August 11, 2008
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Progress Report: Wood Stove Installation
Short version: not much.
Yesterday afternoon, when Doug was up and had breakfast, we went out in the yard, flipped back the tarp I’d thrown over the new stove, and just looked. Well, maybe we gloated and glowed a little, too. This old one was a hassle and a worry from the time the baffle broke loose inside and fell, until it was warm enough to let the fire go out.
After a little looking, we agreed that the new one is wider than the old one. For fire safety, we can’t have it too close to the end of the couch, and the only space into which we could displace the couch is now occupied by a shelf of reference books we keep handy by the computer. These include ephemerides, Hortus Third, and several dungeon master’s guides–in other words, indispensable tools.
We came back in when I got too shaky and breathless to stay on my feet, and I sat and walked Doug through the steps for removing the Metalbestos® flue pipe and putting a temporary patch over the hole it leaves in the roof. Fortunately, thrifty me, I had saved some cat food bags made from the same material as the tarps that cover our roof, and a large foil pie pan to support it over the hole so that it doesn’t slump and form a drippy pool, but let the rain drain off. He pulled up the pipe, laid down the patch, taped it to the roof, and put away the pipe in case we need it later.
As advised for safety, we bought new Metalbestos® with the stove, but the old stuff still has some use in it, and we’ve had times before when it would have been convenient to have a replacement on hand. Besides that, I’m a packrat. I was reared by parents who were young adults during the Great Depression, who taught me, “Just as sure as you throw it away, you’ll need it someday.”
With the two upper sections of Metalbestos® gone, I noticed what I had forgotten to buy: the adaptor that secures the fancy insulated pipe on top to the plain black stovepipe below. We discussed what might be done to unstick it from the old pipe and reuse it, and Doug was going to do that during the night. As I sit here, the stove sits over there with two sections of black stovepipe sticking up out of it, topped by a Metalbestos® adaptor. I guess Doug got busy online or on the XBox.
While I sat gathering energy and catching my breath, I was thinking about the stove width issue. I put on my shoes, picked up a tape measure, measured the old stove on my way out, and then measured the new one. We both have good eyes. It is wider, by an inch. That won’t be a problem.
We still haven’t found anyone to help us muscle the old stove out and the new one in. We concluded that we could do it ourselves with a hand truck and a ramp. I assume we can borrow or rent them somewhere, but there’s no point in doing that until we’ve gotten the pipes off, the path cleared, and the old stove out of the way. It would be nice to have a sunny day for the job, or at the least, a dry one. I may need to consult Tlaloc on that.
Comments (6)
good luck with the stove susu… i myself have fond memories of installing my grandfathers old stove in our home. it was a painful process as it fell on and broke my big toe. but no worries~ jack
There’s an old saying…
When looking at what needs to be done, and not actually doing anything,
“Time spent planning, is never wasted”
Well… at least you don’t have to tear out a wall or anything to remove the old one. (Or enter the new one) When we removed the cook stove from the cook house, we had to tear out a wall. Apparently, they built the cook house around the stove… crazy!
so many miles away….”..a sunny day for the job, or at the least, a dry one.”
sounds like you’re having weather similar to ours here in south-central ontario…depends on where you are whether it rains, or pours, or the sun shines on. this afternoon i was cutting grass at the m.i.l.’s and it began to rain, then it teemed down, then it poured…all the while, no rain in the city, even a friend of hers called from less than a couple of miles away and they had no rain whatsoever.
I’m so glad you are getting a new one in. I don’t worry about you much. I figure you’re up there living that life for your own good reasons, but I did worry a bit about that old stove with the trouble you had with it last winter.
An enormous round of applause, continue the great work.visit site