Wood Burning stove for the home?

[resnikov]

Kind of bushcrafty my question as its about a fire to burn wood, but has anyone fitted and installed a wood burning stove in their own home?

Currently in the middle of major house renovations and have started to get the quotes in for a stove and the twin wall chimney. The fitting of the chimney is nearly twice as much as the stove so I was wondering could I do it myself. I'm not good at DIY but luckily I have a few mates who are.

Is it a lot of hassle or is it better to get a pro in?
.

 

[British Red]

You will need HETAS certification when you come to sell the house, but I believe you can do the installation yourself and get a HETAS inspection after the event.

Theres a lot more to it than just the twin wall - cowls, airbricks, pouring insulation down the chimney around the flue, making blanking plates and installing etc.

All that said, I have known people do it themselves and make a great job of it!

 

[Badger74]

I had this dilemma, but putting the house up for sale solved the issue.

If I wasn't selling, I'd consider it myself, but if you need to be covered by insurance of anything else like that it needs to be signed off by a 'competent and approved fitter' who subscribes to some stove/boiler fitting body, much the same vein as if you had gas work done, the plumbers had to be approved by Gas Safe and able to sign it off. As to how hard it is, I've no idea.

 

[mousey]

I know a lot of folks who have done it themselves [some very professionally and some not....], and some who have had mates round to do it. All seems good but not sure where you'd stand with regulations to altering houses etc or if the unthinkable happens and your house burns down, the insurance folks find out it wasn't installed by qualified folk... then what happens???

I know it costs a small fortune to get 'qualified' people out to do a job - but if it goes wrong you have some sort of come back.

Is it just a fire or any plumbing/ water heating involved?? - If just a fire I'd have a go myself [or more likely get a mate - all depends on who you know] but anything to do with plumbing not so sure.

 

[resnikov]

Its just a freestanding fire with a vertical run of twinwall then going into a roof cavity and out into the open, so it seem quite easy.

 

[Jethro924]

I had the builders fit two, a normal log burner in the lounge and a log burning range in the kitchen, wouldn't be without them

 

[demographic]

Me and one of my brothers recently fitted one of the dead cheapos from Machine Mart.
209 quid for the stove (vat free day) and its been good so far. Just had it this winter so its early days yet.

The joints on it were just filled with fire cement and that fell out in short order but a triup into the local motor panel factors for some Gun Gum exhaust repair paste sorted that dead easy.

Obviously being cheap people have told me that if I use it the world will blow up and my head fall off but so far, no worries. I reckon anyone with half a brain should be able to sort any issues they may have.
After using it for a few weeks the paint on the top two thirds went from black to grey, obviously I was absolutely devastated but back in the real world I'll just wait till I'm not using it regularly and fire some Zebrite (or whatever they call it nowadays) graphite paste on it. Again, no big deal.
Its a multi fuel one which helps with burning times and in my line of business I get a fair bit of offcuts to burn. Always seemed like a dumb idea to throw wood away at work then pay for gas to heat my home.
Not the best pic but you get the general idea.

Anyway, its called a Barrel stove was cheap and so far I'm pretty pleased with it. Read various reviews of people complaining they aren't airtight enough but really, who are these people who can chop their own wood but can't manage to fire some sealant on their stove joints?

 

[Laurentius]

I have finally given in to the Elfin Safety brigade who were out to inspect my flat again last week, in that I have agreed to have my chimney capped and my fireplace blocked so that I can never again come under the suspicion of endangering life, limb and the environment by lighting a fire in the grate. To be fair, since the double glazing was put in I would need additional ventilation for the sake of avoiding CO, which would involve knocking a hole in the wall, something I doubt the housing association would give permission to do. So there it is, the end of an era. I'd have one in my allotment shed, but again, being that the neighbouring housing estate and the neighbouring farmer too complain everytime anyone has a bonfire, fires are banned from there as well.

 

[demographic]

One point I would make is that unless someone can get wood for free on a regular basis (mine comes from the bin beside my chopsaw at work and doesn't even get as far as the skip) that burning wood isn't always a cheap business.
Sure, its nice to have a woodburner but if you are buying logs I have my doubts about it being cheaper than other methods of heating your home.

Obviously if you have a few acres of woodland you can crop that's a different matter.

 

[EdS]

check if you are in a smoke control zone.

You will also need to consult Buidling Control if fitting a stove in a fire place

 

[malcolmc]

Hi I've had a Morso Panther (http://morso.co.uk/product/morso-2110/) for about 20 years and very pleased with it. Had to extend the depth of the hearth by 6 inches (15 cm) to comply with building regs at that time. One thing you might want to consider is that the wider the stove, within reason, the less cutting of wood you have to do.

hope that helps .

