I was talking with our local building inspector after he finished inspecting my new wood stove. ( I did that at the suggeston of my friend/insurance agent)
He told me about some people rebuilding part or all of their houses from idiotic wood stove fires.
First was a guy who built a platform out of ply wood and 2x4's OVER A CONCRETE FLOOR for his Home Depot wood stove. Then he carpeted it and placed the stove. Put a piece of carpeted wood BEHIND the stove too, for looks. Covering the concrete wall. No, it wasn't a hearth rug or anything remotely flame retardant. Yep, it caught fire and burned 1/2 his house down.
There was the guy who used a cardboard box to put his ashes in after cleaning out his stove. Can ya guess what happened?
The best was the guy who went to the Depot, bought a stove and some pipe. Cut a hole in the side of his house, ran the pipe through the hole, and sealed around it with ply wood and fiberglass insulation. It used to be a cedar shake sided house.
The good news about these stories is that nobody got killed. Bad news is that all of them were told "It sucks to be you" by their homeowners insurance compaCies. Stupidity is not covered under most policies.
He told me about some people rebuilding part or all of their houses from idiotic wood stove fires.
First was a guy who built a platform out of ply wood and 2x4's OVER A CONCRETE FLOOR for his Home Depot wood stove. Then he carpeted it and placed the stove. Put a piece of carpeted wood BEHIND the stove too, for looks. Covering the concrete wall. No, it wasn't a hearth rug or anything remotely flame retardant. Yep, it caught fire and burned 1/2 his house down.
There was the guy who used a cardboard box to put his ashes in after cleaning out his stove. Can ya guess what happened?
The best was the guy who went to the Depot, bought a stove and some pipe. Cut a hole in the side of his house, ran the pipe through the hole, and sealed around it with ply wood and fiberglass insulation. It used to be a cedar shake sided house.
The good news about these stories is that nobody got killed. Bad news is that all of them were told "It sucks to be you" by their homeowners insurance compaCies. Stupidity is not covered under most policies.