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CartCozy Fireside with the Family – Wood Stove Install
When we purchased our home in 2017, one of the features my husband and I loved most was the wood stove. The problem was that it was the original stove from 1990, and needed replacing within a few years. We started to notice with regular yearly cleaning and fireside nights, that it was becoming a less efficient source of heat, harder to maintain, and that the brickwork was starting to fail. Since our home had an original wood stove, we are able to replace it without changing the footprint or having it affect changes to our home insurance.
*Disclaimer: before starting the removal and replacement of a wood stove ensure to contact your City Planning and a local WETT Certified Inspectorto ensure all removal and installing criteria can done safely and to code.
Here’s What You Need:
Step 1: Plan for the install
After having our home inspected by WETT Certified Inspectors, we determined that our current chimney and all surrounding brickwork would have to be replaced due to years of deterioration. It was no longer safe to code. The inspectors provided us an option of installing a new chimney pipe through our roof, and to firesafe our brickwork so that we wouldn’t have to change the layout of our home. With a plan in place, we visited our local Home Hardware and found that all of the supplies needed for our new wood stove renovation were available locally. It was time to start!
Step 2: Cover exterior brick with fire retardant boards
After removing the old wood stove, our first step was to cover the existing brick. After consulting the local contractors from Home Hardware, we determined that we could cover the brick with fire retardant Hardibacker Boards, similar to what is used in shower installation. We installed them by first applying a construction adhesive followed by cement screws into the existing brick. This process was pretty simple, we just had a lot of measuring and leveling to ensure that the entire brick surface would be covered. Following the boards going up, we covered the seams of each board with mesh taping covered by cement mortar to act like a glue between the seams. This process is very similar to drywall installation. It is important to allow drying time once the boards are seamed. We gave the wall a full 48 hours before sanding and moving on to the next step. Once dried, we sanded the wall and seams smooth with 80 grit sandpaper and our orbital sander. The following step involved creating a seamless wall, transitioning from drywall on either side of the brick to behind the wood stove. To do this we purchased a quick dry drywall compound and applied a skim coat to the entire surface of the wall. Now was the time to repeat. Once again, we sanded, this time with 120 grit, skim coat, sanded again, skim coat, sanded yet again, until we had a completely smooth wall. I cannot emphasize enough how important careful sanding in between coats is! We had decided to paint the newly skimmed Hardibacker Boards the same colour as our walls to ensure they flowed well with the room.
Step 3: Install the brick tile
We loved the look and feel of the bricks, but the outdated colour and texture didn't fit well with our aesthetics of the home. An alternative we found at Home Hardware were brick tiles, by Julien Tiles. These beautiful tiles were handmade in Italy and could withstand the heat and the weight support for our new wood stove.
Installation was very similar to tilework we had done previously in our kitchen backsplash. Once we had a level surface, it was a matter of cement mortar placed over the floor followed by adding tiles and spacers determined by the pattern of your choice. We decided on a stacked pattern as we wanted the look to be timeless in style but also modern enough for our ever changing decor. The grout we chose was called 'cocoa' which quite literally reminded me of 'hot cocoa' - I do believe the name may have swayed my choice!
Step 4: Install the new wood stove
Once we had the brick covered and the flooring tile down it was time to call in the installers. It is important to use professionals for installation as we needed to ensure all the safety measures were met, and that we would be able to be fully certified for our home insurance and to meet the WETT inspection. Originally, we had wanted our wood stove pipe to go straight up into our ceiling and through to our roof, however because of our ceiling joists, we had to make a slight bend in our pipes to avoid having to completely remove our ceiling and re-route the new chimney. We ended up loving the offset bend, and I think it adds a bit of personality to our quirky home.
From start to finish this wood stove renovation has been in a timeline of almost a year, due to permits, initial assessment, our DIY portion and installation, as we wanted to make sure everything was done correctly so that we could enjoy our wood stove for years to come. Now when we look at the cozy corner of our living room, I know we are able to help heat our home more efficiently, with a natural source of heat, and enjoy years of fireside moments for our family.
As a young family, we would never have been able to complete this extensive renovation without the help of Home Hardware, who provided us not only the materials but also their expertise and advice. As always, it has been an absolute pleasure working with them.
