Zero Clearance advice for new contruction

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Tony17

New Member
Nov 29, 2012
1
Hello, i'm new and looking for advice on a zero clearance wood burning fireplace for new construction. My house is an open floor plan and roughly 2000 square feet not including the basement. The basement will be finished and will most likely be the place where my family spends it time. Because of this i intend to install a zero clearance wood burning fireplace in the basement and hope the heat rises through an open stairwell to heat the rest of the house. I also plan to supplement with a large propane fireplace on the 1st floor of the house .

Upon entering the market my wife and I were stuck on the Regency R90 but have been advised to look for something with a larger firebox, log size, burn time etc. With that i've been looking at quadrafire 7100, napoleon nz3000 and lennox montecito estate. The issue with these is that i'm not crazy about the arched look with no louviers. Im going for a more modern look and in my opinion louviers look good on these fireplaces. With that in mind i delightfully stumbled upon the KozyHeat Z42 which seems to get good reviews on this forum and also cost substantially less.

My questions are as follows
  • Are there any other manufacturers/models i should consider? Something large with a modern look and high quality?
  • Would the Z42 deliver enough heat from the basement up to to other levels of my house?
  • My flue is 32" feet high. Any issues with that and the Z42?
  • I'm looking for a @36" gas fireplace and like the look of the glass media as oppose to fake log. Been looking at the novus evolution. Any recommendations on this would also be appreciated.
Thank you taking the time to read my post and for any insight.
 
We installed a z42CD in our new construction home. We aren't moved in yet, but have been using the unit to heat the house during construction phases as we are doing most of the work ourselves. The unit is pretty straight forward and heats pretty well. We will also have a finished basment and about 2000sqft on the upper story and a half. Others will chime in, but I don't think you'll get the heat transfer you are expecting with the wood heater being placed in the basement. Our z42 is located on the main level. You'll want to make sure you get the blower with it. It works without, but pushed more heat out to the room with the blower. An 8-10 hr burn seems to be a reasonable expectation with this unit. It looks great and is a good value for the money. We installed a PE Super 27 in the basement.
 
I'm in the finishing stages of my Napoleon NZ3000 install as we speak. I'm just about finished with the scratchcoat for the stone veneer, hoping to have the stone all done by Monday or Tuesday, if it all goes as planned. We LOVE the look of the NZ3000, as it fits our colonial-decorated home perfectly. Yes, it was pricey, but I got a great deal on it from a place out in Denver.......the stove, the wrought iron front and doors, all the Simpson class A pipe and accessories, and a blower kit, for less than I could have bought the basic fireplace for locally! That unit is an amazing heater! I am utilizing all the optional heat ducts as well. Here's a link to my install.....

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/building-the-hearth-for-my-napoleon-nz3000-what-a-quest.74273/

It isn't as contemporary as some stoves out there, but it seems to be a great heater. I noticed that if you don't have some things just right, the glass will get dirty (and let me tell you I know for a fact my wood is well seasoned, it was split and stacked three years ago, and it's been top-covered for the past year). Good luck picking your stove out. Oh and we expect some pictures of it on here!
 
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