To Demo a PreFeb - BIS Ultima competitors?

Thank you Hearth Rm for so much good research info in these forums!

I have concluded there are two options for us to install zc wood burning unit in our home - wood stove or fireplace unit. Hubby likes the idea of demo'ing the bump out wall of existing Martin PreFab to obtain more real estate to our fam rm and install a wood stove - likes the Jotul/ Answer/ Regency units (small ones) I like the look of a fp and I think I found the BIS Ultima to be the smallest fp? We don't want to be cooked out of our rm.

We are located in SE PA and local stove shop mentioned we could save $1K by demo'ing/removing prefeb ourselves. Anyone have nightmares or warnings/prepwork before deciding to do this?

Anyone have other rec. of fp units same size as BIS Ultima or smaller? I saw Napoleon NZ26 is similar to this unit, I haven't gone in to rec'v a price on this unit yet.

For the minority BIS members, any pros/cons you have about your purchase? only compliant I read was the loud fan, but I read that on a lot other units, so do I conclude noisy fans on any fp unit is normal? how noisy is it, can I listen to an AM radio, is it like sitting next to the dryer? will people hear it if I'm on the phone (R U in a machine shop?)

Lastly any other victim of a prefeb fp demo theirs to something like what we're projecting to do?- Thanks for any replies, solutions, sympathy, or advice..

I read here (or another forum) on RSF but the nearest dealers is showing up a good distance (50 mi.) away from us. they were rec some rsf models that "didn't cook you out of the room".

Our home is a "carriage house" (duplex - two houses squished together) built w/'89 technology at 2340 sq ft. Fam:19x13' faces mainly north (NE) with a new gliding door. Its the coldest rm of the house, besides my daughters rm which is above, and sadly, we have heat pump. Fam rm wall is against garage, which faces NW. We're planning to install ceiling fan in fam rm, which would circulate heat from fp around 1st floor, not looking to burn 24/7, but during these cold snaps anything below 10 degrees the hp struggles, so would probably burn mid-afternoon - evening, esp with the cold weather front we're forecast to get in PA this upcoming week.

The fp just "anchors" the look of the rm, its drywall,stud framing - no brick/stone work. The BIS Ultimia would probably be the only choice for going fp way, unless the Napoleon came in less$.

Wood stove was something new, someone posted they did a replacement of their prefab to wood stove and after viewing the photo gallery of wood stoves and looking at the large box bump out this prefab has done to the rm we wonder how it would work. Was looking a the Jotul FC3B, Quadrafire, Harmen. Those are available to dealers near to us, further out there is Avalon or Lopi.

as I type this, I realize I have not obtained a quote on install of a wood stove, but I am thinking the BIS would pricier. Okay based on our house situation, any comments, suggestions, criticisms, other heating devices?

I was searching for a similar post on my next ?? but have not come across one:
What are some suggestions on how to compare fp to woodstoves? efficiency? BTUs? am I comparing apples to oranges?

I obtained some pricing on woodstoves and I am coming up it's about a $500 diff between the BIS Ultima (best fp for us) and a Jotul F400 Castine.
Both have 55K BTU/ heat up to 1500-1600 sq ft/ emissions: 3.7 grams/ Jotul lists 73% efficiency and I assume BIS is comparable (no facts posted)
I am researching Jotul (F3/Castine), Quadrafire(2100/3100), Lopi (Answer)

Why are iron stoves ratings lower than steel in efficiency?
(noted esp. between Jotul and Quadrafire)

Any comments on maintenance between BIS FP/woodstoves ? (other than the obvious of cleaning both out)
I'm trying to come up with a pro/con list on both to make this easier on making our decision.

Someone posted an inquiry about pricing nowadays, in my area (SE PA) discounts have gone down ~$200 off reg price. Both stove shops I went to mentioned they expect "deep discounts" for Mar/Apr time frame.

Our homeowner's insurance is w/Erie and I was informed there is no rate increase for either FP or woodstove. They require if it was to be a wood stove to present the bill of sale indicating the make/model and plan of installation (safe chimney liner, clearances, etc) and a maintenance contract that it is being cleaned, ie cleaning bill from chimney sweep, etc. I believe this would be the same paperwork for our twp in obtaining the permit.
The replacement of the fp does not add to the real estate value of the home, its only value is enjoyment to the owner.

...so I'm back to FP or wood stove...I'll think and read some more (so many options!)

On the contrary Thank you- for the reminding me to call the insurance co. I was going to post I hadn't called them and realized the time- so I called pushing the question "are you sure about no rate increase?" . Evidently they have received a lot of calls of other policy holders installing pellet stoves/other stoves in our area due to the "energy crisis" of this past year. Your suggestion on "the look", in which if it was a wood stove we like the look of Jotul (which makes me question the efficiency of the compared Quadrafire) .........so maybe I am at Jotul vs BIS?