Pipe thimble through header board above door?

[stejus]

Can i install a thimble through a header board? I plan to install a pellet stove in front of my sliding glass doors. The glass section that is closest to the wall is useless space in our kitchen and I would like to do a corner install. My only option to vent is above the door but there's a header board there. My only other option is to go through wall into bathroom and make a few 90 degree turns until i punch through to the exterior.

 

[bartlett920]

I would not compromise the integrity of the header it is there and beefed up for a purpose. I would look for an alternate route!

 

[cmonSTART]

ya, I'm no carpenter, but poking a hole in a load bearing piece just sounds like a bad idea.

 

[stejus]

I would not compromise the integrity of the header it is there and beefed up for a purpose. I would look for an alternate route!

I really don't want to go through the header, but i wasn't sure if I could route through an interior wall. Would any of these work?

Install top vent
Go up 6 ft
90 degree horizontal turn through interior wall (1 ft)
90 degree horizontal turn through exterior wall (2 ft) (this should leave 1 ft outside.
90 degree vertical turn up (2 ft) and end

or
45 degree out through interior wall
90 degree up (6ft)
90 degree horizontal through exterior wall (2 ft)
90 degree vertical turn up (2 ft) and end

 

[Hogwildz]

Looks like too many elbows to me. Why not go straight up thorough second floor bathroom corner, and up and out through attic & roof? Then build corner chase around where it goes through the 2nd floor bathroom.
If need be you can use a couple adjustables to get it closer to the corner.

 

[stejus]

Looks like too many elbows to me. Why not go straight up thorough second floor bathroom corner, and up and out through attic & roof? Then build corner chase around where it goes through the 2nd floor bathroom.
If need be you can use a couple adjustables to get it closer to the corner.

I know straight up and out is the best for a perfect draft. Has anyone else done this through second level and out the roof? I am afraid of the install cost. I think I heard a direct vent out and up 4 ft would run about $500 in parts and another $500 in labor. Any idea what going up through a second level, attic and roof cost?

 

[begreen]

I'd either install it in the FR fireplace or maybe centered on the wall between the LR and the DR?

 

[cac4]

looks very similar to my house...same first floor dimensions, anyway. (24x36?). the layout is a bit different though. anyway, what about "anywhere" on the right-side wall? could go in the front corner, there, and vent out the side. I'm betting that with a smaller house and a fairly open floor plan, it'll heat everything just fine, no matter where you put it.

Mine will go in that front left corner. looks like you've got a tv there? you could move that between the front windows...I actually worry about it being in the room where we spend most of our time, that it might be "too hot" in there. With a wood stove or fireplace, they can make the room they're in very hot...maybe not so much w/ a pellet stove. but how much? I'll just have to find that out for myself. The other side of the house wouldn't work, in my case.

maybe an insert, or "in" the fireplace, as previously suggested. what kind of fireplace is that? real masonry or pre-fab?

 

[stejus]

looks very similar to my house...same first floor dimensions, anyway. (24x36?). the layout is a bit different though. anyway, what about "anywhere" on the right-side wall? could go in the front corner, there, and vent out the side. I'm betting that with a smaller house and a fairly open floor plan, it'll heat everything just fine, no matter where you put it.

Mine will go in that front left corner. looks like you've got a tv there? you could move that between the front windows...I actually worry about it being in the room where we spend most of our time, that it might be "too hot" in there. With a wood stove or fireplace, they can make the room they're in very hot...maybe not so much w/ a pellet stove. but how much? I'll just have to find that out for myself. The other side of the house wouldn't work, in my case.

maybe an insert, or "in" the fireplace, as previously suggested. what kind of fireplace is that? real masonry or pre-fab?

House is 24X36 in main first floor and 26X36 upstairs. Fiireplace is masonry and I am not willing to give it up. I use the fireplace to burn wood on weekends, not for heat, more for tranquil effect. I also just invested in a $1000.00 glass door set last year. In the event of a power outage, i can use the fireplace for heat, (limited, but heat). The corner is for TV and the space between windows is rack for Entertainment Center.

I still open to putting putting the free standing Castile in the middle of the Living/Dining area. My big concern is will the heat make it over to the Family Room where we spend a lot of time.

 

[stejus]

I'd either install it in the FR fireplace or maybe centered on the wall between the LR and the DR?

Do you think the heat from a stove rated for 1500 sq ft reach the far end of the house (1000 sf first floor). My concern is as the heat passes through the two opens (into Kitchen and Hallway), I'll loose half the heat going up the stairs! We use the Kitchen/FR and Office 99% of the time other than sleeping upstairs.

 

[richg]

Centered between the living room and the dining room. Put a ceiling fan in the stairwell to move air up/down. A pellet stove makes a fair amount of ash and pellet dust, which is not something I'd want in my kitchen.

 

[stejus]

OK, how about this approach seeing I don’t want to go through header board above sliders. I can go up through ceiling into upstairs bathroom and out. I would rather not go through roof so would any of these work seeing there are only a few bends?

richg - how much ash and dust do these pellet stoves generate. Can this be controled by staying on top of cleaning the stove or is it just normal for these stoves to blow dust and ash from the air chamber?

 

[cac4]

wow, that must be some glass!

Have you seen any of the marketing pics of those nice pellet inserts? they look divinely tranquil, to me...

Do you have lots of power failures? Its not really a concern, at my house. in 14 years, the longest outage we've had has been 8 hours. In general, any outages are rare. I was starting to get concerned during that one long outage...and the house was getting uncomfortably cold, so I turned on the burners on my propane-powered kitchen range, not expecting to get much. I had to turn them off in under an hour; the house was too warm! (gee, no wonder it gets so hot in the house on xmas day...about the only day we ever do alot of cooking). anyway, I don't think its a major concern (at my house), and you can use a battery backup, in a pinch.

that fireplace is probably a net loss, even when you are burning in it. It makes the area right near it "feel" warm, from the radiant heat...in exchange for sucking all the other heated air in the house up the chimney. they should all be labeled, "for entertainment purposes, only". LOL!

From reading here, and talking to others IRL that I know, with similar sized houses, I expect that a pellet stove of that size will heat the whole house. My friends run their furnaces only on the very coldest of days...like "0" degrees. My house is the same size, and better insulated. I do have 6" walls, modern construction, etc.
I can tell you from personal experience that I can cool the entire first floor of the house with a single room air conditioner. (I think its 12k btus...about as big as you can get without needing a 220 outlet). My floor plan is a bit more "open", and it is cooler near the unit itself, but a ceiling fan keeps things circulated pretty well. The a/c unit is in the equivalent spot as your "LR" front windows; If you're sitting over near where your tv is (in my house), it can feel a little bit warm there, without the ceiling fan running. with it running, its fine. I don't know if we can draw any conclusions from that...comparing a single "zone" type cooling unit to a "zone" type heating unit. So..."fwiw".