I started here with very little knowledge and I still don't have much, but I have learned a great deal. Thanks for that!
I currently have a heat n' glow ZC fireplace and it is VERY drafty. I have a feeling they did not enclose the area behind it, nor add any insulation. The tile in front of it is almost ice cold and I had to put a bunch of blankets infront of the bottom crate (when not in use) to block a rush of cold air coming in. I was going to get a blower for it to just survive this winter and hopefully cut down on the propane bill a bit, but I am the point where I think its better to just rip it out and seal up the enclosure and then get a ZC Stove this spring/summer in preparation for next winter.
So I have read a bunch about the ZC stoves and they all seem to be pretty expensive - $3500+ just for the stove - is that pretty accurate? I have looked at the Quadrafire 7100 and Northstar so far. I also looked at the inserts that will fit directly into the fireplace I have, but I wasn't sure about the cost for those. I specifically looked at the Lopi inserts.
So is it going to be much cheaper to install an insert into the fireplace I have or to just rip it out and put in a ZC stove insert? I assume installing into the fireplace I have now will be cheaper, but not sure on that yet. I plan on doing all the work myself at this point, but I need to do MUCH more research before I attempt to do that. I know I need to rip out some of the cultured stone that I have on the fireplace, but I have extra stone that I could use so I don't need to spend any $ on that. I figure all I need to spend money on is the stove and flue. I am 99% sure I will have to replace it without even looking at it from everything I have read hear. Should I assume a max of $1K for the flue if I install it myself?
Here is what the chimney looks like. I assume I can just replace the pipe?
Once I take out the old fireplace can I enclose the space with drywall if I maintain whatever clearences will be on the ZC stove that I pick or should I use something like hardieboard?
One last question - if I get a model that has the option to add ductwork to blow the heat to other parts of the house, can I just connect that up to our current ductwork? Or do I need to run new ductwork and new registers? I will likely just need to run two lines back to my kids bedrooms since our bedroom us up in the loft and its always warm up there.
I have seen a few install threads on here with pics, but would there be the ultimate install thread out there that I have not seen really detailing every step of the process?
I currently have a heat n' glow ZC fireplace and it is VERY drafty. I have a feeling they did not enclose the area behind it, nor add any insulation. The tile in front of it is almost ice cold and I had to put a bunch of blankets infront of the bottom crate (when not in use) to block a rush of cold air coming in. I was going to get a blower for it to just survive this winter and hopefully cut down on the propane bill a bit, but I am the point where I think its better to just rip it out and seal up the enclosure and then get a ZC Stove this spring/summer in preparation for next winter.
So I have read a bunch about the ZC stoves and they all seem to be pretty expensive - $3500+ just for the stove - is that pretty accurate? I have looked at the Quadrafire 7100 and Northstar so far. I also looked at the inserts that will fit directly into the fireplace I have, but I wasn't sure about the cost for those. I specifically looked at the Lopi inserts.
So is it going to be much cheaper to install an insert into the fireplace I have or to just rip it out and put in a ZC stove insert? I assume installing into the fireplace I have now will be cheaper, but not sure on that yet. I plan on doing all the work myself at this point, but I need to do MUCH more research before I attempt to do that. I know I need to rip out some of the cultured stone that I have on the fireplace, but I have extra stone that I could use so I don't need to spend any $ on that. I figure all I need to spend money on is the stove and flue. I am 99% sure I will have to replace it without even looking at it from everything I have read hear. Should I assume a max of $1K for the flue if I install it myself?
Here is what the chimney looks like. I assume I can just replace the pipe?
Once I take out the old fireplace can I enclose the space with drywall if I maintain whatever clearences will be on the ZC stove that I pick or should I use something like hardieboard?
One last question - if I get a model that has the option to add ductwork to blow the heat to other parts of the house, can I just connect that up to our current ductwork? Or do I need to run new ductwork and new registers? I will likely just need to run two lines back to my kids bedrooms since our bedroom us up in the loft and its always warm up there.
I have seen a few install threads on here with pics, but would there be the ultimate install thread out there that I have not seen really detailing every step of the process?