Wood stove in trophy room

[elmerfudd555]

Looking for advice: I have a trophy room under construction and have a gorgeous soapstone wood stove I wanted to install.

My wife has expressed concern about how much the stove would dry the room out and the potential for damage to my mounts. Can any of you taxidermy pros offer me any advice, tips etc. on the subject of what environmental conditions should I be looking for inside the room?

Thanks

H

 

[Divernhunter]

It may not be right but I have a wood fireplace insert in my living room and have had a mount in there for 30 years. It looks fine to me.

 

[jeff]

As a taxidermist I have customers that have wood heat and as long as they don't hang heads to close to the heat I have not seen any problems. Sun light is bad so avoid hanging things by windows.

 

[redriver]

when I built my trophy room I did a lot of research, here are few things that helped me.
I installed a pellet stove instead of a wood fireplace.
as stated, sunlight is very bad for mounts so my trophy room has no windows.
Another good tip that I got was to hang plywood on the walls then
drywall over top that way you can hang most mounts with out needing to find a stud. If you plan on hanging any heavy mounts on a gable end consider
balloon framing your stud wall from floor to peak for added strength.

 

[Billcollector]

A wood stove will make things too dry if used often. I would suggest you put a humidifier in the room or at the least always keep a large kettle filled with water on top of the wood stove while operating.

 

[CAustin]

I like the suggestion by Billcollector. That would take care of dryness issues!

 

[ActionBob]

when I built my trophy room I did a lot of research, here are few things that helped me.
If you plan on hanging any heavy mounts on a gable end consider
balloon framing your stud wall from floor to peak for added strength.

redriver;
What is balloon framing?

 

[ScottG]

Windows have a solution also. If you have the windows special ordered you can install a UV protective film on the inside of the glass. Had it done on our sun porch, works well nothing will grow in it, also gases trapped between the glass insulate even further.

 

[redriver]

if you have a gable end (or 2) for a cathedral ceiling, usually they frame the walls square, then sit the gable
truss on top of the wall as 2 separate pieces. balloon framing is when you put each stud in from floor to ceiling peak. each stud
is longer then the next as you work in toward your peak, which will be you longest stud. this way your wall is 1 solid piece, I intended on some very heavy mounts
going on these walls such as buffalo, eland, hopefully an elephant (one day) etc so when I got to my peak
or longest stud I laminated 4-2x6s together to make 1 giant center post that goes from floor to the peak with they end cut like an arrow
to fit into my truss. Additionally when we poured the foundation we sank some all thread where the center post would go so that it could be bolted directly to the
foundation, It may be a bit over kill but it isn't going anywhere. hope this helps

 

[ActionBob]

Wow thanks redriver! I get it completely and will follow your advice when time comes to build.

Love your room! And congratulations on a great trophy collection.

Thanks so much for the pictures, it is nice to see something close to what I envision. Your's is very close to what I have planned except where your lion is standing will be an interior balcony coming out of my second story office, possibly double doors I can leave open when in the office, then probably some stairs coming down one side. This will all be on the North or shady side and the other end of the office to have a second story deck looking out to the lake..... If we build here, my problem is deciding on that issue... Trying to think ahead 15 or 20 years and wondering if we want to drive into town this far.... It's only a half hour, but the bigger problem is it is more like 45 minutes to the range!

Thinking the garage will be on the other side of the West side wall and double doors coming through from the garage into the room to get mounts in.... I do plan to put an elephant shoulder mount on that far end wall, about where you have the buffalo, or maybe lower so it looks like he is standing there... But it will be a replica so might keep it up high?

Still might be a year before we build and we are also looking at buying a different place. Too many decisions!?

 

[ActionBob]

I hope this is not hijacking this thread but thought it might be appropriate here...

We want a sort of theater room and exercise room as well. Our builder came up with grand plans to include all that and more! But yikes it gets not only expensive, but a pretty huge house for two 50 something soon to be empty nesters. We also must each have our own offices if we plan to stay married. So it is adding up!

A thought is to have the exercise room and theater room in the trophy room. This is also an excuse for me to build that room even bigger

Anyone have any experience with such things in the Trophy room? On one hand, the no windows works well on the theater room, and the exercise room we will want to be cooler.....

Will a big screen TV hurt the mounts?

Other pros or cons?
TIA (thanks in advance, not this is Africa)
Bob

 

[Bert the Turtle]

A wood stove can make things dry. I get between 10 and 32 % RH (usually at the higher end). It is of course more humid in the summer.

Overall more or less the same humidity as Namibia so good enough for me.

 

[elmerfudd555]

Thanks for the tips and pictures guys. Some good advice in here!

 

[ScottG]

The big is screen is where you will show the slide show of your travels. It is an essential part of a proper trophy room.

 

[All-American Taxidermy]

Some great advice here and- cool pictures of your trophy room red river.
Taxidermy mounts really need to stay in a stable environment for the most part.
I would mention that a cleaning every so often to remove any dust build up is a good idea once or twice a year or so and while cleaning the mounts you can check on them to make sure everything is good (no cracking issues, or moth/dermestid issues).

 

[jeff]

I had a friend who had all the walls sheeted with 3/4 plywood and then taped and textured, I could not tell it from sheetrock by the look yet he could hang his mounts anywhere.

 

[JimP]

I had a friend who had all the walls sheeted with 3/4 plywood and then taped and textured, I could not tell it from sheetrock by the look yet he could hang his mounts anywhere.

If I went to do it I would use the plywood and then cover the wood with 1/2" rock. That way you would get the strength of the plywood with the sheet rock look and no bleed through of the plywood.

 

[gizmo]

As far as wood burners go. I've had no problems.

 

[redriver]

Action Bob, I found a pic of a balloon framed wall, also notice the blocks that I installed during framing, for added strength on big mounts.
You are right about double doors to get big mounts in, notice the pics of a friend of mine and 6 of us hanging his bull elephant. The mount was not the issue as the ears were removable but getting 2 manlifts in the doors was a challenge but it was the only way to get the 300# mount up in the air. His walls were not originally designed to hold big heads, so it was VERY sketchy putting that guy in place but nothing collapsed, yet...