Woodfire heater on ground floor of two storey house

[ProjectPete]

Hi all, I'm currently designing a two storey house to commence building in the next 6 months. I want to have a woodfire heater on the ground floor in the living area.

I wondering if anyone has done this either pre or post build of a two storey.

If doing pre-build do you just leave provisioning for the flue to exit out the house through the wall the heater backs on to so it angles upward through the wall then runs up the outsid eof the house?

I want to avoid extra/unnecessary work by doing it post-build.

TIA

[Johnnynl]

Great way to heat top floor with little waste energy @ProjectPete , I had in a house many years ago, on a ground floor in centre of building, so it had some issues finding the best position airflow wise, up the stairway which was also central without the flue popping up in a weird position on the top floor, so yes I would suggest you allow for it prebuild, keeping in mind whatever your local building/fire  regulations require there in Aus, but the flue will need to go up n through the top floor somewhere so build it into your design, even if you dont put it in straight away, If you cant put it central and its placed on outside walls you might have to also allow for some ventilation /extraction systems to take it out of the downstairs and distributed upstairs. 

Downstairs central worked well with normal airflow moving it up the  central stairs and bleeding into all surrounding rooms upstairs. but you will need to keep in mind where your flue will appear upstairs on its way out the roof

[ProjectPete]

Quick update on this one. We're now likely to install the woodfire heater in the Retreat on first floor rather than Living on ground.

Pros

• Better utilisation - if it's cold we'll likely be comfy upstairs where all bedrooms and Retreat are located.
• More effective heating - as above and it'll also mean the heat is being generated on the same level as the rooms we'll be sleeping (coldest part of the day/night) rather than relying on heat rising.

Cons

• Loss of feature - less people will see it as a statement piece (original plan was for a 10k full integrated setup.

So we think we can live with that one con

[BIM_Engineer]

@ProjectPete
You will need to make sure the Heavy Wood fire heater location isn't an after thought
The slab will need to be reinforced accordingly.

[ProjectPete]

Absolutely @BIM_Engineer and thanks for the reminder

[MelG]

Hello @ProjectPete 

I came across your question and wanted to know what you ended up doing in the end and what lessons you learnt from the process. I would also like to do the same thing and would love your advice.

Cheers

MelG

[StevieB]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, @MelG. It’s great to have you join us, and thanks for contributing to this discussion. 

I’m sure @ProjectPete will have plenty of fantastic advice for you. Let me also mention @MitchellMc who will be happy to assist with any questions when he’s back on the site on Friday.

You may also find this article about how to choose a wood fire heater helpful for this project. 

Thanks again for your question. I'm sure it will be helpful for others in the community looking to start a similar project as we approach the colder months.

Stevie

[Mick85]

We have a wood heater that we picked up from Bunnings and aim to install it on the lower level. What are some suggestions around assisting the heat to spread to top story. We have a 203cm fan that we can use. Any recommendations?

[JacobZ]

Hi @Mick85,

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, it is fantastic to have you with us.

It's important to note that woodfire heaters must be installed by a licensed professional to ensure compliance with the relevant Australian and New Zealand standards. If you were considering any kind of ducting from the heater to the upper levels, you would need to discuss its feasibility with the installer to ensure it complies with the relevant standards.

There are some other things you could do that wouldn't require a licensed professional.

If you have a staircase, it can serve as a natural path for warm air to rise. One simple and effective method is to place a fan at the top of the stairs, facing downward. This helps push cooler air down to the lower level, which in turn forces the warmer air up through the stairwell, creating a circulation loop that helps balance the temperature between floors.

You can also look into adding passive vents to allow warm air to flow from the lower level into the rooms above. These are typically installed high on the wall or in the ceiling of the heated room and connect to the upper storey. 

Make sure your doors near the heater remain open to promote airflow, and if you have ceiling fans upstairs, run them on reverse (winter) mode at a low speed to help draw warm air upward and push it across the ceiling.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob