Tuesday 1 May 2012

Installing a stove into a shed.

The Fellowship of the Shed.

I call upon all lovers of 'sheds' in whatever form they take!
Shed - definition
a simple noun for a simple timber building.

A 'true' shed would be defined by most people as a small timber building at the bottom of the garden full of bikes and general stuff for the garden. But as members of the fellowship you know that your shed is so much more than this!! A home from home, a place of solice, peace, creativity, escape, your special place.




My shed is an old cricket pavilion from a village halfway up the Teign Valley in Devon called Lustleigh. A friend and I dismantled it and brought it back to my little slice of heaven here in Ogwell.
A blanket of honeysuckle now covers the roof in the summer months and from it I run a small family business with Dominic, Alan, Berty and my lovely wife and girls Gill, Rosie and Grace.
We are all avid lovers of the shed life and this blog is an opportunity to both shed lovers all over the world to share their shed experience and devotion and for us to show people a possible way of heating their sheds with the magic of a real fire. I was going to call this blog 'How to install a stove in a shed' which would probably be much more google savvy but it seemed so boring, especially when you see the number of dazzling sheds there are in the world. Such is the magic of this global village we all inhabit.
I have broken this blog up it to various headings.
1. What you need to install a stove in a shed! - Exactlet that!
2. A world of sheds - Links to all good shed sites and scenes.
3. Shed pic of the week!- Lovely shed pictures from around the world.
4. Sundries - Shed based extras.
As an automatic member of the fellowship I ask you to post your own informative, querky shed stuff here by commenting and adding shedanalia titbits.

HOW TO INSTALL A STOVE IN A SHED.

Whether you are installing a stove in a yurt, cabin, caravan, wagon, boat, garden room or shed, there are several basic safety elements to consider. Firstly, is that stove stands upon a non combustible hearth a minimum of 12mm thick. This could be a piece of slate, toughened glass, marble, tiles or even an old garden patio slab. Ideally it should extend a minimum of 6" to 12" to the front of the stove and 6" to each side. Secondly, most sheds are wooden so some shielding of the area directly behind or to the side of the stove are required. 1mm steel or masterboard products are effective and easily attached to the walls. The shielding needs to extend to the edges of the hearth and to 6" above the stove in height. They can be sprayed with stove paint to match the required decor.
Any single walled flue pipe extending up inside the shed must also be shielded if attached within 4" of the wall above. Twin wall flue pipe is required where the flue pipe exits the roof or side of the building. To avoid the chimney sooting up once you change to twin wall it is advisable to continue in this system to the termination. This makes a rear exiting flue system directly out the wall is much more expensive as it requires a larger amount of twin wall flue components which are very expensive.
Below is a diagram illustrating a typical installation.( It does however also include an off-set to position the flashing and exit point to a specific location on the roof or where the stove is sited in the middle of the room and the apex is directly above. This off- set is not required if there is no restriction or the stove is installed into a corner at 45 degress.) After which I will itemise the individual components required.
Shed Flue component list ( No off set)

1 x 1000mm single walled flue pipe
1 x 500mm single walled flue pipe
1 x 250mm single.
or approx. 1.70m of single length.
1 x adaptor single to twin
1 x 1000mm twin walled flue pipe
1 x rain cap for twin wall
1 x storm collar
1 x flashing collar
1 x wall support
1 x rafter support




Installing a stove into a shepherds hut is very similar to a shed so you could also read this blog


The average cost for such a kit is around £400 to £500.  The variation depending on the quality of the flue components you find online or can source locally or second hand.  This makes the realistic total cost of installing a stove, such as the Hobbit in a shed, at about £850 GBP or  approx. $1200 USD. With the rising cost of electricity it is estimated that this investment can be paid off with the savings made within 4 years. I think that depends a lot on the cost and availability of your log supply! Whatever the savings there is nothing better than curling up in front of a real fire that you can gaze wistfully into!

 


CLICK HERE TO ORDER A CABIN FLUE KIT

There are obviously plenty of ways of skinning this particular cat and here are few cool pics to demonstrate just that fact. They show that you may have a particular route the flue MUST take and you therefore require a more bespoke system. With off sets readily available and artisans with the ability to weld complete systems, anything or at least 99% of installations are possible, if not practicable.
Shed on wheels with side and roof exit!!!!





This is a tiny home which is fabulous movement spreading across America and the world.
Tiny homeowners are shed lovers by default!

Essential tools and sundries required when installing a stove yourself.
A plumb line- position stove and lower from ceiling into middle of flue collar/pipe.
A 4.5 inch angle grinder - diamond disc for cutting the hearth, 1mm disc for cutting the flue pipe and the hole in corrugated roofing sheets where applicable. A jigsaw can also be used to cut the exit hole.
Spirit level.
Screw driver & socket set. Fixings.
Drill.

Thats pretty much it but post or call to discuss your individual requirements. However you install it there are the obvious safety elements to consider and where possible a good rule of thumb, although they do not strictly apply to sheds, is Part J of the building regs which give guidlines on clearances and the best course of action to take and consider when installing a stove.  Follow this LINK to the planning portal where you can download a copy. STOVE FITTING ADVICE


Want to use your shed in the Winter? Install a stove!

Sheds for me are special places which offer a womb like space and as such they can come in many forms. Hence there is a world of sheds out there. Yurts, shepherds huts, log pods, wagons, bell tents, garden rooms, cabins, even old cricket pavilions are all affectionately also known as sheds secretly. Or maybe they just provide that space, we all need! In the next part of this blog I look at the diverse world of sheds with links for the equally interested in shed lovers around the world.

2. World of Sheds.

Build your own shed- A link to a free download for shed building plans.
Build your own tiny home - More free plans.
Shed mega site! - Readers Sheds is a bounty of shed stuff.
Shed galleries- Some nice shed pictures.
Shed Lifestyle - Shedworking is a great site for everything shed based.

3.  Even chickens like private places! huts, sheds or tiny bell tents.
Why not Post your shed pic for others of the fellowship to admire. I will do my best to share mine with you on as regularly as a bust family and working for yourself, lifestyle allows!
Here are a few























4. Shed Extras.
Interesting shed blogs! - Home sweet shed covers lots more shed based issues.
Daves Garden - Shed related forum.
Small Cabins - Fancy shed forum.
Below is a video showing my stove in operation. Notice the lack of shielding around the stove.
Most people would argue that this is very bad practise, I have run my stove in this way for 3 years
without any issues to demonstrate that when installing your stove best practise is always best but a belt and braces job cannot always be achieved and as long as it is safe clearance tolerances can be reduced in accordance with the job at hand. I have subsequently added some shielding just for peace of mind for when I go out.

Turn your shed, yurt, summerhouse into a winter house too!