Strongly Considering the Ideal Steel - Input Appreciated!

Metal legs stay on, I removed soapstone sides and sheet metal design .. Total time maybe 10 minutes. No tools simple. The real beauty of the stove is it simplicity!

 

BeantownBurner did the install myself with a friend.
Definitely want to pull off all the excess weight prior to manhandling. I would borrow or rent a furniture dolly to make life easier.

The door/side panels/lid/cat all remove easily in moments.

Still a lot to move around, but manageable.

 

Oh also you will want some 4×4 and 2×4 lumber to aid in leg adjustment, to support the stove while adjusting the leg height.

Unless you have a low profile floor jack like I used.

Be VERY careful on the left side of the stove as the primary air control lever and connecting rod are under there.
You don't want to damage that.

 

Hey BeantownBurner welcome and here’s what I think regarding your concern about a new IS being too big and stuck out in the room (like your box mock-up). We get used to normal placement of objects in our environment and any change (whether on purpose or accidental) is at first thought of as abnormal in our mind’s eye. You ever notice how when a tree is removed from a landscape you see often, at first every time you view it your brain says “whoa - something is different, maybe wrong”... but pretty soon your mind adapts to that change. I think if you install the IS as shown, at first it might look strange or out of place, but we become used to different things. We adapt after some time. Particularly after coming in from the cold, sitting near the burning IS warming your cold bones right down to the marrow, real soon it will be “yeah, this is totally right”.

 

Hey Gark , I love what you wrote here! This makes a lot of sense! Kind of like when you get a fresh haircut and you look a little strange at first I just hope my wife agrees this Friday when we travel up to Woodstock to see the IS in person! I've already started designing the side panels, andirons and top plates, so you might say I'm already just about all in!

 

Good news...I have a close friend who's husband is a contractor and he came over today to look at my floor/basement ceiling under where the stove will go and give me his opinion of if I would have any issues with the weight of the stove. He liked the double thick beams and overall build, and said that it looked solid. The said the only thing that would make him feel a little more comfortable is adding some joist hangers (there aren't any currently). He lives down the road from me and said he could come over on a Saturday in the next few weeks with one of his guys and bang this out (literally!) in an hour or two. We didn't talk price, but I don't think it would be too much. While of course I plan to pay something, he gave me the impression that this would be a friend price as it's pretty simple and easy for him

 

That is some great news. As he said, it should be an easy job to do. Basically metal strapping to help support and reinforce the beams.

Joist Hangers.. https://images.homedepot-static.com...son-strong-tie-joist-hangers-lu24-64_1000.jpg

I'm glad you know someone who knows structural support, and will give you the 'friends discount'. (It really shouldn't cost that much)

I have a friend that has a mini excavator, and I've had him do some work up here practically every year when he gets slow on 'regular' business. Like you, I always make sure he is paid and compensated. He's never charged me full rate, and I appreciate that, but I also try to ensure that I show my appreciation also. One year he got a Thanksgiving turkey that we raised and harvested here ourselves. He liked that very much.

I also agree with Gark that although looking at your mock up of the stove, I thought that it looked awkward being out so far. I think also that you will like the stove, and positioning will become some sort of old afterthought.

I wish you and your family a nice trip to the Woodstock facilities.

 

As I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row, I'd love to know if any of you have any thoughts on this hearth pad (see link below). I know it's not the most beautiful thing, but my thoughts are the following.

• The stove itself and my nice wooden mantel will be the centerpieces of the room (see my avatar for pic of mantel). I love beautiful hearths, but I think something simple and neutral won't necessarily take away. I would also likely build a nice wood border to have it blend into my floors and create a lip, and could perhaps tile over it at a later date if I wanted to (I would do this around the legs of the IS as I don't need the extra R value, don't have the extra room for a thicker hearth, and it's tough to move this stove!).
• It exceeds the R value I need for the stove (by over double)
• It's thin at just over half an inch and I have very little wiggle room on height.
• It's very reasonably priced, and while I can build a hearth pad (I have a wet saw and can cut tile), I've got a lot going on and wouldn't mind one less additional project (amongst other things, I've got three cords of dry split wood in my driveway that I need to move and stack!!!)
• It's black powder coated 16 gauge stainless steel on top (on top of Micore 300), which seems pretty simple but elegant in it's simplicity (especially with a nice homemade wood boarder). I do wonder if the stainless steel will get overly hot to stand on with bare feet or just socks - thoughts?
• As it's modular and comes in three 18 inch sections, I would plan on putting two permanent sections under and extending behind the stove, and a third section in front of the stove, that I can removed in the summer, giving me back a little more floor space in my room (and I would make the wood boarder removable so I can attach that to the front of the hearth pad with both the full three sections or just two).

