Warming To The Concept

Givens says he had attended a masonry-heating seminar where various stone and masonry products were baked, then had their temperatures checked over a couple hours. While using a local rock helped with the LEED certification, and was considerably less expensive than importing soapstone from Finland, he says using it on the exterior of the header did not compromise heat retention, either.

“We know soapstone is the best, but it just happens that quartzite sandstones are within a degree or two of the soapstone, and most of these local river rocks are quartzite and dunite and gabbros,” Givens says. “The exterior walls of the masonry heater are about 6” thick and incorporate stones from 2”-22” set in Portland cement.”

Click photo to enlargeTo take the efficiency of the heater a step further still, Givens also assisted mason Mike Buberge in installing slate tile flooring in the entire lobby area.

“If you stay on a regular schedule of firing a masonry heater, everything in the room will come up to a stasis point,” Givens explains. “Everything, top to bottom, will be within two or three degrees. The slate flooring helps ensure there’s little temperature fluctuation.”

KIND OF SECURITY

While the CCHRC was certainly interested in the practicality of its masonry heater, the use of natural stone also provides great aesthetics for the lobby, and helps enhance the look of the rest of the building.

Givens says he worked hard to make the heater, which measures approximately 6’ X 3’ X 6’6” with an attached wood box, as attractive as possible.

“I’ve been working with river rocks for quite a few years, and it’s almost like putting a puzzle together,” he says. “You develop an eye for color; you have to blend the color so it flows together. And, with this, a lot of the stones have intrusives, so each is unique, and many people find they have a favorite rock.”

To help finish the heater, Hebert turned to Alaskan Granite. He says owner Alec Turner has worked with him in many of the homes he has built over the years, and the design called for black granite hearths on the front and back of the heater, and a black granite cap on top.

“There are 6” risers of black granite on both sides,” says Turner. “I took a blank headstone and ripped it down and polished it on all sides by hand.”

Both they and the cap feature beaver-chiseled edges, and Givens says the granite offers a nice transition from the river rock.

Turner was also responsible for seeing that a commemorative plaque with the organization’s mission statement was sandblasted and installed on the back of the heater, and he cut and installed the 17’ workstation in granite for the building’s library.

While he isn’t sure of the reason behind the Absolute Black for the workstation, Turner does know the practical reason behind using the stone for the building’s windowsills, which he also fabricated and installed.

“That’s mainly because our UV (ultraviolet) is so intense,” he says. “If you do a conventional painted windowsill, you’ll have to repaint it every couple years.”

Turner adds that the remainders of the windows are trimmed in kiln-dried natural birch from the area. “It’s quite a nice contrast,” he says.

Hebert says the use of the stone trim is more than just for contrast. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a green material, but he says it also gives the offices more of a homelike feel.

“Natural materials have what we call a soul,” says the organization’s president. “They have something that touches us psychologically; there’s a warmth to them that’s important in an environment like this that’s cold and dark in the winter. When you have warm rock, there’s a kind of security that may go back to when we lived in caves.”

Still, there’s also a lot of science to be learned from the masonry heater, Reynolds, the stove’s designer, says. Because of the extensive monitoring throughout the building, he’ll be researching its performance even more closely than he did the one in his own home.

“It’s so closely monitored that we’ll know how many BTUs we’re getting from a pound of wood, based on the moisture,” he says. “Because our furnaces are monitored, we’ll be able to determine how much heat we’ve contributed by reading the decrease in energy used compared to the outside temperature. Over a year’s time we can figure quite closely how much wood we needed and how efficient it was.”

Judging for the response it generated at the building’s opening, Givens says it’s already gone a long way in acquainting people with masonry heaters.

“I ended up standing at it for five hours answering questions,” he says. “It was amazing the questions people asked. There’s a lot of interest in it because of that.”

Alaska Granite’s Turner’s excited by what he sees as the building’s potential for improving home construction throughout his state.

“Maybe some of these guys will start understanding they can be doing more,” he says. “This should bring them information to help them put out better-quality projects.”

Client/Designer/Contractor: Cold Climate Housing Research Center. Fairbanks, Alaska
Masonry Heater Designer: Solutions to Healthy Breathing, Fairbanks, Alaska
Masonry Heater Installer: Stone Castle Masonry, Fairbanks, Alaska
Stone Fabricator/Installer: Alaskan Granite, Fairbanks, Alaska

Original publication ©2007 Western Business Media Inc. Use licensed to the author.

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