Zero clearance wood burning fireplaces vs wood burning stoves

[Simko]

Hello everyone! I have been reading and searching the forums for a little while now and thought it was about time that I register and introduce myself.

The wife and I are doing a basement remodel and we removed an Empire vented propane heater connected to the wall thimble thinking that it would be a non-issue to have a zero-clearance fireplace installed in its location.... boy were we wrong.

We have had two different fireplace contractors come out to quote installing a ZC, one said it was no problem and the other said it was impossible. I started doing some research and on the surface it looks like a ZC wood burner is not in our cards if we want to use the wall thimble/chimney due to the 30* max offset requirement to meet code.

The wall thimble feeds into an exterior concrete block chimney with stone face and a terra cotta flue. The old propane heater had a pipe that ran inside the TC flue to the top of the chimney about 25' up.

The plan was to install the ZC fireplace and put stone up to the ceiling and mount a TV above the fireplace as this is going to be the focus of the basement living space. The painters tape on the floor is 7' wide and the stone above the mantel was going to be 5' wide.

We are not able to build a chase above the ZC fireplace as there is another fireplace on the floor above that connects to a second TC flue in the same chimney.

If a ZC is truly out of the question, are there any other wood burning options that could give us the room focal point while also allowing a TV to be mounted in the area. We are not opposed to a wood stove, but I don't see any way that it could be done along with a TV.

The reason that we would like a wood burning ZC is that it could help defray to cost of propane for heating our house in the winter here in North Central Pennsylvania.

So, with all that said:

1) Are there any options that I haven't found in my searching for connecting a ZC wood burning fireplace to an existing chimney?
2) Has anyone seen any nice layouts of wood burning stoves that also incorporate a TV as a room focal point?

Thanks!

 

[webfish]

Just a couple comments. Most manufactures will not recommend a TV above any wood burner. People have done it and had no issues. If you do get a mount ,get one to take t off the wall and ability to angle down.

A Zero Clearance will probably not heat as well or at all. The newer efficient fireplaces will or an insert.

 

[begreen]

The main issue will be to not overheat the TV. A mantel is typically used as a form of heat shield. This can be done with a wood stove as long as clearances are honored for both the stove and the stove pipe. One option is to put in a non-combustible mantel which eliminates clearance concerns to the mantel.

A modern EPA ZC fireplace will heat well, but with the same caveat. It would be quite expensive, most likely requiring a tear out of the block chimney, adding a new metal chimney and constructing a chased enclosure. Figure in the neighborhood of $10-20K. A nice woodstove setup will be less, depending on the costs of lining the chimney, hearth design, and stove choice.

Is this room the only place for a fireplace? How large is the room? Is it open to the rest of the house or closed off by a standard door? How large is the house?