How to Install a Wood Burning Stove in a Wall

Wood stove with brick surround

Wood stoves were first produced as a means to provide some warmth to the home. The tops get hot enough that you can also heat a pot of beans or place a heat-proof container filled with water on top to add humidity to the air. Like a fireplace, a wood stove can have a screen so the doors can remain open, adding ambiance to the room. Depending on the wood chosen, you may get the added pleasure of pops and crackles as well as a pleasant fragrance from the dancing flames. A wood stove, however, requires proper installation for fire safety.

Things You'll Need

• Flexible chimney liner
• Single and double-wall stovepipe
• Chimney cap

Instructions

1. Line the masonry/brick chimney with a stainless steel pipe that is the same size as the stove's flue collar to avoid any fire-related hazards associated with older chimneys.

2. 

   Prepare the floor and wall of the area by covering it with noncombustible material. Follow the recommendations that come with your particular wood stove on the thickness and height needed for heat and fire protection. Overall, a cement base covered with tile or brick on the floor and cement board on the walls with tile or brick covering the cement board can provide the necessary protection. The base should extend 18 inches beyond the open doors of the stove. The brick or tile walls should extend at least 36 inches up the wall but some choose to run the wall protection to the ceiling for aesthetic purposes.

3. Consider the weight of the brick or tile plus the cement base and provide sufficient support to the area beneath the floor.

4. Insert a double-wall stovepipe through the hole in the wall that leads to the chimney. The double-wall construction, with a stainless steel liner inside the typical black stovepipe, provides insulation at a point where intense heat could cause fire. Do not use single-wall stovepipe through a wall.

5. Connect the stove to the chimney pass-through pipe using single-wall stovepipe and elbows. You may also need sheet metal screws and furnace cement to seal the connections (read the stovepipe manufacturer's instructions).

6. 

   Install a chimney cap.

Tips & Warnings

• You can reduce the floating dust that occurs when cleaning out a wood stove by first dampening the ash in the stove. A metal dust pan, minus the rub guide on the edge, can be used to scoop out cold ash. Teach your kids fire safety.

• The rim of stovepipe will be sharp after using metal clippers to trim to fit. Wear thick gloves when handling trimmed stovepipe.

References

• Installing a Wood Stove

Resources

• Wood Stove Safety
• Choosing Wood to Burn