Warming shelf for woodstove

All the parts for Intrepid II wood shelf. I ordered the shelf from Mountain View Hearth, but I only got the shelves. You have to order all the parts separately.

Parts include

1. Warming shelf
2. Shelf bracket (#130-2272)
3. button head screw
4. hex head screw (and lock washer)
5. set screw (does not screw into stove)
6. Mitten rack (#160-1705)

Finished upstairs flooring

Upstairs view of the finished floor, sanded and varnished. There are three coats of varnish on the hemlock floor. You can't quite slide on it with your socks (which is probably a good thing), but it is a nice finish.

Francois did a nice job, filling in the knots and some of the gaps that opened in the joints (it's what hemlock does).

Woodstove delivered

Here's the woodstove all ready for installation. It's a Vermont Castings Intrepid II that we bought at Collette's plumbing in Orleans, VT. We got a nice October rebate. We were told at Collette's that we should start with about 8 cooler "stick fires" before cranking it full bore. It's an efficient little stove with a catalytic secondary burner (a little box that burns all the fumes and particles before sending them up the chimney.

Here I am lighting the inaugural fire. The stovepipe gets really hot, giving us extra heat. I think we've had the requisite number of fires, so we should be ready to crank it really soon. It's a nice compliment to the slab heating. The slab takes about half a day to heat up, so if you need to heat the place up quickly, the wood stove is the way to go.

Roof and chimney flashing

The roof is finally covered. We actually got it done end of September, but I haven't had time to update. It's good to get it done, though, especially with these torrential rains we've been having. It was one of those things that kept me up nights. The unfinished roof was actually covered by a black, water-proof membrane that held through the winter and summer, but there is nothing like the security of 26 gauge metal over your head.

Lisa and I were originally horrified by the flashing around the bottom of the chimney. Then we looked around at some roofs with brick chimneys. Flashing is just not pretty. You just don't notice it until you really look.

The flashing is important. It keeps the water from infiltrating in the crack between the chimney and the roof metal. We have a leaky roof now in the old place. Not fun. We'll keep the flashing as is.

Installing the windows

We installed the windows in early April. There was a nice three week stretch of warm, dry weather that let us get this done. Papa came out to take a few pictures and got some really nice ones. The first picture gives an idea of how the windows were installed. Francois (shown here talking to the owner) shimmed them into the openings before sealing the holes with foam insulation. The picture also shows a full length view of the interior part of the chimney, how nicely the light plays with the yellow hemlock ceiling, and how it looked before we had the floor slab poured.

With the snow melted, Papa also managed to get a new pespetive on how the house interacts with surrounding landscape. This view is from the south side where there is a small pond along a path that leads to the sugar house in the back woods of the property. It's one of my favorite views of the house. When the leaves come out, it disappears!

Chimney for woodstove

The chimney for the woodstove was installed March 4 and 5. We chose brick because we don't like modern prefabricated flues. Brick is much more decorative, both on the inside and the outside. Here you can see the round flue at top as the masons build the chimney upward. Note the cast iron cleaning door at the lower left side of the chimney and the plumb lines defining the corners of the brick casing.

Here I am scowling at the end of the day. I made the mistake of ordering the entry into the flue too high because I had to rush off to work in the morning. The code for the woodstove requires a two foot clearance from the nearest structural beam. The mason, Mario Granger, was kind enough to lower it the following day in half an hour. . He did a very good job and you wouldn't know that he dismantled and reassembled the brick unless you were looking very, very closely.

Lisa says I seriously need to unclench about this project.

Wood Stove - Vermont Castings Interpid II

Source: Vermont Castings - Intrepid II (E: Brochure, Fact sheet, Manual /F : Guide)

A good stove, although it does not actually appear to be casted in Vermont.

Advantages include

• small size and appropriate heat output for small house;
• catalytic stove for maximum efficiency;
• top loading for easy stoking;
• adjustable air vents for adjusting intensity and duration of burn; thermostat for maintaining even heat
  
• enamel finish for easy cleaning
• removable ash pan for easy maintanence
  

Dimensions and specificationsRange of heat output ................. 8,260-26,740 Btu’s/Hr
Maximum heat output .......................... 27,000 Btu’s/Hr
Area heated .................. Up to 1200 sq. ft. (112 sq. m.)
Fuel size/type ...................................16” (410 mm) logs
EPA emissions rating (g/h, catalytic) .....2.1 (grams/hr)
Loading ....................................................... Front or top

Weight ................................................. 223 lbs. (101kg)
Width (leg-to-leg) .................................. 21¹⁄₂” (545 mm)
Depth (leg-to-leg) ................................. 13³⁄₄” (350 mm)

Woodstove: Clearances

Rear
A brick masonry chimney will be behind the wood stove. The chimney connector will exit horizontally from the rear of the stove.
The manufacturers specification sheets suggest a rear heat shield for the back of the stove given a rear exit for the chimney connector.

• No stove heat shield; unprotected wall ... 30''
• Heat shield; unprotected wall ............... 16''
• Heat shield; protected wall (brick) ........... 9''
  

This slove will have a 9'' clearance from the chimney. Note that clearance is from the back of the combustion chamber, not the back of the heat shield.

Floor protector

Will consist of terracotta tiles applied. Some spacing material will be required between the tiles and the concrete slab to bring it in line with surrounding hardwood floors. manufacturers specifications are given at right.

Stovepipe and flue

• There is a 26'' clearance required between horizontal stovepipes and the ceiling if there are no heat shields placed on the stove pipes. 
• Stovepipe and thimble should be 6'' in diameter
• Flue should be 6-8'', although 6'' is optimal.

Sources:

• Specification Sheets - Intrepid II. Vermont Castings.
• A guide to residential wood heating. CMHC.
• Heat shield. Vermont Castings
  

Chimney

The Intrepid is approved for venting into a masonry chimney with a nominal flue size of 8” x 8” (200 x 200 mm) .

Footing is on base rock and rises to level of slab. Slab covers footing. A 2" wooden floor will cover the concrete floor.

Height ( above slab): 26'
Flue size: 8” x 8”
Masonry all thickness: 4"
Total dimensions: 1'4''

Distance from south interior wall: 6'3''
Distance from west interior wall: 13'11''
Clearance from woodstove: 9''
Clearance from main beam: 4''
Clearance from roof peak (lateral): 3'6''
Clearance from roof peak (height): 2'1''