Q&A for How to Install a Wood Stove

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  • Question
    Is it safe to purchase a secondhand wood stove without a manufacturer's manual for installation/troubleshooting guidelines?
    Community Answer
    Yes, but you can obtain a copy of the manual by contacting the manufacturer online. (Most stoves will either have a name on them or a metal plate somewhere with its information.) They should be able to provide you with a copy of the manual.
  • Question
    Why are the tiles around the stove lifting off the wall ?
    Community Answer
    It might be due to heat. Make sure that aside from using high-temperature tolerant tiles, you're also using high-temperature cement to fix them near the stove. Normal cement usually cracks and crumbles due to heat.
  • Question
    What is the minimum distance the stove should be away from a wall?
    Community Answer
    Every stove is different, check in your owner's manual or on the tag on the back of your wood stove. In the US, however, NFPA 211 requires at least 36 inches of clearance from combustible materials to the side or rear of a wood stove, unless something less is specified in the owner's manual or there is an engineered "shield" on the walls.
  • Question
    What can cause your wood stove to get very hot when the door is closed?
    Community Answer
    Too much air to the stove could do it. Close down the damper or air flow valve to fix this.
  • Question
    How come the smoke does not go upwards when I start a fire?
    Community Answer
    There might be too much positive air pressure in the chimney. Before you light the fire, light a piece of rolled-up newspaper, and let it burn directly under the flue in the fireplace. This will warm the air and begin the updraft process. Your chimney might also need some sweeping; you should hire a certified chimney sweep to do an inspection and clean the chimney for you.
  • Question
    What if a house has a large central area, and all bedrooms and other rooms are separated from the main area by only a door? Do those rooms still get enough heat if their doors are closed, with the house heated only by a wood stove?
    Community Answer
    The rooms will stay warmer, but not like with a central heating unit. Any room that is shut off from the wood burning stove heat, even by a door, will be colder than if left open.
  • Question
    How far does pipe go into the stove? Mine is on top, and not in the back.
    Community Answer
    No less than a couple of inches, no more than a foot - relative to the size of your stove.
  • Question
    How does a draft come down the chimney?
    Community Answer
    A draft does not come down a chimney. Due to Bernouli's principle, a draft goes up the chimney.
  • Question
    How far does a stove need to be from a leather couch?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    Generally, at least 36 inches. Some stoves are designed to permit less clearance, as described in the stove's owner manual.
  • Question
    How far away from walls does the stove need to be?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    Under NFPA 211, a wood stove must be 36 inches from any combustible structures, including wooden studs inside a fire-rated wall. Your stove may have been engineered with its own internal shields that allow it to be installed closer than that, if permitted in the manual. You may also shield the walls to reduce the clearance to as little as 9 inches in some situations.
  • Question
    Can I put a stove in the basement?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    Yes, many people have installed stoves in their basements (in accordance with local regulations). It must then be properly connected to the vertical chimney with safely-shielded chimney-connector pipe, separated by 18 inches from combustible structures to avoid a major fire hazard.
  • Question
    How far up the chimney does a flue pipe need to go to be effective?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    A flue pipe must extend to the top of the chimney, if not beyond, depending upon what you are trying to exhaust through the flue.
  • Question
    There are drywall screws visibly sticking into my chimney near the fireplace, just a few near the bottom. Is this a problem?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    Yes, drywall screws should not be anywhere near your chimney. If the screws are holding the chimney together, they'd usually be made from stainless steel.
  • Question
    Should I weld the chimney pipes together, or put on a sealant?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    Chimney pipes are typically designed to interlock and be held in place with screws or locking twist joints. If you need sealant, the chimney or stove manufacturer will tell you. Chimney pipes in residential installations are rarely welded together.
  • Question
    Can a stove in a basement be connected to the flue of a stove on the first floor?
    Community Answer
    Yes, it's possible to connect more than one stove to a single flue, as long as they are the same type of fuel (wood, gas, oil).
  • Question
    How far should a flue be above the roof?
    Community Answer
    In the US, NFPA 211 requires a chimney to be either 3 ft above the ridgeline or 2 ft above any part of the roof/house within 10 feet horizontally.
  • Question
    My stovepipes keep separating from the seating notch due to expansion and contraction. That is, the higher pipes pull apart (walk upward) over time to a point where they are dangerously, nearly separated. Will it cause buckling if I fix the top pipe, or is there such an item as an expansion joint?
    Upnorth Here
    Top Answerer
    Each chimney manufacturer typically offers an expansion coupler for its line of chimney pipes.
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