people recommend a soapstone stove but I just dont like the looks of them.

It is a good looking stove. @webfish has the Explorer III. It worked out well for them this last cold winter.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-journey-from-zero-clearance-to-freestanding-wood-stove.155497

The enamel finish on the cast iron jacketed stoves should stand up better because it is not exposed to the temperature extremes that a true cast iron stove sees. However, it will still be vulnerable to abuse. Heavy pots, metal hearth tools banging against the stove can cause nicks and chips.

Jotul has a cast iron jacketed stove too - their F50 and F55, but like the PE Alderlea T6 they are only available in black paint. Another option is a catalytic stove. The Blaze King Ashford 30.1 is available with an enameled cast iron jacket.

 

[xman23]

Similar to my cabin in the woods. All open floor plan makes the stoves intense heat work well. For some out door living I'd put a deck across the back, overlooking the lake. We live on ours all summer.

 

[RFarm]

What you experienced just might be one effect of another impending Ice Age.

I would go big, big, big, on the stove! Forget about the creature comforts - get the biggest firebox possible because this next solar minimum has begun and it is looking like a total game changer. I am off grid in a super insulated (R-65 walls and roof) if all else fails that wood stove will keep me and my family alive during the winter. There are a lot of options out there - I like my Sedore due to its versatility and long burn times, but it is all business, no frilly glass or anything - just a heat monster. I can get good performance out of it without having primo wood too. In an extreme situation - seasoning wood for a couple years might not be an option. Yes it burns better, no doubt, but when a winter storm starts lasting for months - who is going to want there stove all clogged up because the wood is not perfect? I would consider going NC (if permitted in your jurisdiction) as big as you can afford.

 

[Squirrely]

I had never heard of Sedore before. That's a practical top loading design because less than ideal wood can be dried inside the stove before it burns.

We use spaceweather.com to monitor solar activity which has flatlined. Low solar activity for a long enough time will get you an Ice Age.

Greg

 

[bholler]

I had never heard of Sedore before. That's a practical top loading design because less than ideal wood can be dried inside the stove before it burns.

That simply does not work it makes for really low exhaust temps and tons of creosote no matter what stove you are using. Water does not burn and it cools the firebox off considerably.

 

[Squirrely]

He was referring to an extreme situation.

Greg