Fireplace advice, Part 2

[EddieWalker]

Thank you for the kind words.

I trimed out the tile and set the stove where I wanted it. Then figured I'd run to the store and buy the rest of the pipe I needed and the parts to run it through the roof. While there are plenty of places who will order them for me, I couldn't find any that have what I need in stock. Lowes has the best prices, but said it will take three weeks to get here.

I'm searching online and found several suppliers, including Amazon, but with shipping and buying the individual pieces, it's twice as much money. The kit from Lowes is looking better and better. I'm impatient, but don't really have to have it done right away. I don't even have any wood ready to burn, so 3 weeks isn't such a big deal if I decide to go that route.

I'm back to thinking about stacking the wood next to the house. If I pour a concrete pad, use 2 inch pipe for the ends and put a metal, awning type roof over it, I think I'll have something that I'll be proud of. What I'm struggling with is makeing the wall bug proof so termintes can never get through. I have Hardi for my siding, and I'm thinking about using roofing tar over it, and then another layer of Hardi that overlaps down to my foundation. With a rediculous amount of roofing tar spread all over and oozing out of the hardy, I think that I should be fine.

How dumb is this? or do I have a chance?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[keegs]

Thank you for the kind words.

I trimed out the tile and set the stove where I wanted it. Then figured I'd run to the store and buy the rest of the pipe I needed and the parts to run it through the roof. While there are plenty of places who will order them for me, I couldn't find any that have what I need in stock. Lowes has the best prices, but said it will take three weeks to get here.

I'm searching online and found several suppliers, including Amazon, but with shipping and buying the individual pieces, it's twice as much money. The kit from Lowes is looking better and better. I'm impatient, but don't really have to have it done right away. I don't even have any wood ready to burn, so 3 weeks isn't such a big deal if I decide to go that route.

I'm back to thinking about stacking the wood next to the house. If I pour a concrete pad, use 2 inch pipe for the ends and put a metal, awning type roof over it, I think I'll have something that I'll be proud of. What I'm struggling with is makeing the wall bug proof so termintes can never get through. I have Hardi for my siding, and I'm thinking about using roofing tar over it, and then another layer of Hardi that overlaps down to my foundation. With a rediculous amount of roofing tar spread all over and oozing out of the hardy, I think that I should be fine.

How dumb is this? or do I have a chance?

Thanks,
Eddie

That pad looks like it's always been there. Nice job man.

I'd check craigs list again. I saw some tripple wall sections when I was looking for a stove. Check the material and for sale sections.

I don't know what you're dealing with in Texas but up here carpenter ants are a problem and they get around. I'm with those who suggest keeping the main wood pile away from the house. I use a loop just ouside the door. It holds about 5 days worth of fuel. On the weekends I use a wheel barrow to replenish the loop.

 

[inveresk]

Single skin flue up to ceiling level will radiate more heat into the living room than multiple wall. I'd only use double wall outwith the space you want to heat.

I'd also echo the advice to locate the log shed some way from the house.

A brick floor is a good option. Brick floors with sanded joints tend to be reusable if you ever move the shed.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Late comer as usual here Eddie. I like the advantages of burning wood if you have a good supply for cheap. I live in a mobile home and the rules are so ridiculous, its hardly worth installing one. My home already has a fireplace that is terribly inefficient. I have thought of an elaborately installed stove like yours but by the time you get the mobile home model (doesn't emit much sidewall heat), and have it profesionally installed by a masters licensed installer, the costs vs. savings don't add up. For insurance, I'd have to have it signed off by the installer and checked by my insurance company. I'd be looking at a minumum of $3000 for the stove and installation. $1200 for a good log splitter. I can pay an extra $100/per month for HVAC heating the 3-4 months down here for many years to come before I'd break even on the installation. The main benefit I'd get is the exercise. Did anyone mention to you how many times wood warms you up prior to burning it...:laughing:

OTOH, my buddy had a nice A frame home and installed a big Jotul centered in his downstairs living room. He could heat his whole house with that thing as the bedrooms were off of an open upstairs balcony. He told me he could load that thing up and it would last all night and part of the next morning. I would say his setup was near perfect for a WBS.

You have found a really good deal and your install looks awesome. I hope you enjoy it this winter.

I would think that here in south Texas, I would like something that could be seasonally installed and removed come spring so it isn't always taking up room in your home.

 

[dmccarty]

I stack the cord wood on pallets.

For the first few years I was "smart." And I used the tractor with pallet forks to move the cord wood to the house! Our back porch has a large roof overhang so the wood would be out of must rain/snow but I could easily throw a tarp as needed. The wood got split where the tree fell and put one pallets. Then I would just move the wood pallets as needed.

