Please understand that I've lived in this house for 44 years. It's not the best house, but it's mine. The layout presents a major challenge when trying to make changes. The challenges are great. My best course of action would be to gut the house and start over with a new layout and extend the foundation.
Haven't gotten to pics. Snowed last night and we got 6-8". Spent the morning on the driveway, and now playing catchup with work. As soon as I can I'll get them.
I have installed hot water coal boilers in houses with forced air . You put a transfer unit in your duct work that the hot water goes through and you can wire it to push air with your existing furnace fan . You can also get domestic hot water from a cfm coal boiler . So you can eliminate your water heater and boiler and use you existing chiminy for the new boiler
I understand your situation, I live in a 100 yr old farm house, have the wood stove insert in the old coal fireplace on the main floor, but doesn't do enough to heat the up stairs, and no way to add a stove up there. I could put an add on wood stove in the basement attached to the furnace for the second floor, but by the time I put anther new SS 6" flue in the chimney, I'd be money ahead to install an OWB. We all can understand layout limitation, and cost hindrances, but as I said before, you will always be money ahead to do something the right way, be it to code, or manufacture specs, do things right.... no worries about family safety, no problems (ok less problems) with the insurance company, and the comfort knowing it was done right, and will last. With out seeing pics, or a layout, would it be possible to install a tru-wall stainless steel chimney, on the "walk out" wall of the first floor? Like this on the right:
The picture on the left is what would possibly work for me. The picture on the right would require me to bore a whole through the granite. Let me go get some pictures. Right now I have things running at work I have to wait on.
Ok here are the pics: first one is of the chimney in the living room. The white door you see is into the furnace room. Second one is looking into the furnace room: Another pic of inside the furnace room: Another one in the furnace room: Front door to give you an idea of what I mean that the 1st floor is a granite foundation: Finally the small window with the Anderson sticker is the window in the furnace room. Hopefully this will help everyone get idea of what I am taking about.
Tough Situation... Kinda what I was picturing in my head.... well wasn't counting on the granite wall for the walk out. I know hiring a concrete cutting a coring company can be expensive, I believe they can core granite (not to much of that used here in the mid west) but one 8" hole, through that granite would let you put the stove where ever you want, and have the chimney on the exterior. But if that is cost prohibitive, then the system I showed above would work, build a false wall around the chimney in the second floor, loose a little over a square foot of floor space, and boom, ya got a wood/pellet stove. It is so easy to do things from a few hundred miles away. and with someone else's money. We are all here to help advise!
Did anyone mention taking the window out? Can't remember? Is there granite on the outside and sandstone on the inside? How thick is the wall approximately?
You should be able to rent a 8" diamond tip core drill for less than 200 $ it will cut through granite . It won't cut fast but it will go . You will also have to deal with the water you have to pump into the drill , it's messy .
Drill from the outside then hose the wall down before it dries. Brush the wall with a broom while you hose. It's easy. Should take 1-2 hours. Actual drilling time about 20 minutes
I don't mind losing that window. Hadn't thought of that. I would remove the window, vent the furnace and the hot water heater out the opening with a power vent correct? Then put a 6" double wall up the current chimney?
That would work 6" x 6' lengths single wall SS pipe and vermiculite insulation (looks like Grape Nuts cereal)
If you are willing to go through the granite block wall, why not just use a core borer to get your wall opened up for a thimble and then shoot straight up using class A chimney pipe? No way do you want to start combining flue pipes from assorted appliances. That way lies trouble not only in regulatory space but in the real world.
