I'll try to keep this as short as possible . . . which isn't easy since I'm a pretty verbose kind of kind.
Currently living in a mid-1970s vintage built Cape in Unity, Maine. There's about 1,500 square feet downstairs and another 300 square feet upstairs (actually there is more, but we keep the two bedroom doors shut in the winter). Insulation is standard for the time . . . which means it isn't great (only 2 x 4 walls), but it's not terrible (we've added more insulation to the attic and I'm currently insulating the kneewall floors and we will most likely add some insulation to the basement ceiling --really more of a 4 1/2 foot crawl space made by a cemented cinderblocks.)
My wife and I are slowly renovating the place and are replacing windows, doors and adding additional insulation (i.e. rigid pink, fiberglass, etc.) as we go and discover new uninsulated areas (such as we did this past weekend when we discovered a four-inch section of one wall near a door was only "insulated" by drywall, plywood, tarpaper and some cedar shingles. The current windows are fair . . . good for the time . . . but they have outlived their usefulness as some of the windows triple seals have failed (we will be using shrink wrap plastic on those windows this winter.)
Downstairs is relatively open . . . open dining/kitchen, small hall, two doorways to the living room. Bedroom is off a hall and typically does not get as much heat/cool air due to airflow patterns and our personal preference in temps.
We're thinking about placing the stove in the dining room which is the center room of the house or in the living room which is off to one side (but where we spend the bulk of our time). In either case, this would be a new install so we would probably route the chimney (pre-fab) out an exterior wall (yeah, I know . . . this will be a significant loss of heat) and up the outside of the house (realizing that it it would be easier for us due to space limitations and cost limitations -- easier than putting a hole in the roof and reduction in the amount of worry I would have about potential leaks).
All in all we're not in such a bad situation as some folks are paying astronomical prices to keep warm, but I still would like to use less oil (hot water baseboard) in an attempt to "save" money in the long term and reduce our dependence on other countries. Last fall/winter we used 580 gallons of oil . . . a reduction from the year before based in part I believe due to a newer oil boiler.
So anyhow . . . I'm looking for a woodstove (I was looking at pellet stoves originally, but now I've giving woodstoves a harder look due to the availability issues and fact that I have access to a woodlot) that is dependable and built for the long haul. Our primary use is for weekends and evenings although my wife works part-time as a nurse so it is very possible that we could be heating (or supplementing the existing heating system) 3-4 days each week vs. just using it on a weekend. Looks aren't really that big a deal for me (although my wife says she would like one with a glass front) . . . what is more important to me is ease of use and the ability to not have huge temp swings (I just have nightmares from using an over-sized woodstove back in the 1990s after graduating from college . . . the over-sized stove would leave me sweating in middle of January even while every window in the camp was open.)
Any recommendations for stove type -- steel vs. cast iron vs. soapstone? At this point it almost seems as though cast iron would be the type that would best serve me . . . but I have wondered if the hybrid cast iron/soapstone stoves would work better (any opinions on this?)
Any recommendations for stove size? I have this fear of going to a local stove shop and having them either sell me a stove that is way under-sized for my needs and freezing to death or being up-sold to a stove that drives me out of the home and into the cold to keep from suffering from heat stroke.
Currently living in a mid-1970s vintage built Cape in Unity, Maine. There's about 1,500 square feet downstairs and another 300 square feet upstairs (actually there is more, but we keep the two bedroom doors shut in the winter). Insulation is standard for the time . . . which means it isn't great (only 2 x 4 walls), but it's not terrible (we've added more insulation to the attic and I'm currently insulating the kneewall floors and we will most likely add some insulation to the basement ceiling --really more of a 4 1/2 foot crawl space made by a cemented cinderblocks.)
My wife and I are slowly renovating the place and are replacing windows, doors and adding additional insulation (i.e. rigid pink, fiberglass, etc.) as we go and discover new uninsulated areas (such as we did this past weekend when we discovered a four-inch section of one wall near a door was only "insulated" by drywall, plywood, tarpaper and some cedar shingles. The current windows are fair . . . good for the time . . . but they have outlived their usefulness as some of the windows triple seals have failed (we will be using shrink wrap plastic on those windows this winter.)
Downstairs is relatively open . . . open dining/kitchen, small hall, two doorways to the living room. Bedroom is off a hall and typically does not get as much heat/cool air due to airflow patterns and our personal preference in temps.
We're thinking about placing the stove in the dining room which is the center room of the house or in the living room which is off to one side (but where we spend the bulk of our time). In either case, this would be a new install so we would probably route the chimney (pre-fab) out an exterior wall (yeah, I know . . . this will be a significant loss of heat) and up the outside of the house (realizing that it it would be easier for us due to space limitations and cost limitations -- easier than putting a hole in the roof and reduction in the amount of worry I would have about potential leaks).
All in all we're not in such a bad situation as some folks are paying astronomical prices to keep warm, but I still would like to use less oil (hot water baseboard) in an attempt to "save" money in the long term and reduce our dependence on other countries. Last fall/winter we used 580 gallons of oil . . . a reduction from the year before based in part I believe due to a newer oil boiler.
So anyhow . . . I'm looking for a woodstove (I was looking at pellet stoves originally, but now I've giving woodstoves a harder look due to the availability issues and fact that I have access to a woodlot) that is dependable and built for the long haul. Our primary use is for weekends and evenings although my wife works part-time as a nurse so it is very possible that we could be heating (or supplementing the existing heating system) 3-4 days each week vs. just using it on a weekend. Looks aren't really that big a deal for me (although my wife says she would like one with a glass front) . . . what is more important to me is ease of use and the ability to not have huge temp swings (I just have nightmares from using an over-sized woodstove back in the 1990s after graduating from college . . . the over-sized stove would leave me sweating in middle of January even while every window in the camp was open.)
Any recommendations for stove type -- steel vs. cast iron vs. soapstone? At this point it almost seems as though cast iron would be the type that would best serve me . . . but I have wondered if the hybrid cast iron/soapstone stoves would work better (any opinions on this?)
Any recommendations for stove size? I have this fear of going to a local stove shop and having them either sell me a stove that is way under-sized for my needs and freezing to death or being up-sold to a stove that drives me out of the home and into the cold to keep from suffering from heat stroke.
