How do you guys vent your parlor stoves?? I rescued my great great grandparent’s Sterling parlor stove from a storage shed, had it sandblasted and painted, and need to find a place to put it. I thought the unheated sunroom would be a great spot. But I’m told that in order to protect my home from sparks and down drafting, I have to spend about $3000 to install a 15 foot or more high chimney that is about a foot in diameter, plus $500 for a hearth pad under the stove. My sunporch is a separate, 1 story, unheated room with a slate floor (slate slabs grouted together) that is attached to the house off the kitchen, and has sliding glass doors for 3 of the walls (the 4th wall is where it attaches to the house).
I think I could solve the downdraft problem into the house by cracking one of sunroom’s sliding glass doors open, thus equalizing the pressure a bit so smoke isn’t forced through the door to the house. I wasn’t planning on using this stove much, just occasionally for fun and to take the chill off in the spring and late fall. Do I really need a 15 foot chimney? I have a 2 story house, so having a giant chimney sticking out of a 1 story sunroom might look ridiculous. My stove might end up as a really heavy decoration. Ugh….
Thanks for any advice,
Brenda