The Saga of the Wood-Burning Stove… (Part I)

So you may remember that we got a sweet (and totally free) wood-burning stove from the Connecticut farmhouse that we plan on using as our heat source all through the winter.  Well the nights started getting pretty cold a while back so we decided it was finally time to get that puppy installed, and because we basically live in a big flammable box we had to take some serious safety precautions to insure we wouldn’t die.  The first step was putting up some 1/4” cement board over the bare wood walls and a piece of 1/2” down on the equally bare and wooden floor. (also awesomely acts as a layer of insulation).  We found some beautiful, natural, 12” slate tile at home depot for 40 cents each, and laid those down over the cement board base, creating a 4’ square fire-proof platform for the wood-stove to sit on.

Next: Ventilation! Using a drill and a skill-saw we cut a 5” hole in the side of the cabin, at roughly wood-stove height.  Using several pieces of adjustable 5” duct, and a couple of straight 5”ers we created a lovely little smoke stack.  For an added layer of heat and smoke protection we also ran a 4” section of flex hosing through the whole bottom part. Using some heat resistant cement putty we filled in and sealed the seems, then just attached the inside part to the back of the woodstove with a hose clamp, and viola! 

stay tuned for the virgin burn…