Thought I had a good system....

But I did not think about MICE.

Mickey's Cousin's really liked my palletized wood. And the managed to sneak into the house. We had about four mice that got into the house this way. What a mess.

Now I move the logs to a place where I split and store the wood on pallets. Not much different than before but this place is slightly uphill from the house. Which is important.

Now I just get a big load of wood in the wheel barrow and since it the house is downhill from the wood pile it is fairly easy to move. The wheel barrow is one of the big Rubbermaid products with bicycle wheels. During the coldest part of the year 2-3 loads last a week. The wheel barrow is hand loaded at the pile and brought to the back porch as needed. No more problem with mice. And not many problems with bugs. Might get a spider from time to time but that is about it. More time consuming but it also leaves the wood mess back at the wood pile.

Later,
Dan

 

[Lloyd_E]

Eddie,

Looks great... you should be burning in a few weeks. I have a wood shed about 150' from the house. The wood gets chunked, split and stacked mainly by and in the shed. Sometimes I take the spitter to the woods and do it there and bring it back via the bucket on the tractor.

We have a back entrance that I have a large wood box - 4' wide x 20" deep x 3' high. The front is open down to 2' from floor with the back being 3' high. This gets filled once a week. I also have it a foot from the wall on the end side. This space gets filled with kindling.

After the burning season we clean and vacuum the area well.

You could consider a box outside with a top and just bring enough wood for the week.
You could build one or perhaps get a Rubbermaid deck box...

Someway it is stated that from woodlot to firebox you move wood seven times...

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm really fighting you guys who tell me to store the wood away from the house. I'm seriously planning to rebuild the wall of my house with two layers of house wrap that I will apply over a wet layer of concrete block sealant to make sure no bugs can get through it. I will pour concrete for the wood to rest on with a slope to carry any moisture that might end up on it away from the house and I will put a small, metal, lean-to roof over the wood to help keep it dry and match the metal roof that's already on my house.

Part of my stuborness is that I don't have a place to build a wood storage shed that I like better. The other part is that I think I can make it bug proof. The combination is driving me to do what I understand to be a bad idea, but will do it anyway.

I'm still in the planning stage, but have a materials list and all the details pretty much figured out. It's realy just a matter of committing to it, and getting started.

In the meantime, while waiting on my pipes to get here, and knowing that I will need wood on hand if I plan on actually having a fire, I started the process of getting that wood over the weekend. In an area that I've been clearing out the underbrush, but leaving my trees alone to create a park like setting, I found a standing oak tree that's in the 40 year old range. I had my dad take it down with the backhoe last week, and yesterday, I cut it up into 16 inch rounds, give or take an inch. My stove can handle larger, but at 16 inches, they are heavy enough, and a few were too heavy for me to lift, so I rolled them onto the grapple on the backhoe.

While enjoying the fall weather, the leaves fallling from the trees and the smell of fresh cut oak, my Mom showed up in the Mule. She had been out driving the trails and wanted to lend me a hand. We loaded up the bed of the mule that she brought to the pile by my house. It was a nice surprise to have her help out like that.

This tree has been dead for a few years now. It seems to be dry and ready to burn, but as a rookie, I could be wrong about this. The bark is falling off the tree, and some of the rounds are splitting on their own. Since this is what I have ready to go, I'm gonna just learn as I go and hopefully be better prepaired for next year.

Some time this week, I plan on borrowing my brothers log splitter and starting on that part of getting the wood ready.

My goal is to have two chords of wood split and stacked for winter.

Eddie

 

[charlz]

Looks like good firewood to me! :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

Yeah, that stuff in the mule is definitely ready to go. You may want to load some pieces in your stove to see what sizes fit nicely. That way, you may not have to split some of the branch pieces and you will know what size you need to get it down to for your stove. Too big and it won't go in the door of the stove. Too small and it burns up to quick. After 2 years of using mine I finally got a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn't. :laughing:

As for storing it near your house... just be sure you can spray under and behind it with insect spray. Storing it up on a skid or pallet may be a good idea, too. Not only will it provide more air circulation, but you can spray under it.

I store my pile out behind the garage. I also have an outside stair access to my basement room where the stove is. It has the two metal doors that open up and out. The stairs are 4' wide and 8 steps down. I load one side of the steps with a row of wood. That is enough for about 10 days. If it looks like the weather will be bad, I will pack both sides of the steps full and that is enough for well over two weeks.

