I'm making slow progress on my RMH build. I got the backing cement board up on the wall with a 2" air space behind it. I had to buy the cement board but the 2" spacers came from some walnut logged off of my property. I'm thinking I am going to make some kind of walnut vent cover strip for the top to keep the inevitable menagerie of things from getting dropped back there.
Keeping true to my goal of having a good story for everything in my house- the bricks for the surrounding wall came from a historic building from the early 1800s in my area. The building was demolished a few years ago for the onslaught of development and I salvaged what I could from it. The bricks are kinda fragile but I think they'll be ok. Some of the ductwork was salvaged too, but some of it I had to buy. I have the ductwork in place and have started backfilling the bench.
I've still got to run the water lines through the bench and get quite a bit more fill. Once the fill is up to the level of the brick at the end farthest from the core I'm planning to build a brick armrest up to the height of the back wall, or maybe somewhere in between. Probably not comfortable for one's arm, but at least somewhere to set one's tea on a sleepy winter day. There is about 23' of duct work in the bench and the bench is coupled to the cement floor below it. The exit duct enters the wall into a cement column that rises 16' vertically through the center of the house. My old stove used to heat this column and the walls surrounding the column on the second level of the house were always fairly warm. I might lose some of this heat on the second level now with the bench but I think it will be ok. My main goal is just to remove as much heat as I can from the exhaust. The column terminates at the ceiling level of the second story and just a simply 6" stove pipe goes through the attic and exits the roof. The column is insulated from above with 30+ inches of fiberglass insulation. Having this cement column in the core of my house is awesome, but it's also the limiting factor with the dimensions of my core causing the 6" cross section instead of 8" which I would prefer.
I just finished the heat riser last night.
The center tube is 6" and the outer pipe is 12" giving a solid 3" of fireclay/perlite/fireplace cement all the way through.
I've got some tuckpointing to do on the brick yet but I might save that for over the winter. On second thought I might want to do it before heating the bench so the mortar doesn't dry too quick. Anyway, my main priority is getting the water pipe laid in at this point and finishing filling the bench.
I'm looking for some input on finishing the surface. Anyone out there have some tips or recommendations on how to get that nice smooth surface with no cracks? And how about tinting it? I've read about using clay and linseed oil. Also about using plaster- but I'd like some info on what works long term and recipes for the mix.
"Knowledge is power. Arm yourself."