Here's the link:


Thoughts?

 

Geez, I'm not sure about this.. lemme give it some thought.

Sold!!

As you state, it doesn't need to be permanent, and you've got a lot on your plate at the moment.
If I waited till I got my hearth and all set just right, I'd have gone through an additional 3 face cord at least this winter.

What I've got isn't elegant, but it works, it's safe, and can be improved upon.

Also, remember, we're hopefully reaching the end of the heating season, so you don't have to make a decision right now, at least in my opinion. That hearth pad should be able to be laid down lickety split, put the stove on, attach the chimney and you're ready for the cold weather. I do realize that you have to finalize your stack fitting and all, but I'm just saying I don't think you need to rush 'this' decision if you still have some doubts.

One more bit of advice, if you can, Unless someone with more experience states otherwise. BDF Canadian border VT

I'd install a section of chimney pipe and run a few small burns outside before lighting it up inside, to help cure the paint and get rid of the fumes.

Just another $.02 offered.

 

He could do burns outside.. I got mine this time of year and did them inside with windows and doors open. But I am not the expert BDF, 343amc BrianK Hollywood etc etc are.

 

Looks like the panels on the hearth pad overlap which is good for ember protection. Might want to check the local code, as it may require it to be fixed to the floor.

 

If the contractor has a laser level, see if he can shoot a beam across the floor and take some measurements and then have three or four people stand in the hearth area and check for floor deflection measurements. Might give you some peace of mind.

 

I never thought the smell from initial burn-in was worth the hassle of starting a fire outside first. Just open some windows. You’re going to get it every time it reaches a new high temp anyway. PLUS until the paint cures you’re at risk of getting dirt/dust baked into it- so doing it outside presents more complication. While on the subject don’t put the magnetic thermometer on the stove for the first fire.

 

Unhdsm one of the etc. Good advice on magnet I forgot that!

 

Hey, I am no expert but I do agree with this approach. The paint will stink worst the first time but as Unhdsm says, it will continue to do so each time any part of the stove reaches a higher temperature for quite a while so I think it is unlikely you will get rid of all the stench by burning outside. Plus you would then have a filthy stove to carry into the house, especially if you take the firebrick or soapstone out of the inside first.

The new paint will give off enough material to set a smoke detector off (ask me how I know ) so you might consider having a fan in a window to speed up the ventilation process for the first hour of the first fire or so.

The structural part should not be dismissed too quickly either; this is my third woodstove in the same place in the same house but this one is cracking the floor tiles around it due to stressing the floor. It is not a serious structural issue here, it does not take much flexure to break glazed ceramic tile, but again in older homes that could be of questionable strength and possible have some water / insect damage over the years it is worth a look IMO but someone with some ability to gauge the strength of the structure. But even if the structure is lacking, the 'fix' might be as simple as a piece of timber and a lolly column right under where the stove will sit, assuming you can get under that spot below the floor. That is the approach I am going to take and the column will not be in the way as it will be w/in 18" of the chimney anyway.

Brian

 

Thx guys for pitching in with great advice.

After reading your posts, I now think an outside burn is likely to be more of a hassle than it's worth. Hadn't thought of the points brought up.

Also, as well as the magnet, I'd remove, or set some bit of steel under, the center cookstove plate, as my paint did merge with the stove lid during initial firing. Not a big issue, but it did happen.

I did look at removing the soapstone for installation, but I wasn't moving it that far, so it seemed like more of a headache than just muscling the stove a few feet. BeantownBurner may have a different need for his situation though.

 

Yeah Chaz, I guess I made a lot of good arguments for the hearth pad! Thanks for putting that into perspective for me! Seriously, though, I think I'll likely go for it with this pad, but one remaining (minor) concern is if it will conduct too much heat and get too hot to stand on barefoot/in socks as the top is 16 gauge steel. As the IS doesn't have a very big R requirement for hearth pad, I assume it doesn't project too much heat towards the floor, so hopefully this won't be a big deal. One thing I do enjoy doing is standing on my current hearth pad in front of my little Jotul F100 in socks and warming up my feet. I'd still like to be able to do that with the IS!

