Removing a wood burning stove:
by Cheryl P
+1
Question: We are hoping to buy a house that happens to have a wood burning stove in the living room. We are considering removing it because it takes up sooo much room, but it sits on a brick platform and that would need to come out too. This is a slab foundation. Is that brick surrounding a wooden frame or is there a huge chunk of concrete under it? I am assuming that there is a way that these things are generally put together. Sorry the other post got cut off.
4 answers
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I would guess that the bricks are set on the slab. The slab was poured long before the wood stove went in (during the home's construction). What geographic area are you located in? I live up high in the Rockies, and have two woodstoves in my home. During the long winters we use the main insert version in our living room pretty much 24 / 7 for the 4-5 months of our 8 month long winters. It is one of the more economical ways to heat our home, On top of the cost savings it is a much "greener" way to heat the home. Wood, unlike natural gas, propane and electric (which is mostly generated from fossil fuels) is "carbon Neutral"...plus they smell good. If you area is prone to power outages and storms then this low tech heating and cooking source can come in handy. If it were my place I would keep it.
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KMS Woodworks
on Apr 17, 2012
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We are in Oklahoma. We will probably live with it a while before deciding what to do, but the living room is not very big and the stove takes up a lot of space. I am sure the brick platform is set on the slab but it steps up about 10 inches off the floor, so I am wondering what is inside the brick platform. Was a wood frame built on top of the slab and the brick put around it?
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Cheryl P
on Apr 17, 2012
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Yes that looks like a "framed" platform, but there is also the slim chance that it is a "poured" platform in addition to the slab. If that is the case removing it will be a real bugger. The brick look is pretty dated, and the stove appears to be a older less efficient model. You may "upgrade" both in the future with a more modern stove and some tile up grades. Code requires 18" of fire resistant "hearth" in front of the woodstoves doors...this looks a bit short in that dept. I just got some grouting done last week on the tile behind the wood stove in our NM cabin. http://www.hometalk.com/diy/-156566
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KMS Woodworks
on Apr 17, 2012
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Thank you for your answer, it is very helpful. If it is a poured platform...Ugh, hope not. Maybe we will just try to remove one brick in the back corner to be sure, but my guess was that there is a wood frame. We are thinking about taking the wood stove to the back porch so it can still be used. Your tile looks very nice.
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Cheryl P
on Apr 17, 2012
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