First things first – will it fit?

There are two measurements that are critical in determining how easy your
installation will be:

• 1) The first measurement is the height of the fireplace opening. The top of the
  pipe exiting your soapstone stove will be approximately 26” off the hearth floor
  (25.75” for the Fireview, Keystone & Palladian; 26.25” for the Classic).
  Assuming the fireplace opening is made entirely of non-combustible material, a
  minimum opening height of 26.25” is required to allow for a slight rise in the
  pipe (1/4” per foot).
  
  
• 2) The second crucial measurement is the depth of the hearth. The hearth is
  technically the floor of the fireplace, but it has also come to mean the extension
  in front of the fireplace, usually of the same masonry materials. The hearth
  prevents heat transfer to combustible flooring materials. Our wood stoves all
  measure 20 inches from front to back, and require an approved non-combustible
  hearth that extends eight inches beyond the front of the stove. The eight inches
  can be reached by either the horizontal or vertical dimension, or by a
  combination of both. For example, if the hearth was 4” above the floor height,
  then the front of the stove could be 4” from the front edge of the hearth (4” + 4”
  = 8” clearance). You also need sixteen inches of hearth extending from the
  loading door side in order to meet the side clearance requirement.

Couldn’t the stove be put back into the fireplace?

Our stoves are side loaders and they have control levers located toward the back that
must always be accessible. The Fireview and Classic both have top lids that lift up
for catalytic maintenance. So no matter which model, you really need to have the
stove sit out in front of the fireplace opening. Besides, by sitting in front of the
fireplace, more heat is directed into the living area instead of being radiated into the
masonry fireplace materials.

What if you’re working in a tight space?

What if your fireplace opening is a little short? What if your hearth is not deep
enough to hold the stove? As always, the devil is in the details. Options do exist for
situations where the fireplace specs do not match up neatly with the stove’s specs.

Fireplace opening is a little short: Unfortunately, we cannot shorten the legs on our
stoves because the leg height is an integral part of the stove’s safety testing. We can,
however, create a custom adapter that will lower the flue height slightly. If you need
to reduce the flue height by an inch or so – give us a call. We will evaluate the rest of
your chimney system and determine if a custom adapter will work in your
installation. If you need to lower the flue height by more than an inch or so, an
adapter will not work for you. Your best options at that point are to raise the height
of the fireplace lintel, lower the height of the hearth, or (if raised) consider installing
the stove on a new lower hearth in front of the existing raised hearth.

Hearth is not large enough: One option is to
extend the existing hearth until it meets the
clearance requirements. Typically, consideration
must be given to not only matching the
appearance of the existing hearth, but also to the
materials used in the safe construction of the
hearth extension. Because tile, brick, stone and
other masonry materials conduct heat, it is
essential that they be insulated from combustible
flooring with a non-conductive material such as a
half-inch thick cement backer board. See our
article on Planning Your Hearth for more tips on
non-combustible hearth construction. A much
easier option is to build or purchase an approved manufactured hearth pad that would
fit over or in front of the existing hearth. They stand approximately 1” high, and
come in either a full hearth pad size, 48” x 60”, or as extensions, available for use
with an existing hearth (12” x 48” or 18” x 48”). If the old hearth is flush with the
floor, you can just place the new, full size pad over the old. If the old hearth is raised,
you may need to put the stove and new pad in front of the existing hearth (taking up
more room in the living area).

Special Clearance Considerations: Many
fireplaces have wood trim surrounds or wood
mantels that also require minimum clearances
from the stove. The clearance required from the
stovetop to combustibles is 30 inches. If you
have a wood mantel above the stove that is less
than the required 30 inches, it will need its own
shield, usually made from sheet metal, bronze,
or copper. The shield will need a one-inch space
between it and the mantel, using non-combustible spacer washers. Shields may also
be required to protect wood trim along the sides of the fireplace.

