Nothing beats wood heat on a cold January night. Nothing ruins a renovation budget faster than an insurer who will not cover the house because the stove was put in without paperwork.
Here is what Ontario actually asks for, what the insurer will want, and the one thing almost everybody misses: a new tight house with an HRV and a big range hood can pull smoke back down the chimney.
In most Ontario municipalities, installing a wood stove, an insert or a new chimney needs a building permit. The inspector checks the install against CSA B365, the installation code for solid fuel appliances, and the stove maker’s instructions.
Buy a certified, listed stove and keep the installation manual. The clearances to walls and floors come from that listing. Guessing clearances is how houses burn down.
Separately, many insurers want a WETT inspection. That is a certified wood heat inspector checking the stove, chimney and clearances. It does not replace the building inspector. Plan on both and you will not be surprised.
Some insurers want to know before the stove goes in, not after. A two-minute call can save you a policy problem.
For a new build or a conversion, the stove and the range hood should both be accounted for on the ventilation summary (RMVDS).
Old houses leaked so much that a wood stove always had plenty of air. A new house, or an old one with new windows and spray foam, is tight. Every fan that pushes air out has to get it back from somewhere.
Bathroom fans, a dryer, and especially a big range hood. A 600 CFM hood in a tight house is like a vacuum on the chimney.
The house goes negative. Air comes back in through the easiest path, which can be the chimney. Smoke and carbon monoxide come with it.
A balanced HRV, an outdoor combustion air supply where the stove allows it, and makeup air for big range hoods.
Your ventilation design should know there is a wood stove in the house. That is a conversation to have before the permit, not after the first smoky evening.
Ask your building department what they want before you buy the stove.
Listed, certified, with the manual. Clearances come from the listing.
Any fuel-burning appliance means working carbon monoxide alarms near the bedrooms.
A full-time house still needs automatic heat for when nobody is home to feed the fire.
A tight house needs planned air. Do not let the range hood fight the chimney.
Permit, WETT report and stove manual. Your insurer and your buyer will ask.
We do not install stoves. We do the heat loss and the ventilation design, and we make sure the stove is part of the plan instead of an afterthought.
For a cottage conversion or a new build with a wood stove, that means the heat loss sizes the main system properly, and the ventilation design accounts for the stove and the range hood. See turning a cottage into a year-round home if that is your project.
Wood stove in the plans? Tell us when you send the drawings. We design the heat and the air around it.
Get Free Quote →In most Ontario municipalities, yes. A wood stove, insert or new chimney is a building permit item, and the inspector checks it against the installation code for solid fuel appliances, CSA B365. Call your building department first.
A WETT-certified inspector checks the stove, chimney and clearances. Many insurers ask for one before they will cover a house with a wood stove. It does not replace the building permit inspection. You may need both.
In a cottage you visit, maybe. In a full-time house, many insurers and townships will want a permanent automatic heat source too. Nobody wants the pipes freezing because you went to Florida for a week.
It can if the house runs negative. Bathroom fans, a big range hood and a dryer all pull air out. In a tight house that air tries to come back in through the easiest hole, which can be your chimney. A balanced HRV and an outdoor combustion air supply help a lot.
Yes. Any house with a fuel-burning appliance needs working CO alarms. Put one near the sleeping areas and follow the alarm maker’s instructions.
The heat loss is the same, because it measures the house, not the heater. But the report and the design should show how the stove fits in: backup, comfort heat, or a real share of the load. And the ventilation design should account for it.
Send your drawings and tell us about the stove and the range hood. We size the heating and design the ventilation so the whole house works together.