Stove placement in open floor plan

[Newt243]

I have been considering getting a hearth mounted stove for the living room but thought I might could put a freestanding stove in our dining room. This would allow for many more options on which stove we purchased as well as a larger firebox. As you can see in the pictures we have an open floor plan with tall ceilings with the downstairs around 2600 ft+\- and it is open to the upstairs. We shut off the bedrooms upstairs but there is one open room and a catwalk that can't be shut off. Approximately 400sq ft. We would like to supplement with a stove as our furnaces are propane and we have access to plenty of wood. The fireplace in the dining room is a ventless propane that we never use. It has a zc wood fireplace on the backside that has a chase that I think I could run the pipe through. I also thought of putting the stove on the floor to the right of the current fireplace. Let me know what y'all think.

 

[begreen]

Looks like the DR fireplace is on an exterior wall. Is the wood fireplace on the other side outdoors? Can you post a sketch of the floor plans? It doesn't have to be fancy. Just trying to get the overall picture and to get a feel for where the LR fireplace is located. Can you also post a picture of that fireplace?

 

[Newt243]

Looks like the DR fireplace is on an exterior wall. Is the wood fireplace on the other side outdoors? Can you post a sketch of the floor plans? It doesn't have to be fancy. Just trying to get the overall picture and to get a feel for where the LR fireplace is located. Can you also post a picture of that fireplace?

The DR fireplace is on an exterior wall and there is a zc wood fireplace on the other side. I have attached the floor plans. The kitchen and 2 bedrooms by it all have 10ft ceilings. The DR is vaulted and 16' tall and so is the master. The LR is 23' tall.

 

[begreen]

That's a challenging layout to heat with wood. If a stove is put in the dining area then that space and the kitchen will be the main areas heated. The hot air that makes it into the great room area will rise up to the ceiling, so the media room may get some heat. the MBR area would get little to no benefit.

Is the GR fireplace an efficient EPA fireplace or an open fireplace?

 

[Newt243]

That's a challenging layout to heat with wood. If a stove is put in the dining area then that space and the kitchen will be the main areas heated. The hot air that makes it into the great room area will rise up to the ceiling, so the media room may get some heat. the MBR area would get little to no benefit.

Is the GR fireplace an efficient EPA fireplace or an open fireplace?

Thr GR fireplace is a zc wood fireplace with a blower. I am not too worried about heating the MBR as it's on a separate system and we like it cooler in there. Our sons room is the exterior room off the kitchen and would worry about heating it more. It can get fairly cold here but it's not sustained cold. If we burn our fireplace all day it will keep the downstairs around 68 in 30-40 degree weather. But we go through a bunch of wood to keep it up and we don't burn it overnight as we would have to load it every hour. I was thinking of an ideal steel stove for the hearth in the living room but the wife would prefer a standalone stove in the DR due to the look of it. Me personally, I want to produce as many btu's with wood as possible due to the unlimited supply I have behind the house.

 

[begreen]

Son's bedroom looks like it would not benefit from a DR stove due to the hallway wall separating it. Maybe have a separate zone on its own thermostat for BRs 2&3.

 

[Newt243]

So would the ideal steel on the hearth be the best option? I have spoken with them on the phone and it will fit. I was just thinking if we got a larger firebox on a freestanding stove and put it in the dining room we could move the heat around with fans. We do have a very large ceiling fan in the living room that moves a good amount of air. We are never in the dining room either so it wouldn't matter if that room got pretty hot.

 

[begreen]

The DR ceiling looks like a heat trap as well. It will need a ceiling fan and maybe a window to the upstairs if possible? The IS needs a deep hearthpad. It looks 38" wide by 48" deep is the minimum. What would be the plan for venting the stove? Over the mantel and tapping into the chase if there's room?

As an alternative have you thought about tearing out the gas fireplace and replacing it with a good EPA wood burning unit?

 

[Newt243]

We could put a ceiling fan in the DR but not a window. If we went with the IS in the Living room we would vent through the existing pipe with a 6" insulated liner. Another possibility would be to put the stove in the DR in the corner below the painting on the right. This would put it right by the kitchen and I would be able to blow air towards the kitchen and living room.

