What to Know About Installing a Wood Stove In the Fireplace Opening

A fireplace is not everybody’s cup of tea, so the idea of ditching it and getting the classic wood stove instead comes to many homeowners’ minds.

The only problem is, you have to vent it through somewhere. Certainly you can make a hole inside of one of the walls and run the piping through there, but what about doing the same, only instead utilizing the preexisting fireplace chimney?

Certainly doable

Yes, it is indeed very much possible to install a wood burning stove right inside where the fireplace is. You just have to be sure to do things the right way…

Does it fit?

The first question you have to ask yourself is “can the stove even fit in there?”.

If there are a couple of inches to spare from any of the sides once you size it in there, you may consider not necessarily putting the wood burner right in that opening, but a bit out.

Not only will this help heat the room and the whole house a lot more efficiently, but also prevent the need to use any sort of blower to move the warm air, as the unit won’t sit flush inside of the actual firebox.

Use a liner

Don’t even think of routing the stove pipe as it is through the standard chimney. You have to make sure that the inside is lined – in other words, a liner has to be put in place.

You may do it yourself, but the process will still have to be inspected by a professional, in order to be up to par with the codes. So in that case, you might as well let it be done by a professional, honestly.

A liner is important for many reasons. First, it is going to increase the effectiveness of the stove itself, as the draft will be much better.

Another thing is, well, safety. If the chimney is old, it can simply be too dangerous to use with a new stove. Also, let’s not forget just how easy it is to clean a flue liner when compared to a traditional chimney.

Why not use an insert instead?

Now i know this post is all about the stove option, but seriously, why not consider getting an insert instead?

It will increase the effectiveness of the fireplace, which is already there, by a ton, without the need to get a freestanding wood stove to begin with. I mean, it’ll end up looking a lot better, too.