How to Make Sure Your Pipe Is Plumb for a Wood Stove

Levels may used to ensure that an object is placed in the proper position — that a surface, for example, is perfectly horizontal or vertical. When a small, floating bubble inside a level comes to rest within a marked zone, the correct position is indicated. A different tool — a plumb bob — is used to ensure that a surface is true to a vertical line. These devices have a weighted, pointed tip attached to the end of a string.

Level
Plumb bob

Instructions

Using a Level
- 1
  
  Levels indicate if a surface is angled or not.
  
  Align the level vertically with the installed stove pipe.
- 2
  Look at the bubble inside the level. If the bubble is perfectly centered between the two lines in the bubble vial, the stove pipe is plumb.
- 3
  Adjust the stove pipe if the bubble is not centered between the lines in the vial because it is not at a 90-degree angle to the ceiling.
Using a Plumb Bob
- 4
  
  Plumb bobs are simple instruments without moving parts.
  
  Hold the plumb bob at the ceiling against the middle of the outside of the wood stove pipe.
- 5
  Wait for the weight at the bottom of the plumb to stop swinging.
- 6
  Check the plumb bob. Note that the pipe is perfectly plumb if the tip of the plumb bob rests in the middle of the outside of the stove pipe at the bottom of the pipe.

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How to Make Sure Your Pipe Is Plumb for a Wood Stove

Instructions

Using a Level

Using a Plumb Bob