This is probably a pretty stupid idea, but I’ve just got to ask it.
The original furnace chimney in our house is no longer used. Our high-efficiency furnace and hot water heater exhaust out the side of the house.
The chimney goes through the kitchen where there is a plywood enclosure around it. I’ve seen some really cool remodels where people expose an old chimney. I think this look would work in our kitchen.
But how cool would it be if you could actually do something with the chimney, like put a super tiny gas-insert into it? Or even better, build a custom bread/pizza oven into it.
Replies
Not such a crazy or stupid idea, I kind of like it. Well okay, then maybe it is a little crazy =)
If you want to make it workable again for a small fireplace or stove of some sort, you have to make sure it's still safe to use, especially since you'll have the flam directly in it (as opposed to the furnace simply venting through it). You may need to get a liner installed.
I really like the bread/pizza oven would take some serious re-configuring the brickwork to make an opening big enough. And you would also need a door.
I bet there is some type of oven you can insert directly into it, maybe something that burns charcoal or something.
But inserting a microwave oven into it, now that would be stupid. =p
~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.net
Meet me at House & Builder!
you must of have caught on by now that crazy is the norm here...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
"Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints"
If it happens to pass by a bedroom upstairs, how about a dumbwaiter from the kitchen?
View Image
"If it happens to pass by a bedroom upstairs, how about a dumbwaiter from the kitchen?"My daughter would love this, and we could use it to wake her up in the morning!
"Or even better, build a custom bread/pizza oven into it."
Well, you could probably use it for a flue for a pizza oven, but not build one "into it." Masonry ovens are pretty big - 5' or 6' square minimum. They can also throw a lot of heat.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
If I had that chimney in my kitchen, I would find a way to make a raised-hearth wood-fired oven. They are not just for pizza, although they do make the BEST pizza imaginable: real pizza needs an 800-degree oven with a clay floor to make the crust perfectly crisp; they'll cook in only 2-3 minutes each.
I recently was in a house that had a factory-made raised-hearth oven--steel frame with masonry oven and stainless steel double-wall vent--the vent alone was $6000.
I bet you could convert yours for a fraction of that. You can check out some of the Websites for wood-fired ovens to see how they're built.
I'm with you on how great a wood-fired oven is. But 5' X 6' is about as small as you can build one -- you need a lot of space to hold the fire AND the food. Here's how I know that:
View Image
Not many kitchens are that big. And you'd need some serious makeup air and cooling for the kitchen.
Still, . . . . ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Dream big.
They do need space, but could be a little smaller than 5 x6.
Check out some designs at http://www.mugnaini.com
Our own kitchen could not possibly accommodate even the smallest design, more's the pity.
Edited 4/28/2009 11:35 am ET by rdesigns
Edited 4/28/2009 11:39 am ET by rdesigns
"but could be a little smaller than 5 x6."
True enough -- that size includes masonry surround and uber-insulation, which you could cut back on for some types of cooking and for indoors. Still, the deck size should be 2X3, minimum, or maybe 3' round. Add to that wall thickness and insulation.
I use mine every weekend -- sometimes more. We cook anything we cook in our gas oven, and it all comes out better. I would never steer anyone away from one of these, but you'd need something other than a typical kitchen to put one indoors. Also worth considering is that the flue exits the oven just outside the oven door, not from inside the oven. So that adds to the overall depth. Just outside the kitchen door, under roof, works very well for me, since I am also space challenged in the kitchen.
Cool site. Took me a while to find it 'cause of a link typo, but it was worth the effort. Always glad to get more info on woodies! http://www.mugnaini.com/
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I suppose you think I'm jealous?
Let's just say I wish it was mine and you had a better one.
Very nice, and thanks for the picture. Sorry about the typo on the link--you must have clicked on it before I edited it.
I like the oven idea but might have to beef up the floor under to.Just thought, how about a periscope ? or run a video cam up and a nice flat screen in the nook. You can play a CD of a wood fireplace when not lookin 'round the hood.
my first thought about a pizza oven conversion is the possibility of backdrafting. make sure your house isnt too tight before you move forward. have a qualified assesor perform a max depressureization test on your home relative to the combusion air requrements of a pizza oven in your kitchen. also a concern is air sealing the masonry properly in the attic. if you have a stainless insert installed you can have zero clearance to comustibles instead of the 3 inch standard for masonry.
-Benjamin Franklin-
I dont know where you live but i am in Oregon.
Being a roofer an a wanna be mason i know a bit about chimneys.
Dont think i have EVER seen a older house that could take the heat.
One half were built with beach sand and have no flues, The rest even if newer i would not trust.
I think pizza ovens should be outside or built from scratch by a very good mason
good advise bobbys.