Replacing fireplace with wood stove

[Thomud]

So I have been thinking about replacing my fireplace with a wood stove. Our fireplace is a steel firebox with a fake rock wall around it. Was done in the late '60's. It doesn't put out hardly any heat, more just for looks, and we cant stand the look of the rock wall. I have an older Little Buck Buck Stove that I got from some friends that took it out of their place, its been setting in my garage for a couple years now. Its in good shape, blower works, but it would need a stand made for it since it was an insert in my friends house. That's not a problem though. and being that its the little buck the size is just about perfect for the space. With all that being said, I have never done anything like this and am just kinda looking for some advise or pointers. I have friends that can help that do remodel jobs and such, but I figure this may be the best place for me to start. Here is a picture of what I have.

 

[planman]

ZC fireplace

I had the same type setup, cheap prefab fireplace. I did this

View attachment 314880



Heats 2500 sq foot 2 story home no problem. Although Ive gotten some arguments on here about burning 3 month old oak, I do it all the time with little to no creosote build up in chimney by adjusting air intake. All night burn and up to 160,000 btu on high although not recommended to run at WOT for more than 1 hr, it puts out a solid 60K with a full load on medium. Best yet a couple of glasses of wine in front of this thing puts my wife in the mood like clockwork. :snicker:

 

[Thomud]

That looks really nice. Down side for me is that our firebox is so small that the little buck wont fit in it as an insert anyway. that was my original plan.

 

[steved]

Before we burnt that part of the house down, the house came with an EnviroFire 1600 insert installed in a prefab'd sheet metal fire place. The main issue was the chimney, they had snaked a piece of flexible up through the air-cooled double wall chimney pipe...it wasn't done all that great, but it worked. So keep that in mind, its a little more involved than shoving the stove in place...you will likely need to have the chimney lined as well. Although it had a smallish fire box, we had no trouble heating the house with the EnviroFire...it just didn't have enough box for a long duration burn.

We have an RSF wood stove now.

 

[Thomud]

One thing I should probably make clear is I am wanting to take out the firebox and rock wall and everything like it was never there. So it would then leave me with a hole in my ceiling and roof were the chimney is. Then I would be mostly starting from scratch. I think this is the best way for me to do it right the first time. And would give us a little better layout in the room. I have just never done anything like this so I am trying to do as much research as possible.

 

[steved]

One thing I should probably make clear is I am wanting to take out the firebox and rock wall and everything like it was never there. So it would then leave me with a hole in my ceiling and roof were the chimney is. Then I would be mostly starting from scratch. I think this is the best way for me to do it right the first time. And would give us a little better layout in the room. I have just never done anything like this so I am trying to do as much research as possible.

Look at RSF, they are a built-in type wood stove, and use very little of the room's interior if you don't want them too...they can also be used as either a fireplace or a wood stove. That's what we have, and it really opened the room up.

 

[steved]

We went from this....

 

[steved]

To this after the fire...

 

[planman]

One thing I should probably make clear is I am wanting to take out the firebox and rock wall and everything like it was never there. So it would then leave me with a hole in my ceiling and roof were the chimney is. Then I would be mostly starting from scratch. I think this is the best way for me to do it right the first time. And would give us a little better layout in the room. I have just never done anything like this so I am trying to do as much research as possible.

Why take the rock off, I would strip it down and see what is under the white paint. If you don't like the color then you may be able to dye it. As far as the chimney you will have to replace the air cooled pipe with some 2100 degree insulated 8 inch. Cost me about $900 for 20 feet online.

 

[Wife'nHubby]

Choose your stove before you install a liner - some stoves require a 8" liner and some stoves require a 6" liner.

 

[daleeper]

Looks like Buck still makes the kit to convert your insert back to a freestanding stove.

Link to their web site, you have to buy it from dealer:

Buck Stove Corporation - Frequently Asked Questions

I would at least check it out before building my own.

Good luck with your project. I think a stove would work well in place of that fireplace.

Study clearances on the chimney system that you will be installing. Make sure to consider the clearances of the stove pipe from the stove to the ceiling. I'm guessing the old chimney is double wall all the way to the firebox, and closer to the wall than single wall stovepipe is allowed.

 

[Bushmans]

Here is what I did. Whatever you do make sure you follow the manufacturers specs on installing the new chimney system. I'm almost positive you have the same air cooled chimney connected to the fireplace as I did. That will not work for a stove. Maybe not but check it out. Don't cut corners. I can't wait for the weather to turn cold so I can use mine. That fireplace just ate wood with minimal return. Good Luck.

http://www.arboristsite.com/firewood-heating-wood-burning-equipment/243742.htm