Our stove

[pyper]

Here's a picture of our stove. We've only had it a few weeks. It's been great so far, and very enjoyable to be warm without wondering how much it's costing.

 

[mikepinto65]

nice looking stove....great room too....bamboo floors??

 

[pyper]

Thanks!

Yes, bamboo. I did the framing, the finish carpentry, the insulation, and the floor. Hired out the sheet rock, masonry, and stove installation.

 

[fossil]

That's a very handsome installation, and some excellent craftsmanship all around. Nice job! Rick

 

[Dix]

Very sharp Nice job

 

[northwinds]

I like that room a lot.

 

[hareball]

I like it man, very nice job!

 

[pyper]

Aw shucks -- thanks everyone!

My wife made most (if not all) of the design decisions. The other side of the room is really to drool over. We had someone else make & install the cabinets (wife's design):

 

[hareball]

I could spend ALOT of time in that room!

 

[PapaDave]

Niiice chair. Does it recline?
Very nice work on the room too, but that chair.........

 

[pyper]

Niiice chair. Does it recline?
Very nice work on the room too, but that chair.........

Chair does not recline. But it matches the couch. Wife wants to loose the couch. The ottoman makes reclining kind of unnecessary -- you just kind of slouch down in the back of the chair and put your feet up. Not exactly the same though.

They're all made in Canada, and stuffed with goose down. I had no idea they made furniture in Canada, but I'd rather send money there than some of the alternatives. Every once in a while I have to take the cushions off and beat on them to re-distribute the goose down. It all goes together pretty well.

My main contribution to the design was the carpet. I had red in mind to pull out the tone of the bamboo. Wife was thinking more along blue. We happen to live near a carpet mill, so we got a great price. Oh, the other suggestion I made was having stained wood instead of painted for the cabinets. Wife was worried they wouldn't match the others and would cost a lot more, but cabinet guy said he could easily match the look and the cost wouldn't be much more (he quoted them both ways -- about a 9% difference).

 

[Leadfoot]

It's all very nice.

 

[woodracerx]

Very nice would like to have that kind of storage room

 

[Redhawk]

Pyper, what went into the construction of your hearth? also, what brand of stove do you have?
redhawk

 

[Adios Pantalones]

It looks too comfy. I'd never get nuthin done there- all sleepy and relaxed and such. Tear it out and staht ovah.

Nice install- love the hearth!!

 

[pyper]

Pyper, what went into the construction of your hearth? also, what brand of stove do you have?
redhawk

It's a Dutchwest non-catalytic "medium"
(broken link removed to http://www.vermontcastings.com/dutchwest_noncat.asp)

For the hearth:

First, we needed to add additional joists, because the original floor is on 24" centers and the flooring wasn't very strong. Since it's over a crawl space, this was just a matter of cutting the wood and putting it in place. Then we put a beam in to cut the span from 7' to 3.5'. This part was probably overkill, but I had the beam and the blocks, so it didn't cost anything but 20 minutes of time.

Inside the room we framed the area with 2x4's ripped in half. So about 1.75" tall. We put the framing on top of each of the joists, and then screwed 3/4" plywod onto the framing.

The mason did the stone work. The Vermont Castings (Dutchwest) owners manual specifies an R-value for the hearth. I don't remember what it is, but I calculated that two layers of 1/2" durock plus the stone would easily get there. One layer might be enough, but might not, depending on the stone. I also made sure it would be large enough.

The mason cut the durock with a concrete saw and screwed it down. He covered the plywood with roofing felt. The front edge got metal lath, but I don't think there's lath on the flat surface. He put down more than an inch of mud, and sank the rocks down into it. He also used wooden spacers to keep the rock off the sub floor so I'd be able to get the flooring under the rocks, which worked out great. He used the concrete saw to cut the verticle pieces of rock. He spent roughly a half a day working on it -- it took all day, but a lot of the time he was out working on something else waiting on the moartar to dry.

If I could go back in time I think I'd frame it with full 2x4's to make it a little higher. It's not bad as it is, but if it was a bit higher I think it would be more comfortable when loading and cleaning. I also would have put insulation in the space under the rock. As it is I plan on insulating the floor instead. There's some insulation now (R-4 rigid), but more would be better. Rolls of R30 are $10 right now, so I got one to put under it.

 

[Redhawk]

Nice stove, nice hearth. thanks for the reply
redhawk