Heat resistant plaster around wood-burning stoves

heat_resistant_plaster

One aspect of wood-burning stove installation that can be overlooked is the nearby walls and, in particular, the plaster on those walls.

Regular gypsum plaster often cannot cope with the heat generated by a woodburner and may begin to crack or peel off, either almost immediately after the stove is lit or through gradual wear and tear. In either case, the result is that the plaster will not stay on the wall.

The way to overcome this is to use a specialist heat resistant plaster. For obvious reasons, it is best to plan ahead and perform any necessary plastering during the installation process and before your stove is in situ.

Heat resistant plaster works in exactly the same way as normal plaster and gives an equally smooth finish, but it is made to be able to withstand far higher temperatures, which are usually up to 500ºC.

Areas of plaster that are susceptible to problems include:

  • Chimney breasts around wood-burning stoves.
  • Chimney breasts surrounding inset stoves.
  • The inside of opened fireplaces where recessed freestanding stoves are installed.
  • Where flue pipes pass through ceilings and floors.
  • Where flue pipes pass through walls.

But any difficulties can be overcome be using heat resistant plaster in its place.

Plastering the whole wall
In theory, you will only need the area directly around the appliance to be heat resistant. In practice, it can be hard to retouch just a small area while maintaining a good finish that matches the rest of the wall.

You might prefer to strip back the entire wall and start the plastering process from scratch to ensure consistency.

Letting the plaster dry
Whether you use heat resistant plaster ahead of stove installation or further down the line as a replacement for gypsum plaster that has peeled off, it is important that the new heat resistant plaster is allowed plenty of time to dry before the woodburner is used.

If you light the stove before the plaster has dried properly, the intense heat from the woodburner will cause it to crack.

5 Great Uses For Double-Sided Wood-Burning Stoves

Double-side stove

When you buy a wood-burning stove you get the relaxing and mesmerising experience of being able to sit back and watch the flames dance around inside the firebox.

You might think that it is a bit greedy to have two viewing points through which to do this, but we beg to differ. Double-sided stoves, which feature a glass panel at both the front and rear of the appliance (you can decide which is which!), have lots of great uses.

1. To install in the centre of the room

If you are installing a woodburner as a feature in the middle of a room, it would be a bit rude of it to have its back to you and your household three-quarters of the time. With a double-sided stove, you ensure that the flames can be soon from almost anywhere in the room, which wouldn’t be the case with a regular wood-burning stove.

2. To serve adjoining rooms

If you have two rooms that sit either side of a chimney breast, why not heat them both at the same time? Installing a double-sided stove means just one installation cost but the heat of a woodburner – and the view to accompany it – in two separate rooms.

Just ensure that you factor in both rooms when working out what size stove you need and you will be onto a winner.

4. To inset in a wall

While you can open up your fireplace to serve two adjoining rooms, you can equally close the fireplace off, place an inset double-sided stove within the wall of the chimney breast – at your preferred height – and still have the stove serving two very separate rooms.

4. In the hospitality trade

Do you own a restaurant, hotel or pub? If so, a double-sided stove is a great way to spread the ambiance and warmth among your clientele. People love to gather around a cosy woodburner and a double-sided appliance gives you twice as much gathering space!

5. To become truly open plan

Since the 1950s the default option has to been to ‘point’ your living room towards a television. A double-fronted stove allows you to really spread into all the space at your disposal because it becomes a new focal point for the room.

It expands your living space and allows to use all of the room more effectively.

Have a look at some double-sided stoves right now.