Build Your Own House

Now that the weather is getting cool it is time to install the (s/h)wood heater that has been sitting on bricks in the shed while we built- 5 years!
It requires a 6" flue pipe. The flue system that came with it was designed for a single storey house with a roof cavity. My place is 2 storey with 5m peak and 22.5 degree pitch. The flue will be installed in the void between floors, so no through floor fittings required. The ceiling is cathedral type.
I'm really reluctant to cut holes in my brand new colourbond roof but it has to be done.
Is this the sort of job I should be tackling myself? Bear in mind I have built the place myself with no previous building experience.
Would it be possible/advisable to cut down the pipes that went through the roof cavity on the house it came out of or should I just bite the bullet and buy a full fitting kit? Its about $550
One flue installler I spoke to warned me to check with the certifier to see if its allowable to use a second hand heater in a new building.
Anyone with experience in this area?
Cheers
Mick

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Hi Mick,

I installed a heater in our two storey place, and I'm no builder. I did stuff up making the box to go through the first floor, had to dodgy one up out of two ceiling boxes because the store didn't have the correct bit in stock, and had given us the wrong bit in the first place, and we now had a hole through the roof waiting to be filled, but it works well enough, just puts everything on a slight angle.

Getting the holes and lines straight was the trickiest bit, but I had to go through roof and floor and try and miss all the timber by the correct amounts. You shouldn't have as much trouble given you're only going through the roof, but it may be more challenging as I was able to do half on one floor, then nip upstairs and add in the rest of the flue knowing the first half was supported by the floor box. You might be up against a wild balancing act!

I was able to use some bits of existing flue and some new bits, which worked out cheaper in the end, but if you want the best finish then all new flue would be the go.

Here in NSW, if we specify a wood heater for a new construction it has to have a certain star rating to comply with BASIX/energy accreditation. There may be other issues with using a secondhand heater, but this would be the main one here, as older heaters might not be up to the 5 star standard required, for example, or you might not be able to discover a star rating for it at all.

Hi Mick

There are new rulings in Qld for flue installations they have to be certain distances now from stove to roof height.

Best bet ring Mr Stoves or the like and they can give you all the rundown on how it now goes.

Good luck you'll need the fireplace soon it's BRRRRRRRRRRRRR here at the moment isn't it?

Regards
OB1&OB2
Inez & Kevin
Kevin & Inez

Thanks for all that
Geoff Where I was getting confused was calling a pipe a 'box' LOL It all makes so much sense now that i am not looking for something square!!
The 4 stars was without a heater!
and yes I can see this being another wild balancing act.
I've definitely got enough bits to do the 'boxes' and just need 2 more lengths of flue, the outer seal (dektite) and decide how much 'recro' to install at $70 per 900mm
OBI 1 & 2
I'm installing the heater in the void area so i have 5.2m to play with
And yes it has been cold but I am pleasantly surprised at how little we seem to need a heater anyway. Last week 2 nights down to zero and the little fan heater warmed up the whole place very quickly.
Cheers

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