Old Georgia Timber Frame - insert or freestanding stove suggestions ?

[faycopa]

House in GA (zip code 31061) is a raised cottage style- perimeter vented brick foundation wall, not a shred of insulation in this place anywhere

Main portion of house is heart pine timber frame - late 1820s

Single story, 12’ ceilings

House has HVAC - duct work in crawlspace

Interior original masonry fireplaces/chimneys- would like to use one for a wood stove, either freestanding or insert & run fan on HVAC to circulate heat from wood stove. Chimney around 25’ in height to top

I’m not there at the moment to measure but recall fireplace big enough to house a Regency i2700

Plan to insulate attic later this year, walls will probably be left as is - concerned about rotting out structure by not allowing it to breathe. Original part just 1/2” thick clapboard directly on timber frame - no sheathing

Goal for wood burning - supplement central HVAC & some ambiance as well.

Stove suggestions ?

 

[begreen]

We'll need the dimensions of the fireplace to know what will fit or not. Pictures also help. How large is the fireplace room? Is it open to the rest of the floor or closed off by doors or hallways?

 

[faycopa]

Fireplace room is 15 x 18 , closed off by doorways, but return air location near fireplace to hopefully help distribute heat through house

Will get a fireplace picture and dimensions

 

[stoveliker]

Distributing heat through (uninsulated, crawlspace) ducts is hard to do. Sucking out air from a stove room (into ductwork) is often a bad idea; you don't want to work against the draft you have.

You will likely need an insulated (because of safety) liner in the chimney. Would that fit?
Has the chimney been inspected (with a camera)?

 

[faycopa]

Chimney has not been inspected , no liner
Plenty of room for insulated liner

 

[EbS-P]

The selection of good rear vent stoves is not great. So a stove depends on the opening height. You have many good inserts to choose from than stoves.

I have both. Both needs fans to effectively heat. I could have installed the stove further out but it would have ad to rear vent to a T and didn’t want that with my shallow stove.

 

[Bobbob]

I use my HVAC system to distribute heat from my insert that is located in my basement. I have 2 returns above my fireplace located about 6 ft from my stove. This doesn't affect my draft at all because I have an open heat duct at the opposite end of the basement that replaces the volume of air I'm removing. Upstairs never gets as warm as the basement, but turning on the HVAC fan does warm it up several degrees rather quickly

 

[stoveliker]

If you can instead blow (colder) air into the stove room (and have a return in another room), it'll work better.

Even then, having (uninsulated?) ducts in an insulated crawl space is going to waste more than a third of the heat imo.

 

[bholler]

I use my HVAC system to distribute heat from my insert that is located in my basement. I have 2 returns above my fireplace located about 6 ft from my stove. This doesn't affect my draft at all because I have an open heat duct at the opposite end of the basement that replaces the volume of air I'm removing. Upstairs never gets as warm as the basement, but turning on the HVAC fan does warm it up several degrees rather quickly

That is against code and pretty risky. Returns need to be 10' from the stove for a good reason

 

[Bobbob]

That is against code and pretty risky. Returns need to be 10' from the stove for a good reason

I measured the distance and its actually 8 ft from stove along the wall that sits back from the fireplace that protrudes 3 ft from the wall. Returns are 8 ft from floor. Would this potentially cause a problem? It's the same way upstairs in my living room with a fireplace that shares the same chimney. Cold air returns are along the floor at the same 8ft distance. House was built in 1960 and all is the way it was originally. Thanks

 

[bholler]

I measured the distance and its actually 8 ft from stove along the wall that sits back from the fireplace that protrudes 3 ft from the wall. Returns are 8 ft from floor. Would this potentially cause a problem? It's the same way upstairs in my living room with a fireplace that shares the same chimney. Cold air returns are along the floor at the same 8ft distance. House was built in 1960 and all is the way it was originally. Thanks

They can potentially pull to much air out of the area around the stove. This can be dangerous at the end of the fire when draft is weakest and the fire is producing the most CO

 

[Bobbob]

I have used this set up for about 12 years and have never had an issue with poor drafting even with a cold stove. Very seldom do I get any smoke at all with reloads. I also have 2 CO detectors, one on each level. I don't think this is the same for every situation. Basements and houses all breath differently

 

[bholler]

I have used this set up for about 12 years and have never had an issue with poor drafting even with a cold stove. Very seldom do I get any smoke at all with reloads. I also have 2 CO detectors, one on each level. I don't think this is the same for every situation. Basements and houses all breath differently

Of course it isn't the same in every situation. But code says 10' for a good reason. And even at 10' there is no. Guarantee there won't be a problem. If your setup works well for you that's great but recommending something that is against code and is known to cause safety issues isn't responsible.

 

[Bobbob]

Of course it isn't the same in every situation. But code says 10' for a good reason. And even at 10' there is no. Guarantee there won't be a problem. If your setup works well for you that's great but recommending something that is against code and is known to cause safety issues isn't responsible.

I wasn't making a recommendation, I was merely sharing what I do and what works for me. Sorry, won't do it again.

 

[bholler]

I wasn't making a recommendation, I was merely sharing what I do and what works for me. Sorry, won't do it again.

No problem. I just had to point out the potential issues involved. No need to apologize at all.

 

[faycopa]

Dimensions on firebox : 34” wide and 32 1/2” high @ face
21” deep
25” width @ back

Mantel opening : 43” wide x 36” height

Insert or freestanding suggestions ?

 

[EbS-P]

Either way wood trim probably won’t make clearances. 32” takes a lot of stoves out of play. I vote insert.

 

[begreen]

Yes, the mantel presents an issue. Freestanding won't work due to the deep box trim surrounding the opening unless the stove was recessed 100% in the fireplace. That trim looks to be about 3" deep. If anything will work, it will probably need to be a flush insert due to the mantel trim. The Lopi Medium Flush insert might work.

 

[faycopa]

Not there to measure mantel depth but I’d say 3” is a fair guess. Will take at look at the Lopi - thanks for the suggestion