Updated: Newbie and Drafty Old House - Jotul Oslo and Fireplace Surround and Hearth Build

[mimeismoney]

Hello,
I posted earlier about a stove we found on craigslist, but before making a move, we decided to have a chimney man over to check out which chimneys would be most suited to a wood stove. We have four outside wall masonry chimneys that are candidates, and decided on two that are the most viable. He quoted us a price for installing a stove and 25' liner and sent us to the local Jotul dealer. The house is a drafty 2800 sq ft Victorian that is an up and down duplex. Upstairs has it's own electric furnace and is about 800 sq ft. The main level is 2000 sq ft and had a boiler system that will be replaced. (We purchased the house from the bank and it was not winterized and empty for two years - all the pipes burst). Currently there is no heat downstairs, and we have finally found a company to work with us on replacing the system - so we could go the rest of the winter without heat in the downstairs apartment as the new system is designed and put in, unless we get a wood stove. Needless to say, whatever stove we get will be doing some work to keep the downstairs above freezing if it ever gets cold this winter.

The Jotul dealer has two stoves that we liked that he'd like to sell before the end of the year: a F400 Castine in flat black that he quoted at $1850, and an ivory enamel F500 Oslo that he quoted at $2700. We eventually would like to have more than one wood stove, but we will probably be looking for a used stove as our second stove.

Either way, do these prices seem fair for these stoves? We are so new and having a hard time finding prices on stoves online. I love the look of the Oslo and the side loading door and longer burn time, but would we be better off saving some money with the Castine and putting the extra toward a second stove in our 2000 sq ft?

Thanks for taking the time to read about our project, I appreciate any input anyone might have.

Sidenote - our installer will give us a 50% off the second install if we were to install two stoves at the same time.

 

[brad wilton]

50% of price?why not if you can afford it.jotuls are good stoves i would go with the bigger stove seeing that it's an older drafty house.make a new post with actual name like need advice on buying 500 oslo you will get better response rrom jotul owners

 

[Jags]

The Oslo would be my pick of the two mentioned. Drafty/Old/basement - those are all code words for "go big".

 

[heavy hammer]

I Have a jotul Oslo 500. The side door and the bigger stove are worth the money. See if you can get it in flat black. Talk to the jotul dealership they should be able to get you one in this style it will save you a little. If they want to sell you a couple stoves they should help you out a little. Plus look online there are a lot of jotul stores out there. Buy the bigger stove it is easier to have a small fire in a large stove then try and make a smaller stove work harder. Also have you looked at the 600 just another thought not a lot more than the Oslo. Plus a little bigger. Post some more people out here are very helpful. Good luck.

 

[branchburner]

An F600 in flat black should cost about the same as that F500 in enamel. The F400 is a good deal but I would say a bit smaller than your needs.

 

[revdocjim]

With used stoves the dealer's guarantee is very important. If this is a reputable store I would imagine they have refurbished the used units and will stand by them. In that case I think the prices you quoted sound pretty good. One significant question is do you really want a white stove? In some settings they look lovely, but not all. If your first stove is going into the level that has 2,000 sq.ft. I would go with the larger stove.

 

[mimeismoney]

With used stoves the dealer's guarantee is very important. If this is a reputable store I would imagine they have refurbished the used units and will stand by them. In that case I think the prices you quoted sound pretty good. One significant question is do you really want a white stove? In some settings they look lovely, but not all. If your first stove is going into the level that has 2,000 sq.ft. I would go with the larger stove.

Hello,
These are both new stoves, so not refurbished, he told me they want to sell these in house stoves prior to the first of the year, so I wondered if they might be good prices on these particular stoves - another note, this stove shop is literally three houses down from us, which saves us on any costs for transportation.

I like the ivory enamel in the victorian style of the house, it seems so elegant, but I am concerned about the upkeep on it. The bigger stove is more money, and perhaps instead of the bigger stove - we could get away with getting another medium sized stove either used or by a different, less expensive manufacturer. That's my other thought since we would get a 50% discount on the second install if we do it at the same time.

