Drilling through 20" of cob

The latest (and most urgent) house project has been installing the stovepipe for our new Morso 1410 (Squirrel) woodstove. After some careful consideration, we decided how to install the pipe. We’re about halfway through the process, but the hardest part has yet to come…

There was some goood feedback on how to install the pipe, and our original plan actually changed as a result. We have decided to run the pipe through the wall and into the mudroom, where the stovepipe will exit the roof. A little convoluted, yes, but for the better, I think. The reason for this is that going through the wall will keep the stovepipe exit in the mud room, and out of the living space. In case we ever experience leaks, at least they won’t be above the stove and in the living space. We also might get a smidgen of heat in the mud room, too, which would be nice. (I doubt much, though).

Our first step was to decide where the pipe would go through the wall. That part was relatively easy: it would have to be high up, near the underside of the roof in the mud room, and aligned with the stove, of course.

The next step was a little bit more difficult: actually getting the pipe through the wall. I decided on trying to drill through the wall. I bought a long 3/8″ masonry bit, borrowed a power drill (of the plug-in variety – this kind of drilling kills a battery-operated drill) and ran an extension cord, and began the long process of boring through the wall. It was a full day’s work to get through. The most effective technique was to rotate the drill while drilling in, effectively making a cone-shaped hole. After doing this time and time again, we had a hole bigger than the diameter of the pipe. And once we couldn’t go any further from one side, we began mining on the other side of the wall and met in the middle.

There were a few obstructions along the way. We hit a piece of large urbanite on the right side of the hole, so it forced us to shift the hole several inches to the left. Thankfully it wasn’t any farther over or else we would have been in trouble. Later we hit a deadman (that was buried to support the rafter above) and had to completely excavate that piece of wood.

Finally we cleaned up the hole and placed a 2′ section of stovepipe inside, and ran pipe from the stove up to meet it. Today, I finished cobbing around the pipe to stabilize it. Next up: penetrating the living roof membrane (gulp) and installing the double wall stack… oh boy….