To burn wood is a satisfying and self-sufficient
way to heat your home. Wood is a renewable, environmentally
friendly, source of heat. With rising gas prices many people
are looking into wood as an alternate heat source. There is
an initial expense to begin using wood but it will eventually
pay for itself and save a tremendous amount off your heating
bills.
Following is a short summary of what you can expect the installation
of a wood stove to cost.
Costs of Wood
You will need a dependable source of wood. Whether you buy
the wood or chop it yourself you must locate a source for
your wood. There is also the additional cost of your time.
Time spent in cutting and hauling your wood as well as burning
and cleaning your appliance is time taken from something else.
Costs of Supplies
If cutting wood yourself, some of the supplies you will
need to have access to are: a chain saw, a truck or trailer
for hauling, a wood splitter. In addition everyone will need
heavy leather gloves, a storage rack for stacking the wood,
a basket or wood hoop for storing a day’s worth of wood
inside the house, fireplace tools, a hearth pad or noncombustible
floor under the stove.
Costs of Insurance
You need to notify your insurance company that you have
added a wood burning product to your home. This may result
in an adjustment to your rates.
Costs of Stove- $1099* and up
*Note: beware of inexpensive wood stoves ($299 to $999).
They are not as well insulated and may require a huge clearance
to combustibles. This means that your new stove may need to
be 3 foot away from the wall instead of the 9” possible
on the some of the better quality units. How much space to
you want to lose? Also check that the stove is EPA certified.
Without that certification you lose efficiency and isn’t
that the whole reason to do this???
Costs of Pipe
Be prepared to spend as much or more on the pipe
as you did on the stove. You can use black stovepipe
in the room with the stove but when you pass through a wall
or through a ceiling you MUST switch to Class A chimney pipe.
This is approximately $170 for every 4 feet of pipe. Wood
MUST vent a minimum of 3 foot higher than the roof. It must
also be at least 2 foot higher than part of the roof within
10 feet of it. So… if the peak of your roof is within
10 feet of where you vent your stove, the pipe must be at
least 3 foot above the roof and 2 foot taller than the peak.
You could easily end up with 5 foot of pipe or more towering
above the roof. An average 2 story home application with the
stove located in the basement and going out the basement wall
will cost approximately $1300 or more, in pipe.
Costs of Installation
Installation will vary depending on length of run, type
of wall, and other factors but it would be reasonable to expect
to pay $650 or more.
Costs of Chase
Many city codes will not allow an exposed pipe running up
the side of the house. You may have to build a chase (a house
for the pipe) to hide it. This is above the standard costs
of installing a wood burner and would vary by the height and
type of finishing product.
NO you may not use an existing
chimney if anything else is vented into it. Every appliance
must have it’s own chimney. So, NO sharing with the
furnace!
In summary…a breakdown for a small wood burning stove
installed without a chase, in a typical 2 story home, venting
out through a basement wall-
Stove: $1099 and up
Hearth Pad: $399 or appropriate non combustible floor
Chimney Pipe: $1300 and up
Install: $650 and up
Total: $3,448 or up
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