Chimney breast too shallow for cassette stove...?

[pseud]

Hello Folks

Lurking for a few years, now I have a real job of my own...

The house is late Victorian early Edwardian semi, solid wall construction (actually, outside layer is devastatingly hard engineering brick).

I have only 380mm depth in the builders opening (rear wall of opening to face of plastered wall).

The cassette stove is a Stovax Elise 540 - it's 350mm deep, until you read in another section of the manual that the frame sticks out a further 35mm from the flange from which the 350 measurement is taken... Hmm...

OK, deep breath... We actually went for the 540 because the preferred larger model (680) has a depth of 395, so now that the 540 doesn't fit perhaps there's an opportunity...

Considered solution:
Insert a lintel in the inner layer (wythe) of bricks in the wall and make a rough opening below it, behind the stove. There's one course of headers that would have to be cut back (engineering brick!). That would leave only the outside layer of bricks directly behind the stove. I'm considering filling the opening with something like Vitcas ceramic board for heat proof insulation:
http://www.vitcas.com/ceramic-fibre-board

That would give me an extra 85 depth in the builders opening (110 brick depth - 25 ceramic fibre board depth) and a total depth of 465 from the face of the plastered wall. That's 80 behind the 540 model stove, and... 35 behind the 680 model stove

I'm interested in any comments on the feasibility of this and any major (or minor) disasters foreseen...

Thanks, Morgan.

 

[tomfe]

If it's in a chimney breast build it out to get the desired depth. If not make a fake breast.

hehe fake breasts.

 

[pseud]

I'm afraid fake breasts are not an option for me.

 

[Doggit]

I've come across chimneys that only have 1 layer of bricks at the back of them, so what you're proposing isn't too far left field. But if you do it this way, will you have enough pace behind the cassette after the refurbish work, as a lot of stoves require a certain distance to flammable material, and whilst bricks aren't flammable, they are subject to heat stresses.

But Tomfe has a point, would it be less work to pack out the front of the chimney breast, and then replaster it.

 

[pseud]

All joking aside, I can't extent the chimney breast - we have an original ornate cornice, ceiling and nice round corners with quirks which have to be preserved.

Re heat stress on the bricks you mention - I had thought that the ceramic insulation board would deal with that. The 540 stove has been fit (fitted? fat?) once (well, actually it didn't fit!) with only a couple of cementers between it's back and the rear of the opening by the installers, so I reckon that 35mm between the stove rear and 25mm ceramic insulation board should deal with heat escaping from the rear of the stove into the outside brick wall (and beyond)

 

[tomfe]

Fit a deep fire surround and then box out the middle.

 

[Doggit]

You seem to have worked everything out, as al long as the installation instructions don't give any adverse warnings, then I'd give it a go.

 

[pseud]

Thanks, now I have to convince the installers to let me have a crack
M

 

[Doggit]

Why have you got installers; you seem competent enough to do it yourself under a building control notice. Are you having a liner, or just a closure plate.

 

[pseud]

Thanks Doggit, I think you're right - but, the other party to my marital relationship wouldn't let me... To be fair, installers have provided deadlines which I might not have on my own...

 

[Doggit]

Boy do I know where you're coming from. Best of luck.