 

[phatdonkey]

I have an Oslo, in a decently insulated 1800 sqft tri level house. It does very well at keeping the house warm (hi 70s - low 80s in the stove room and mid 60s at the farthest upstairs bedroom). I would go with the 500 to make sure the job gets done, or if you can swing it the 600.

The issue I see with 2 medium to smaller stoves, is that you will most likely be feeding them wood all the time. You will most likely get good heat from both, and even the house out a bit with heat, but at the cost of running 2 stoves. If burn time is a considered factor, the 500 or larger 600 would be your best bet if you stick with Jotul.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[branchburner]

If burn time is a considered factor, the 500 or larger 600 would be your best bet if you stick with Jotul.

Agreed. That's why even if I were to get two stoves I'd have a 500 or 600 for the more spacious downstairs area, and then a smaller (400 or even less) upstairs or in another downstairs room. I'd want one unit to be the "central heater" that could take a large volume of wood for 1) longer burns, and 2) more output in super-cold weather.

 

[claydogg84]

The price on the enamel Oslo isn't really much of a "deal". I paid $3,000 out the door last year for my blue/black enamel Oslo. That price included the short leg kit ($100), and tax. Considering your situation I wouldn't suggest going smaller than the Oslo, I'd go bigger.

 

[phatdonkey]

Forgot to add. I paid 2300 and some change out the door for my matte black Oslo.

 

[jotul8e2]

I've had an ivory enamel for six or seven years now, and have really enjoyed it. That said, after installing an efficient furnace the next money spent on a "drafty house" should always be on tightening and insulating the house. Always.

 

[Simonkenton]

$2700 on an ivory enamel Oslo is a steal. I have been burning wood for 40 years and have had 7 wood stove, just got a Jotul Oslo installed a month ago and I love it! This is the best wood stove I have ever seen.
Mine is plain black and I did a little dickering on the price and I paid $2500. The guy said the enamel is $400 more.

 

[begreen]

If you are first and foremost looking for heat, consider getting a good, value model, ~3.0 cu ft, steel stove from Englander or Drolet. These sell for $800-1200 and present a very good value. Put the savings into sealing and insulating the basement. That's going to have the best ROI.

Note that you may need an outside air supply (OAK) to get optimal performance out of the stove in a basement location. And for sure you will need to have a good supply of fully seasoned wood at 20% or less moisture content to achieve good burning success.

 

[heavy hammer]

I paid $2300 for my Oslo flat black. I was just quoted a price of $2989 for the 600 in flat black.

 

[mimeismoney]

Any thoughts on how to finish the front of the fireplace? I removed the tile from the front today. Should we retile? Any thoughts on adding sheet metal? Perhaps we could get a piece of sheet metal and attach in front and powder coat it? We will be adding a hearth mat or other protection for the hearth. Also please forgive the construction debris and chair piles.

 

[begreen]

I'd probably retile and just paint the sheet metal with a good high-temp paint.

 

[heavy hammer]

You could use tin pieces to finish it I have a piece of tin on the ceiling where the stove pipe goes into the roof. The make all sorts of designs and colors.

 

[mimeismoney]

Thank you both for those suggestions. We found an antique cast iron fireplace mantel that has an opening large enough for the rear vent to go through. It has rust throughout and is painted black, we're thinking we could take it to the powder coaters and have them clean it and paint it for us. Are there any clearances to be concerned about with a cast iron mantel?

Also, with the Oslo and the hearth and clearances, the Oslo is deep enough that it's front feet will be just past the hearth. So I think the hearth pad would need to start entirely under the Oslo so that it sits level and even, is that right? And we were thinking of using sheet metal, but from the way I'm reading the requirements, it has to be heat rated to R-2, which would mean the sheet metal would need to be attached to something else like micore, is that correct? Any other thoughts on the hearth besides pulling out the heart pine would and extending the hearth with tile?

Thank you all for your help so far.