My point is, even though I discourage people from storing wood right next to their house, I do it myself every time I load that staircase! :confused3: It is not sealed and insects can get in there. However, it is not heated and insects freeze to death if they go in there. In the summer, I keep it empty so no carpenter ants are tempted. :thumbsup:

 

[EddieWalker]

My parts for my pipe came in from Lowes two weeks ago. I was able to install it last weekend. All in all, it went in pretty easily. The real trick was getting it lined up so that the pipe would be straight. I had to slide the stove forward a little bit so the box would clear my ceiling joists.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

Today we had a cold front come through. Temps have been dropping into the 30's and tomorrow night, should go down into the 20's.

I started my first fire tonight in my stove. At first, it just smoked and smoked. It was crazy to see how the smoke washed over the glass. I read the comments here about it, but to see it for the first time was really something!!!

Then the flames took off and it got real pretty. Then it got warm in here. I was wearing a beanie, sweatshirt and my boots. I didn't check the temperature in the house when I started the fire, but after an hour, it's 76 degrees in here off of the first load of wood, and I'm not going to add any more. I'm in my tshirt, shorts and bare foot.

Outside it's 38 degrees and inside it's 76!!!!!

Thank you everyone for your advice.

Next is my wood shed.

Eddie

 

[westbrooklawn]

Eddie -

Looks great (as all your projects do, by the way!)... there is nothing more warming than wood heat. A couple of questions... I have always been told that stove pipe should be installed with female end up. That way any condensation or creosote drips inside the pipe wouldn't seep out at the joints. It appears you have yours installed the other way around... what made you decide to go that way? Also, I'm about to install a woodstove in my shop... all metal building with ribbed metal roofing. I am concerned about being able to effectively flash the chimney because of the ribbed material on the roof... how did you do yours?

 

[Egon]

Looking Good!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

Eddie -

Looks great (as all your projects do, by the way!)... there is nothing more warming than wood heat. A couple of questions... I have always been told that stove pipe should be installed with female end up. That way any condensation or creosote drips inside the pipe wouldn't seep out at the joints. It appears you have yours installed the other way around... what made you decide to go that way? Also, I'm about to install a woodstove in my shop... all metal building with ribbed metal roofing. I am concerned about being able to effectively flash the chimney because of the ribbed material on the roof... how did you do yours?

You need the male end up so the air always goes UP from the outside of the pipe to the inside of the pipe. :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

My parts for my pipe came in from Lowes two weeks ago. I was able to install it last weekend. All in all, it went in pretty easily. The real trick was getting it lined up so that the pipe would be straight. I had to slide the stove forward a little bit so the box would clear my ceiling joists.

Eddie

Today we had a cold front come through. Temps have been dropping into the 30's and tomorrow night, should go down into the 20's.

I started my first fire tonight in my stove. At first, it just smoked and smoked. It was crazy to see how the smoke washed over the glass. I read the comments here about it, but to see it for the first time was really something!!!

Then the flames took off and it got real pretty. Then it got warm in here. I was wearing a beanie, sweatshirt and my boots. I didn't check the temperature in the house when I started the fire, but after an hour, it's 76 degrees in here off of the first load of wood, and I'm not going to add any more. I'm in my tshirt, shorts and bare foot.

Outside it's 38 degrees and inside it's 76!!!!!

Thank you everyone for your advice.

Next is my wood shed.

Eddie

Those boxes sure make it easy to keep the pipe centered away from combustible material, don't they? Our stove is in the basement and we have one box going through the ground floor and then another going through the first floor ceiling and a third going through the roof. Of course, floor joists were going north/south, ceiling joists were going east/west, and, since this was a "handyman special" the roof rafters were not even close to being over the ceiling joists! :laughing: It was well worth the $500.00 I paid for installation. :thumbsup:

That smoke washing down over the glass is kind of mesmerizing, isn't it? :drool:

I have an old rocking chair that I sit in while the fire starts up. I sit there and stare at it as the flames grow and the smoke turns into flames. What's really cool is to get it going good and then throttle it back so the blue and yellow flames just dance around on top of the wood near the top of the stove. I think it is the combustible gases burning. Anyhow, you know you got it right when the flames move around really slowly more like clouds VS the roaring bright orange flames that you see at start up. One thing I would suggest is to get one of those long lighters that has a flame like a match at the end (not one of the wind proof torch-type lighters). When the fire is going good, shut the air control all the way off, light the lighter and move it around the edges of the door. If the flame gets sucked towards the door you may have a leak in the door gasket and need to replace it. That happened to our stove this year and I need to replace the gasket now. So I am not burning when I am not home. How I found it was usually when I get the fire going how I like it as described above, I shut the air control all the way in (off) and then crack it open back out to #2. Well, this year when I did that, the fire kept growing and getting hotter and I was worried about a runaway. The stove top started getting up towards 500 really fast, so I opened the door to get a rush of air in there to let the heat go up the chimney for a few minutes. That got rid of the concentration of heat. Then I shut the air control off, threw in another log and shut the door. The way I figure it is that the new log, no concentrated heat and diminished air flow took away a lot of the energy of the existing fire. I then monitored it closely and the fire did die down to a crawl. I called the fireplace store the next day and they suggested the door gasket was leaking and told me about the lighter trick. Looking back on it, I probably should have stored the stove with the door open all summer. It sat there cranked shut all summer and probably flattened the gasket. Anyhow, they say it is an easy replacement that I can do myself. We shall see. :laughing:

