Progress is made painfully slowly by isolated individuals and small artesan companies each having to invent and build the wheel themselves. To the extent that each can make contributions to the overall body of knowledge and benefit from the shared resources that result, it might be possible to gather more momentum for this interesting and resilient technology. This article explores the potential for an open-source approach in masonry heater design and construction.
An in-depth article including detailed drawings of a basic foundation strategy for masonry heaters including footing, stem wall, base slab, insulation, and rough opening specifications.
Here is a summary of recent design work showing the core of a versatile masonry heater design. We offer pre-project design assistance, full course-by-course drawings, parts, and hardware for projects like this. If you have questions or want to provide feedback, use the comments section below.
A beautiful masonry heater, built by Noel Adams, with heated benches and finished with natural plaster. Firespeaking provided design, training, a core kit and hardware for this project.
These are some common variations for basic masonry heater design. These heaters are symmetrical and show how you can choose to include an oven and benches around the main volume. Additional options include the see-through firebox which includes a door on both sides and choosing to have the oven face the opposite direction as the firebox.
What a pleasure to help a family get to know their masonry heater by making pizzas with them! We want more people to know that masonry heaters are not only the best way to heat your home with wood but also offer many options for cooking food throughout the cold months of the year!
A Rocket Mass Heater with a custom fabricated cooktop replacing the metal barrel and a long heated bench constructed for the 2016 Masonry Heater Association annual meeting.
This article goes over the basic options for placing a masonry heater in a floor plan you are designing and includes some sample layouts.
This illustration demonstrates the role of masonry heaters in providing heating and cooking capacity for homes in a long-term sustainable flow of energy and resources. Masonry heaters are essentially a solar energy solution. Well-seasoned firewood acts as “batteries” for the solar energy captured by trees in forests through photosynthesis. When the wood is then burned
We are excited to share with you the exciting design and beautiful execution of masonry heaters by a Canadian collective name L’Esprit du Lieu (Spirit of Place). A plastered finish on masonry heaters allows for both a timeless feeling of tradition as well as an elegant modern look.
Part of a “How-To” Series: Discusses different methods of mounting and attaching metal doors to masonry.
