Installing a Wood-Burning Stove in a Static Caravan or Mobile Home

Static caravans and mobile homes make for great holiday hideaways but, given that they are usually made of fairly thin metal, in cooler weather they are not always the cosiest of places in which to relax.

Increasingly, people are installing woodburners in their caravan to ensure that the British climate doesn’t reduce the amount of time they can spend there, and to create a snug and homely atmosphere for their family.

But many people are still unsure about the feasibility of such a project. A large number of caravan owners still contact us to ask: “Is it possible to install a wood-burning stove in a caravan?”

This answer is always a resounding ‘yes’, as long as it is a well-planned and safely carried out.

Inevitably, there are a lot of considerations along the way. Here are some of the main ones…

Fireproof materials

Your installation is likely to include changing materials in the vicinity of your new stove. It’s a legal requirement that you don’t have flammable materials next to your stove. That means wood and hardboard must be kept well away.

Get more information from the Building Regulations.

Building a hearth

Remember that among those fireproof materials surrounding your stove, it will need to rest on a hearth. This is a requirement for the aforementioned Building Regulations.

The hole in the roof

Obviously you’ll need to run a flue pipe through the roof of your caravan. And, equally obviously, it’s something you’ll want to get right first time. Do your research before even thinking about making a start on the hole. In fact, you might consider…

Using a professional installer

We know that many caravan owners enjoy the challenge of installing their woodburner as a DIY project. But we would recommend you consider bringing in a HETAS-qualified engineer who is well versed in all the legal and safety requirements of your installation.

Find out more about HETAS installers.

Flue walls

There is likely to be wood in the roof structure of your caravan, which poses a fire risk when positioned next to a standard single wall flue pipe.

So for the section directly before and through the roof, you’re likely to need a twin wall flue. A HETAS engineer would be able to advise on the most suitable way of achieving this in your caravan.

Generating hot water

Some caravan owners use the stove installation process to address their hot water supply. Installing a boiler stove will allow you to cut your reliance on gas by using heat generated from the woodburner to provide hot water and warm radiators.

Installing a boiler stove is likely to be a more expensive and complicated job, but you might consider it’s worthwhile for the extra convenience and the savings on gas.

Appropriate stove size

Keep in mind that your caravan is not likely to need a heat output of a regular living room.

It will probably hold the heat well given the snug space. You can use our stove size calculator as an approximate guide.

The chances are you will want one of our recommended small wood-burning stoves.