Cristobal Cristo

Good job Matt!
Are you going to cover the slit in the floor (that exposes T-bar part) when you build your heater inside?

Rico,

It was sold as super duty (over 40% alumina) and since I have other bricks (Alsey) also in super duty rating so I was happy to find the match.
Since the firebox ceiling is not exposed to fluxing with allaline oxides in ashes, alumina contents probably does not matter too much. On the other hand - bricks with higher alumina contents are more resistant to thermal schocks of heating and cooling cycles.

I purchased them to use as 4.5" wide lintels.
If I used the slab to cap a firebox I would probably cut it into 4" wide slivers to relieve the tension.

Chris,

Has coppicing helped to develop more lateral growth?
I have 4 blue elderberries that grew quickly, but do not produce much fruit if any in my lower garden (that did not produce much of anything at all due to lack of shade).
I decided to get rid of them, but felt bad and transplanted them to area with better microclimate. I have coppiced them hard to 50 cm height. They were difficult to dig because of taproot.

Masonry heaters deliver the heat by radiation of the skin and the firebox. How will you direct it to the first floor if you place the heater in the basement?

After edit:
I just noticed that you asked about a metal stove,. Problem with location also applies to the stove, but to a lesser extent - being hotter it produces more convection type heat that rises to the upper levels if there are some openings.

Peter van den Berg wrote:I suspect those refractory slabs aren't available in the US.

I have purchasesd 18x18x2.5" super duty (over 40 Al2O3) slabs for around $30 a piece in Los Angeles. I do not know the manufacturer. It could be HWI. Well stocked refractory material stores should have them.

Tommy Bolin wrote:Finns don't seem to use steel as a radiant surface unless for cooking, they believe it strips the air of negative, healthy ions

I read a better explanation in an older masonry building book - steel surfaces heat to temperatures high enough to burn the dirt particles and the fumes created pollute the air. It makes sense, taking into consideration that dirt will be partially composed of organic compounds like skin, hair, food remnants, microplastic, etc.

Ned, I did what you are planing. Because I focus on lasting beauty and not on functional disposobility it costs a lot of sacrifice.
It helps to be debt free low spender with flexible job, so quality materials can be purchased and labor paid. I would not rely on any "youtube algorithms" (whatever it means) - all my calculation for time and money turned out to be irrelevant, because as Rio said - it's a process, part of life. Life is too short and f you really want to do it, it's better to dive earlier than later. It may turn out to be different (or more diffucult) than what you envision, but net result will be more positive happiness.

Thomas,

What is the exact (alphanumeric) model name of your Marey?

John C Daley wrote:Cristobal, what material would you recommend fot those interior walls?

I was thinking about it.
For the mud walls I would use compressed earth blocks/adobe. I consider this building to be more seismic resistant than the one built from irregular stone.
For the stone building - to preserve its building system to some extent it would be nice also to use stone - of the same type, but I would opt for stone ashlars - at least with split faces (usually cheaper than sawn, but it depends on the supplier and the equipment they have). If not stone, then the second bet would be solid bricks.

Hardik Dhaduk wrote:what would be your recommendation to account for any seismic events and lateral forces exerted by the roof?

You should talk to a structural engineer in the area where the house is located.

Western Gujarat has highest seismicity in India. On the other hand, the house is still standing and seems fine (except the termite affected roof). Seismic retrofitting can be more or less intrusive. It would not make sense to surround an old house with concrete beams, but since you are already considering the roof replacement - a good concrete bond beam will help. It holds the walls together and resists expanding forces exerted by the gable/hip roof.
Since you want to convert the building to a livable house it would make sense to build walls inside in such a way that they will be perpendicular to the long walls and spaced 3-4 m apart. They will brace the long walls, reinforcing them. Then a continuous bond beam can be poured over all exterior and interior walls (I did it for my house). It's possible that the fact that the walls are 450-600 mm, helped to survive quakes in the past. Building with thick/low walls are more resistant than thin and tall.  Because of that I would recommend to build the interior walls at least 400 mm thick - they would look compatible with the old building and would also have comparable mass to the exterior walls.