Are you thinking of installing a wood burning stove?
If you’re not sure where exactly it should go, we’ll walk you through some of the pros and cons of the most commonly considered rooms.
Table of Contents
Where to Install a Wood Burning Stove
Living Room
Let’s start with the room where most people will naturally place a stove. The living room, the sitting room, the front room – whatever you like to call it.
Many people like the idea of having a wood stove in their living room. It’s pleasant to gather around or have burning while you get cozy, and in many cases it’s the traditional choice.
Many homes were built with a fireplace in the living room and as a result, all structures necessary for a wood burning stove are already in place. If you have an old unused fireplace, you simply need to install the stove into the existing fireplace; no need for large-scale construction (or destruction) of any kind.
If you on the other hand, you have a working fireplace that you wish to replace with a wood burner, we would recommend you call in professional help to convert it properly and safely.
However, if you don’t have a fireplace, you will need to install a chimney system for the waste fumes to escape from. Installing a flue pipe can be done, but it can change the room and can be expensive depending on stove position.
Central Room
In some cases the best room to install a wood burning stove is whichever room is most central and on the lowest floor of your home.
And there is a good reason for this.
Due to how heat waves travel, having a central wood burner can let heat naturally travel throughout the home and keep the entire house warm.
However, this is not without risks.
Firstly, the structures such as flues need to already be in place. If your most central room doesn’t have a flue, installing one can be very difficult. Not only does it need to reach the nearest outside wall, but it also needs to go through a large portion of the house.
Kitchen
The kitchen can be a focal point in a house, and for many it represents the heart of the home.
As a result, it can be a common and sensible choice. The pros are obvious (important room, will get plenty of use etc.) so we’ll highlight some potential cons.
One possible issue is the lack of chimney, or traditional fireplace space, and again this will mean installing a flue. This can obviously become challenging if your kitchen is within the centre of the home and lacks any “outside” walls, however it’s perfectly do-able with the right installation team.
It’s also worth noting that kitchens tend to be hot anyway. When you’re cooking and generating heat, do you want a wood burning stove adding to that?
It can also reduce the amount of usable space. When you have a burning fire in the kitchen, you won’t be able to seat people too close. Nor will you be able to store combustibles too close.
Is your kitchen big enough to sacrifice the space?
Bathroom
Not many people think about having a wood burning stove in their bathroom and it’s definitely not a common choice.
However, you can have wood burner heated baths…
It might sound tempting but the reality is that it will be an unlikely choice. This type of setup will take up more space than usual and another issue to consider is rust. Water increases the chances of rust because of the high levels of oxygen.
Bedroom
There’s always the romantic idea of adding a fireplace or stove to a bedroom…
But, having a wood burning stove in your room isn’t quite as romantic as it might seem.
The fire and heat will naturally suck the oxygen from the room and without proper ventilation, this will mean keeping windows or doors open – allowing both cold and bugs to come in.
Plus, wood stoves can be dirty simply because they require logs and create ash.
Whether you want this in your bedroom or not will likely determine your choice.
Sun Room / Conservatory
Many people will only use their conservatory or sun room in the summer. But, with a wooden stove, it can be used all year round.
Plus, being close to the garden usually means you don’t need to carry logs through the house.
However, conservatories are often poorly insulated. This makes them great during the summer when you want as much cool air as possible but, during the winter, it will mean more fuel and less heat.
It’s also rare for a conservatory or sun room to ever have a fireplace meaning there won’t be an existing chimney, so you must install a flue.
Basement
Having a stove in the basement may seem like a good idea because it’s on the bottom floor, and heat travels upwards.
But, if your basement is poorly insulated, heat will escape through the sides and below. Great news if you want to heat some creepy crawlies in the ground around your home, not so great if you want a warm and cozy house.
It’s also a potential fire hazard because it would likely be left to burn unattended.
Where not to Install a Wood Burning Stove
Whilst the above rooms each have pros and cons, there are obvious exceptions which will never be suitable for stove installation.
The loft/attic and hallway are two of the worst options available to any homeowner when considering stove placement.
The loft is naturally the top floor of the house, so heat will simply escape via the roof and never properly travel around the house. It will also take up valuable storage space and if left unattended (which you’d expect with a loft) could become a fire hazard.
Any type of hallway or landing will also be very difficult to use. Size, shape and access can mean it’s pointless to install a stove here, never mind potential difficulties in flue or chimney installation.
There can always be exceptions to the rule, but we would recommend you consider some of our earlier suggestions when it comes to stove placement.
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As you can see, every room has its pros and cons, although some make more sense than others.
We hope this helps you choose, and for everything else home heating, stick with CosyWarmer.com