Eddie, your installation looks great. That stove will serve you well and you will be warm and snug all winter long. Good job! :thumbsup:

 

[MossRoad]

Also, get yourself two of the magnetic stove thermometers like these (cheaper than this, too).
Chimgard Stove Thermometer magnetic : Wood Heat Stoves and Solar, Gas, Wood & Pellet Stove, Sales, Parts and Service

Keep one on the stove top in front of the top vent or under the trivet and put the other one directly on your stove pipe about eye level. Once you get used to how you like your fire, you can note the two thermometer temps and adjust your air control to keep it at that temp. It is kind of fun to see how things like different wood types, outside and inside temps, humidity, etc... affect the stove and comfort level in the house.

I learned over the last two years to not start a fire on Thanksgiving morning because the turkey in the oven for three hours, four burners on the stove and a dozen people will heat the house quite nicely. Add the wood stove to that and it just causes everyone to drink more and open the windows! Then they fall asleep and never leave! :laughing:

 

[srs]

Great thread! Really enjoyed reading this one. MossRoad, excellent advice you've given here and I'm sure appreciated by everyone who heats with wood! Two thumbs up sir.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie -

Looks great (as all your projects do, by the way!)... there is nothing more warming than wood heat. A couple of questions... I have always been told that stove pipe should be installed with female end up. That way any condensation or creosote drips inside the pipe wouldn't seep out at the joints. It appears you have yours installed the other way around... what made you decide to go that way? Also, I'm about to install a woodstove in my shop... all metal building with ribbed metal roofing. I am concerned about being able to effectively flash the chimney because of the ribbed material on the roof... how did you do yours?

Thank you.

The pipes have arrows on them and the adapter that goes onto the stove is male side up. There really isn't any other way to install the pipes. My pipe from the stove to the celing is a double wall pipe without any sort of liner. It's just hollow between the inner and outer pipe. The guy that I bought it from had that pipe, so it's just what I used. Everywhere I looked, there was just single wall pipe available, so this might be a bit different then most. The adapter box kit from Lowes came with the box, a fitting that the inside pipe fits into, then it fits into the box, and then the exterior pipe attaches to that. You need this adapter for the two different types of pipe. And the kit included the rain cap. I bought a two and a three foot section of double wall pipe from Lowes. I put the three foot section inside the box, and it comes out of the roof about a foot and a half. Then I added the two foot section to that to give me about 3 1/2 feet of pipe above my roof. Everything that I read said to have 3 feet.

My metal roof is from Muellers. They are a metal building manufacturer that has locations all over this part of the country. I went to them for the rubber flashing boot thing that goes around vent pipes. They make a larger one for chimeney pipe that you have to cut to fit. Its base is soft, flexible metal with a rubber seal. It folds over the ridges of the metal roof for a perfect fit. I then screw it down with gasketes metal roofing screws. I use lots of flashing sealer on it too. Then the next day I went over all of it with flashing sealant just to make sure. It's not pretty, but it will never leak!!!!!

Let me know if you need a picture. I can get the ladder and take one for you.

Moss,

Thanks for all your advice. I will check for a leak at the door. This is so new to me that every day is a learning experience!!! That smoke at first had me nervous because it was so intense. I'm glad that you mentioned it because I was tempted to try and start the fire again. Then after a little bit of that, it just went away and I had the nice fire going that I took a picture of.

It's supposed to get even colder tonight, so I'll play around with the air flow some more when I get the fire going again.



I've been posting and asking questions about doing this for years now, and to actually have a fire going and heating the house with wood from my land is such a great feeling. Thank you to everyone for your advice and assistance.

Eddie

 

[Egon]

they say it is an easy replacement that I can do myself. We shall see

I've done a few times so it can't be difficult!:thumbsup:

Leave a little extra when you cut the gasket as the corners take up more than one realizes. Also tape the ends when you make the 45 angle cut's for the joint.

 

[MossRoad]

I've done a few times so it can't be difficult!:thumbsup:

Leave a little extra when you cut the gasket as the corners take up more than one realizes. Also tape the ends when you make the 45 angle cut's for the joint.

Thanks! :licking: (that's Thanksgiving gravy I'm licking off :laughing: ).