fitting a new woodburner with no chimney - DIY Chatroom

samanthaparry1 · 04-09-2009, 01:44 PM

hi, we are new to this, can anyone help us with our predicament. We live ina house that has chimney breasts but the chimney stack was taken down some years ago. We want to fit a wood burner but are unsure of which exit to use. Can we vent it throught the roof? and if so will this cause any problems such as fire risk to the wooden roof joists or we believe it is possible to vent it through the gable end wall. Can anyone advise us which is allowed and which is best.

Grampa Bud · 04-09-2009, 03:13 PM

If your masonary chimney has been abandoned for some years you will need a mason to thoroughly check it out top to bottom before any flue is tied into it again. CO can be a real killer. If you plan on just running a flue from the new fireplace (I assume it's a fireplace) straight up through the roof or possibly up the outside of the building it will have to be a triple wall "B" vent of a size specked by the manufacturer and your local fire and building departments. Lastly I have never heard of trying to vent a fireplace horizontally out the gable end of any building. That's just asking for trouble.

NJ Brickie · 04-09-2009, 06:02 PM

If you are planning to use the old chimney you will absolutely need to have it inspected. Second for a wood stove you may run chimney pipe up through the ceiling or out through the wall. There are different kits made to do either application. Usually the kits will include all the double wall stainless steel pipe and accessories. It will not include the stove pipe usually. The stove pipe is a single wall black pipe that will go from the stove to the connection where the stainless steel pipe starts. For a through the roof application this would be the black box that you mount in your ceiling. Keep in mind when placing your stove that you will have a limited amount of turns in the chimney you are allowed to make. Also a limited angle you will be allowed to bend. There are many online resources that you can located the codes for this.

johnnyboy · 04-09-2009, 06:12 PM

What the hell is a chimney breast

?

There's kits to do just about all the things you mentioned, I'd goto a fireplace store and talk to them. You're literally playing with fire so... stop what you're doing now, which sounds like you're already putting the wood burner in without knowing how to vent it, and research for the weekend.

I put mine into an existing hearth fireplace, but still used a stainless steel chimney liner through my existing chimney, just to be safe(r). $400 is a lot of money, but safety is priceless.

I imagine you could do this but without a chimney, you'd need to put a stack up, it has to vent higher than the top of your roof line to catch a proper draft. Through the wall/ceiling will probably be your best bet but you need the proper pipe to keep heat away from wood.

Read your manual, everything is there.