Venting

When you install a wood stove on a hearth to take advantage of the fireplace and
chimney, it is not acceptable to simply run a pipe from the stove into the fireplace
and block off the opening. It’s against the fire code, it will create dangerous creosote
glazing in the smoke shelf above the fireplace, and you won’t get the draft you need
to run the stove properly.

Assuming your chimney is already “lined” with terra
cotta, or “fireclay” tile, it is acceptable to run a stainless
steel pipe or a flex- liner up through the smoke
chamber, at least to the first tile at the bottom of the
chimney. A better method is to extend the pipe all the
way to the top of the chimney. This will ensure the
best performance from your stove and liner system. If
your chimney is not lined with a clay liner, or if the
liner is cracked or broken, your stainless steel liner will
need to be insulated.

It’s important to know the actual dimensions of your existing flue to be certain the
liner will fit inside it. It’s rare that it won’t, but if the liner needs to be insulated, it
will add one or two inches to the liner diameter, depending on the type of insulation
used. In most cases, flue size often can only be accurately determined by measuring
at the top of the chimney where the flue is accessible.

Dampers

Most fireplaces have a damper, which will have to be contended with when
installing the liner. The plate that opens and closes (the damper or “valve”) will need
to be removed in most cases. The frame itself is usually built into the chimney and
can’t be removed, but it does create a narrow passage, often about 4 or 5 inches. The
only way to get a six-inch liner through this restricted space is to have it “ovalized” at
the bottom end. For no extra charge, the manufacturer of our flex-liners can
compress the first three feet into an oval shape that can be pulled through the narrow
damper opening. (See our article Masonry Chimneys.)

Replacing a factory built fireplace:

Replacing a factory-built fireplace with a wood stove raises some important safety
issues. Wood stove chimneys are tested for approval by Underwriter’s Labs to
perform safely under conditions as hot as 2100°. Only “Class A” pipe, which has
conformed to the requirements of this test, UL 103 HT, is recommended for use with
a wood stove.

Factory built fireplaces are usually manufactured with their own chimneys, which are
designed to be used only with that particular model fireplace or insert. Many, though
not all, of these chimneys are rated only to 1700° and are not suitable for use with
high efficiency wood stoves.

In some cases, a flexible stainless steel liner can be used inside the factory built
chimney to bring the existing chimney up to 2100° standards. The chimney should
be inspected by a certified chimney sweep (www.csia.org) before going ahead.

Note:

This is a gray area in terms of existing standards. Most manufacturers of flexible
liners clearly state that their products are designed to be used only in masonary
chimneys. In a metal chimney, Underwriters Labs does not guarantee their safty,
and ift may be a consideration for your home-owner's insurance carrier or local fire
code officials.

Another important consideration for replacing a factory-built fireplace is that they are
engineered to be used in confined spaces with very narrow, or even “zero” clearance
requirements. A freestanding wood stove cannot be installed in this space, and
MUST conform to all of its own clearance requirements. This will most likely
require renovating the hearth to make it safe for a freestanding woodstove.

Fireplace Inserts

If living space is at a premium, a fireplace
insert has the distinct advantage of saving
space, but most likely will not provide the
heating efficiency of a freestanding wood
stove. A lot of heat from an insert is lost
up the chimney, although not nearly as
much as from an open fireplace. Inserts
usually require blowers, which make
them unreliable during power outages.
Any insert or stove that uses a fireplace
chimney will require a full or partial liner,
but for years, many inserts were installed
without liners, creating a fire hazard in the
upper sections of the fireplace from
creosote build-up. The only way to
properly clean these installations is to
completely remove the insert from the
fireplace during the chimney sweeping
procedure. In most cases, a fireplace
hearth a good choice for siting a new
woodstove. If you’re still not sure if our
stoves will work with your fireplace, or
you have any questions about this type of
installation, we are happy to help you
from 9 am to 5 pm, Eastern Time,
Monday through Saturday.