 

[presterjohn]

The way prices on gas and electricity are going up and the way modern wood fires are becoming more efficient I can see more and more people opting for wood burners especially those that can offset the cost of purchasing wood from scavenging. One of my mates at work only bought his first years worth of wood. The next years was found or given to him and laid up to dry out. You do of course need some storage room for this kind of thing. I can see paraffin making a comeback as well.

 

[rik_uk3]

John, if I walk to my little local shop of an evening I can smell woodsmoke from all the woodburners that have become so popular the last year or two. That said, the smoke is less than a year ago because people can't get cheap wood and then realise just how expensive a woodburner can be at home.

Reality check :-

I'd say to anyone thinking of buying one to sit down are really do their homework. Better still ask a friend who has no interest in one to do the research for you and when they finish you look at the facts and figures. You'll get no change from a grand+ for a basic stove and installation, if you want to tie in a central heating system to it the cost shoots up; you'll be burning wood for a long time to recover the cost over using gas central heating and keeping the whole house warm.

Paraffin prices are fixed and artifically high, it should be a lot cheaper but it won't...somewhere along the line people are making a lot of dosh from it (if you have a neighbour using heating oil thats fine in paraffin stoves )

I've been lucky and had good sources of wood over the years but when I leave this house in the next few weeks I will use gas at the new place...if and its a big if I fit a woodburner it will be used as a 'Saturday night treat' with feet up, burner going whilst chilling out with the family and not a real source of heat just more an indulgence. Just my view but please please please do your home work and keep real; don't any of you get carried away with the romantic myth/dream/image of a home woodburner.

 

[EdS]

Exactly what ric has said. Woid isnt cheaper than gas unless you have a local source.

We get loads of requedt regarding wood burners snd smoke control zone.....I would say in the not to distsnt future even exempt appliances will be banned in SCZs.

The figures are starting to show reducing air quality relating to PM 2.5 and below in smoke control zones due to increasing use of exempt appliance wood burners. Most certainly there will be tightening regs to lower the amount of PMs - in effect this will mean no solid fuel combustion units or very expensive smoke capture units.

 

[tsitenha]

Here in Kanata, a lot of people especially in the north do have wood burning stoves. I collect wood shipping pallets all summer long, cut them into length and enjoy.
Probably different in the UK.

 

[British Red]

Loads of ways of looking at heating with wood.

I like to look at it that our Winter cooking & heating bill this year has been about £125. Oh...and some effort of course.

We also have burned minimal fossil fuels (which I know some people are not bothered about....each to their own).

You do indeed need space and time and the willingness to expend some effort to use wood to heat with. You can't be buying in cut and seasoned logs and expect it to be cheap - you are paying someone else to cut your fuel and dry it. But buy your fuel by the lorry load, green and un cut, cut it, stack it, wait a couple of years. Then you will see the price of your heating fall.

As in everything else in life, pay your money, take your choice. I know I have three years of cooking and heating stacked away that has cost me nearly nothing bar lending a few people a hand for odd days. A few seven and a half tonne trucks full of wood - and a few days of hard graft later, I have loads of fuel. I like knowing that, even if I am sick, or out of work, my family will be warm.

That's probably old fashioned, as, probably, is the willingness to work hard on a Winters fuel.

Ahh well - it pleases me to do it. I expend my energy on that rather than overtime to buy flat screen TVs or take aways. Be a shame if we all liked the same things.

 

[tsitenha]

An off note, apologies to the OP, British Red taking consideration of the state of the world, what type of scope would you like?

 

[British Red]

Probably a Leupold VX-R 2-7x33mm with a fire dot reticle I suspect that's a subject for another thread though.

 

[Hedgecrafter]

Kind of bushcrafty my question as its about a fire to burn wood, but has anyone fitted and installed a wood burning stove in their own home?

Currently in the middle of major house renovations and have started to get the quotes in for a stove and the twin wall chimney. The fitting of the chimney is nearly twice as much as the stove so I was wondering could I do it myself. I'm not good at DIY but luckily I have a few mates who are.

Is it a lot of hassle or is it better to get a pro in?
.

As said you will need HETAS certificate when you sell the house...
Unless you remove it when you sell.

 

[slowworm]

We get loads of requedt regarding wood burners snd smoke control zone.....I would say in the not to distsnt future even exempt appliances will be banned in SCZs.

Initially they could clamp down on people using non compliant appliances or fuels, there's a large number of people using non compliant stoves/fuels and nothing is done unless people complain AFAIK.

I agree with thinking seriously about a stove but that also goes for all forms of heating - I'd be reluctant to go down gas central heating myself knowing the costs of installing and running a gas combi boiler.

As for the original question I would do as much work as I can myself and get a pro in to do the final connection, commissioning and paperwork (if you can find one who's happy for you to do some of the work). It's not just about selling your house but you also need to be aware of the guarantee on the flue, stove etc and your house insurance.