Chimney is installed, now we need a rain and a fire. Rain to make sure it doesn’t leak, and a fire to make sure it vents properly.
I’m a nervous wreck before cutting a whole in our perfectly good roof. I mean, what do you want a roof to do except to keep the rain out. And going and cutting a hole in it, is NOT my idea of a wise decision. However, a chimney is necessary if we want a wood stove, so it has to be done.
I had stumbled upon a video at some point of someone using a flashlight in the stove pipe to help figure out where the hole should go, and I thought that sounded like a great idea. Shockingly enough, it worked.
I already had the stove pipe installed out the back of the stove, so the next thing to do is to get it out of the cabin.
I cut the hole a little wider than I first thought I needed to (could have been a bit larger) and did a try fit of the chimney. That’s when my problems started. I was having a problem getting the chimney level. And making the whole too large would cause problems getting that boot around the pipe and covering up the hole.
I did finally get it in place. I put the caulking under the boot, and screwed it in, then covered the screw heads (like the instructions stated). But since the caulking was white, it sticks out like a sore thumb on that grey roof.
Because of the added length to the chimney to get it over the ridge of the cabin, I added brackets outside for a bit more stability.
While it’s not perfect, I think it’s not bad.
We do still need a good rain to check for leaks, and a small fire to make sure the smoke vents properly, and then we can finish up on the inside of the cabin.