Installing a wood-burning stove in a conservatory

GBS Mariner Woodburner

Conservatories are among the rooms most in need of wood-burning stoves. While they attract plenty of warmth on a warm summer’s day, if you want to make use of your extension for the rest of the year you will need a reliable form of heating.

A woodburner is a perfect choice to add a cosy atmosphere to even the chilliest conservatory.

Building regulations

Installing a wood-burning stove in a conservatory is no different than installing one in any room in your home. That means it must comply with the relevant building regulations. The regulations cover topics such as the distance between the stove and flammable materials, hearth materials and hearth thickness.

The installation needs to meet all of those regulations and be certified by your local authority’s building control officer (or self-certified by a HETAS-approved installer).

What size stove do I need for a conservatory?

You can use our stove size calculator to give you an approximate idea of the best stove size for your conservatory. In an average-sized conservatory, a 6kW stove, such as the Mazona Rocky 6kW, should be about right.

Keep in mind that the more windows you have in the conservatory – and particularly if they’re not triple glazed – you are likely to need a slightly bigger stove than the calculator suggests.

Flue

Of course, once you’ve chosen to install a wood-burning stove in your conservatory, you’ll also need to find the best of getting smoke out of conservatory. If your conservatory happens to adjoin a chimney in another room in your home then that is an option. Alternatively, you can use an insulated flue, which can easily be installed through the roofs of most standard conservatories.

Style

The style of stove you need very much depends on the style of the conservatory and the amount of space at your disposal.

For traditional spaces, you’ll probably want a classically styled wood-burning stove. You might like to consider the timeless stoves of the Mazona range.

If you’ve got a larger or more modern space you might like something that’s a bit more contemporary in design. Have a look at the Invicta collection for some inspiration.

Invicta Chamane

19 thoughts on “Installing a wood-burning stove in a conservatory

  1. I don’t have very big conservatory, but I really want to have a log burner installed for warmth in cooler days as i love to look out at the garden and birds. I have looked on line at the Wentworth and wondered if a price could be given.

    Thank you Pam Smith

  2. I am having a Supalite roof fitted to my concervatory (4 x 5.7m) and would like a wood stove fitted, is this possible.

    • Hi James, You would have to check with Supalite in terms of the materials and their processes, but it looks like they can incorporate skylights so a flue pipe should be do-able.

  3. I have a conservatory 4.5*3.0 with a pitched roof and poly-carb roof, but I have created a ceiling in room, by metal stud, insulated and boarded.
    I am also looking to take the internal doors off leading in to the kitchen/conservatory. I also have underfloor heating in the conservatory, kitchen and living room.
    would it be a good idea to install a log burner

  4. i have a 3m x 4m all glass consevatory with a poly carb room. what size burner would i need, could it be fitted free satnding away from the main property, with the flue through the roof?

    • Hi, did you get a reply? I’m very interested as I have just bought a log burner for my all glass conservatory. It has to stand a foot away from the glass and I was wondering what I can use to protect the glass and plastic from the heat (behind the burner).?
      Do you have the same problem? If so I wondered what you have used?

      • Hi Sue,

        There is not much advice from manufacturers about putting stoves next to windows, and a foot is fairly close.

        The only thing we can suggest is a heat shield. This could be something like a steel plate mounted about an inch off the side of the stove that would shield the glass from the radiant heat coming off the stove. The heat transfers via infra red radiation, so all you have to do is put a heatproof barrier in the line of sight. It can be quite close to the stove, but there must be an air gap to allow an air flow between the stove and the shield. It will turn radiant heat to convection heat.

        Hope that helps,

        Gr8Fires

    • Hi Adam

      Here’s general advice on distances: https://blog.gr8fires.co.uk/2013/09/24/how-much-space-do-you-need-to-leave-around-a-wood-burning-stove/

      Unfortunately, there is not much advice from manufacturers about how close stoves should be to glass.

      One route to overcome any uncertainty is a heat shield. This could be something like a steel plate mounted about an inch off the side of the stove that would shield the glass from the radiant heat coming off the stove. The heat transfers via infra red radiation, so all you have to do is put a heatproof barrier in the line of sight. It can be quite close to the stove, but there must be an air gap to allow an air flow between the stove and the shield. It will turn radiant heat to convection heat.

      Thanks,

      Gr8Fires

  5. hello we have ordered a stove was wondering how to attach the legs correctly I have screwed the nut down to te head of the bolt and the put the washer on the bolt then screwed thr bolt and leg to the stove is this correct could i have a step by step leg fitting instruction because it didn’t give much info on this thank you

  6. my conservatory is a 3mtr by 3mtr leantoo,with pvc roof plaster board to one side and glass on the other side which means the fire then would be placed in a cornered angle from that point the back of the stove would be directing heat towards both the glass and the plaster board wall which has brick behind the plaster boards my concern is a therefore the heat coming form all this can the roof and they two walls take the intense heat and not have the worry of causing a fire can you get back to me please with my concerns would love to have a wood burner.thanks

    • Hi Shirley

      The roof shouldn’t be an issue as long as you use a twin-wall flue.

      To alleviate your concerns about the plasterboard, you could re-plaster that wall with heat resistant plaster: https://www.gr8fires.co.uk/heat-resistant-plaster/

      There is not much advice from manufacturers about putting stoves next to windows. If you’re concerned the stove would be too close to the glass, you could try a heat shield – perhaps a steel plate mounted about an inch off the side of the stove that would shield the glass from the radiant heat coming off the stove.

      Thanks,

      Gr8Fires

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