What we check before a wood stove goes in.

Most of the rules for a wood stove install do not come from a code book. They come from the manual for the exact stove you buy. We use one real example all the way through: the Jøtul F 445 Holliday, a mid-size cast iron stove. Its current manual is dated September 2026. The numbers below are Jøtul's for that stove.

The stove's listing sets the rules

A wood stove sold today is tested by a lab and listed. The F 445 is listed to UL 1482, the safety standard for solid-fuel room heaters. The residential code ties the install to that listing. It says a solid-fuel room heater is tested to UL 1482 and installed according to its listing, the maker's instructions and the code.

So the manual is the rulebook. The label on the back of the stove sums it up. We read both before we pick a spot in the room. Lost the manual? Look up the model on the maker's site.

The floor under the stove needs the right protection

A stove does two things to the floor. Embers fall out when you open the door. Heat soaks down through the bottom of the stove. Floor protectors are tested to UL 1618. UL sorts them into two kinds. An ember protector stops sparks and coals. A thermal protector also keeps heat from reaching a wood floor.

Which one you need is in the manual. The F 445 needs ember protection in a normal install. Jøtul calls for continuous non-combustible material, with any separate pieces mortared or sealed so sparks cannot slip through the joints. Carpet comes out from under it. The bottom heat shield that ships with the stove goes on in every install. In the U.S. it has to reach at least 16 inches in front of the stove and 8 inches past each side of the door opening. That works out to at least 33 by 40 inches. With the pipe off the back, it also runs under the pipe and 2 inches past it on each side. If the stove sits on concrete over earth, Jøtul does not require a protector at all.

Put the same stove in an alcove and the answer changes. Then Jøtul wants double-wall pipe and a thermal floor protector: a listed one, or material rated at R-1.6 or better. R-value measures how well a material holds back heat. The manual shows how to add up layers, such as brick over mineral board, to see whether a homemade hearth reaches the number.

A raised stone hearth like the one in the photo is built to those numbers first. The code backs this up: a listed room heater sits on non-combustible flooring or a UL 1618 floor protector, sized to the maker's instructions.

Shields can shrink the tested clearances

Clearance is the gap between the stove and anything that can burn. Jøtul's manual counts drywall, wallpaper, wood and fabric as combustible. It counts fire-rated drywall as combustible too.

With single-wall pipe and nothing on the wall, the F 445 needs 14 inches at the sides and 16 inches behind it. In a corner it needs 13. Add Jøtul's rear heat shield plus pipe shields or double-wall pipe and the rear clearance drops to 6 inches. That rear shield is the only one Jøtul approves for this stove. The manual also sets 30 inches from the stove top to a mantel up to 12 inches deep.

A wall can be protected instead, using methods from NFPA 211, the national standard for chimneys and solid-fuel appliances. The protected-wall figures in the manual count only when the protection is built to NFPA 211. This is where a room layout often gets redrawn, so we measure before you buy.

The chimney decides more than the stove does

Jøtul says it plainly in the manual: the chimney makes the stove work, not the other way around. The F 445 can go on one of two kinds of chimney.

• A masonry chimney with a flue liner. The code says masonry chimneys shall be lined. Jøtul wants the flue no smaller than the stove's flue collar and no more than 3 times its area, or 2 times on a chimney with an outside wall below the roofline. A bigger flue gets relined to fit. No other appliance can share the flue.
• A factory-built metal chimney. For a wood stove the code requires one tested to UL 103 and marked Type HT. Jøtul asks for the same.

An existing chimney has to be inspected before the stove is hooked to it. The F 445 manual asks for a Level II inspection by a qualified technician or a building official. Our post on annual service explains what a Level 2 covers.

Height matters too. Jøtul's minimum is 15 feet. The code and the manual both want the top at least 3 feet above where it passes through the roof and 2 feet higher than anything within 10 feet. A short chimney can spill smoke into the room when you open the door to load the stove.

Setting a stove in front of an old fireplace is its own job. The masonry flue has to be sealed off from the room, either with a plate at the damper or with a full liner. If you are weighing that against an insert, read three ways to fix a fireplace that does not heat first.

The connector pipe has its own rules

The pipe between the stove and the chimney is the connector. For the F 445 it is 6 inch, 24 gauge black steel. Galvanized and aluminum pipe are not allowed. Jøtul limits a horizontal run to 36 inches, sloped up a quarter inch per foot, with no more than two 90 degree elbows. Every joint gets three screws.

The code adds two more. Single-wall connector pipe needs 18 inches from anything combustible. It cannot pass through a floor or a ceiling. Getting through a wall takes a listed pass-through or an approved method, which is a reason to plan the chimney before the stove spot is final.

Outside air helps in some houses

A stove burns room air. Exhaust fans and the dryer pull air out of the house too. Jøtul warns that this can pull smoke back down the chimney. Its outside air kit ducts combustion air straight to the stove. Your local code may require it. Jøtul adds that it will not fix every draft problem. In a mobile home it is required, along with a kit that bolts the stove to the floor.

Put CO and smoke alarms in before the first fire

Jøtul's manual tells owners to install carbon monoxide and smoke alarms in the living area and the bedrooms. In the same room as the stove, put the alarm as far from the stove as you can. Otherwise it may sound every time you add wood.

The code has a say as well. When permitted work in an existing home includes a fuel-burning appliance, it calls for CO alarms outside each sleeping area, placed as they would be in a new house. A wood stove burns fuel, so a permitted install means CO alarms.

Call the building department and your insurer first

Jøtul says your city or county may require a permit and that the local inspector has the final say. Here is what we could confirm from the local governments' own pages.

• Rome and Floyd County. Floyd County's website sends building questions to the City of Rome's Building Inspection department. Its FAQ lists a mechanical permit for new heating and venting equipment. It does not name wood stoves, so call 706-236-4481 and ask.
• Cherokee County. The county's permit application says a separate permit may be required for heating work. Its own pages do not mention wood stoves. Call Building Development Services at (770) 721-7810. If you live inside Canton, Woodstock or another city, ask the city too.

Then call your insurance agent. Jøtul's manual tells owners to check with their insurance company about any other requirements. Do it before the first fire.

What to send us before the first visit

• The room. Photos of where you want the stove, with the floor and the nearest walls.
• The chimney. A photo from outside. If there is no chimney, tell us where the pipe could go up.
• The floor. Wood, tile over wood, or a concrete slab.
• The stove, if you already have one. The model off the label is enough.

If you have not picked a stove yet, start with how to size a wood stove and the Jøtul, Osburn and Buck Stove pages. The Jøtul cast iron post lists floor protector sizes for four models. When it is in, our firewood post covers what to burn. Our own crew does the installs. The same people come back for service.