I just looked back at your thread with your IS install. What do you have under your IS?

While I don't have a super rush, if I buy the IS now while it's on sale, I have to May 31 to have it delivered, so I do need to figure it out pretty soon. I also am looking at this as a pretty permanent move as moving the IS is not a piece of cake, so I think once it's in place, it's staying for some time to come! That said, I would still have options to tile over it later and just work around the legs.

 

BDF, regarding the structural stuff, it's definitely very important and what you wrote here is a good reminder. Not sure if you saw my earlier post that I had a contractor come over yesterday and say that my foundation looked good for the stove, that he just wants to add some hanger joists to my beams to be extra safe. That said, I will continue to keep my eyes on things and and if at any point it looks like I need to add a lally column, that would be easy as I have 9 foot ceilings in my basement! If I only had a spare 30 or 40 grand, I could convert my basement into a great living space! Maybe some day!

BDF, Chaz, Unhdsm, Canadian border VT ... I'll probably end up doing the break in burns once it's in place and opening the windows and having some box fans and my ceiling fans going. Great advice on not leaving the thermometer while the paint cures. I am trying to figure out the install now. I think I want a pro to do it for two reasons - First, it seems like a very big job due to the weight of the stove. Second, one of the questions my insurance asks on its wood stove form is, "was it installed by a certified professional?" I just think it's probably good to air on the side of caution with this, as well as getting it inspected so my insurance doesn't try to give me a hard time. Probably money well spent in the long run. I contacted the company that installed my chimney liner, and am waiting for a price from them. They also have a loading dock, so I can have Woodstock ship the IS right to them and then they can bring it to my home and install. I'm a little nervous as I await their price - they were super pros with the liner install and gave me a good price, but I still hope they don't come back with a big ticket to do this. The owner of the company said he thought he'd need four guys for the first part of the job, and once he got the IS into place he could send two off. He thought the whole thing would take four to six hours (he has to get it into place, get the existing T off my liner, cut or raise the liner to put the T back higher up, and tie everything in together. Does that sound about right? Plus they'd be receiving the stove at their loading dock and bringing it to my house. What do you think might be a fair price range for this? I guess I'll find out what they say soon enough and take it from there.

And now, on to the most exciting part (for now)... off to Woodstock tomorrow morning to check out the factory and hopefully make a final decision!!! I'll keep everyone updated and post some pics of the factory! I'm making a day trip of it with the whole family, will visit the Cornish-Windsor Bridge - the largest covered bridge in the US (well formerly, now I think it's the second largest), and make a fun day of it while getting a tour of how they make the stoves and hopefully not get pushback from the missus when she sees the IS in person ! I am meeting with Lorin late-morning tomorrow. May not sleep much tonight as I'm too excited!

 

You’ll be right down the road from me tomorrow. Tell Lorin Firewood Hoarders Club said “Hi”.

 

Nope, I did not see that post but it sounds like you have already done just the right thing, or at least the most sensible thing I can think of, having an experienced contractor look at the setup and suggesting small improvements and giving the opinion that you are all set.

I really do not want to guess at the price for the install but the man- hours do not seem unreasonable. Unfortunately you live in a relatively expensive piece of the US so labor is always costly, or at least more so than, say, northern New England. Their taking delivery of the stove will not take long but loading it onto a truck, taking it to your house and taking it off the truck (carefully, safely) will take some time and I agree with them about the four guys- this is a heavy stove and all woodstoves are tough to lift because there is nothing really projecting to get a grip on.

As to the installation requirements, I cannot say for MA because again, you have much stricter rules than we do one state south regarding building code. For example, I can perform any work on my own personal, owned home as long as it meets code while you require licensed contractors to do a lot of different tasks and the homeowner is NOT allowed to perform them (plumbing, electrical, and some others I believe). It might be worth a quick 'Net search to find out about wood stove codes and requirements in your area specifically; they differ even between abutting towns or cities. You may need a permit from the city or town, will probably need a building inspection and probably a fire dept. official's inspection and you also may be required to notify your insurance co., and some of them will send out their own inspector. You certainly seem like you are trying hard to do everything the right and proper way, and that is certainly better than 'winging it' for you and those around yous' (youse? dose guize?) safety so it is probably worth a little research, or just call your local fire marshal for you town or city and he / she will certainly be able to outline what steps are required.

Brian