 

[Newt243]

The DR ceiling looks like a heat trap as well. It will need a ceiling fan and maybe a window to the upstairs if possible? The IS needs a deep hearthpad. It looks 38" wide by 48" deep is the minimum. What would be the plan for venting the stove? Over the mantel and tapping into the chase if there's room?

As an alternative have you thought about tearing out the gas fireplace and replacing it with a good EPA wood burning unit?

I looked at replacing the living room fireplace with an insert but the dealer that installed it said a small buck was the only one that would fit. It was only rated for 1200 sq ft so that would not be worth it.

 

[begreen]

OK, it was unclear where the IS was proposed to be installed. For replacement I meant replacing the dining room gas fireplace with a good EPA wood fireplace. The DR location by the painting may work. Investigate the chimney location relative to the 2nd floor. Not sure of the upstairs roofline proximity but the chimney would need to be 2 ft higher than anything in a 10 ft radius.

 

[Newt243]

OK, it was unclear where the IS was proposed to be installed. For replacement I meant replacing the dining room gas fireplace with a good EPA wood fireplace. The DR location by the painting may work. Investigate the chimney location relative to the 2nd floor. Not sure of the upstairs roofline proximity but the chimney would need to be 2 ft higher than anything in a 10 ft radius.

I don't think I would want to replace the gas fireplace. The wall below the painting is 4' 4" in width. I was thinking of setting a stove in the corner at a 45 degree angle. The stove pipe would come through the roof probably straight above the middle of the window on the right. Not a great pic due to it getting close to dark and very wet and foggy!

 

[Burn Time]

View attachment 191705 View attachment 191704 I have been considering getting a hearth mounted stove for the living room but thought I might could put a freestanding stove in our dining room. This would allow for many more options on which stove we purchased as well as a larger firebox. As you can see in the pictures we have an open floor plan with tall ceilings with the downstairs around 2600 ft+\- and it is open to the upstairs. We shut off the bedrooms upstairs but there is one open room and a catwalk that can't be shut off. Approximately 400sq ft. We would like to supplement with a stove as our furnaces are propane and we have access to plenty of wood. The fireplace in the dining room is a ventless propane that we never use. It has a zc wood fireplace on the backside that has a chase that I think I could run the pipe through. I also thought of putting the stove on the floor to the right of the current fireplace. Let me know what y'all think.

Are your furnaces forced air? Let me tell you my story. I have a the largest Carrier NG-fired, forced air system, zoned, two years old. A year after installation, I installed a Hearthstone wood stove, 80k BTU, as part of a basement finishing project. I had the HVAC contractor run a return duct to a point in the basement ceiling near, but not directly above, the stove. The return has manual shutoff louvers. The ceiling temp above the stove typically measures 80+ degrees. I've had difficulty determining whether the setup is pulling heat through the system and distributing it to the rest of the house. It's probably working. It might work better if all the other return registers in the house could be closed, to intensify the pull from the return above the stove. (Many systems these days have paired returns, one at floor level and the other near ceiling level, so they can be opened and closed seasonally.) On the other hand, constricting return air too much could affect the efficiency of the furnace and perhaps damage the blower motor. Anyway, it's an idea that might work if you have forced air and operate the blower continuously as I do. You should ask your contractor to balance the return air flow to maximize the draw from the stove heat.

 

[Newt243]

I thought about venting through my propane furnace when we built the house but my builder recommended against it. The same one that said my zc fireplace would heat up the downstairs! Do y'all think the ideal steel on the hearth in the LR would do a decent job? I have spoken with them and it will fit but I would have to extend the hearth for spark protection. I just thought about the absolute steel as it is a side loader and would not need to extend the hearth if it would fit. What do y'all think?

 

[begreen]

Mechanical code says that the return air needs to be at least 10 ft away from the stove. If you are looking for a side loader for the LR go large. That would be the Progress Hybrid. Whatever the choice there, make sure that flue exit on the stove clears below the fireplace lintel.