Hey all. That's a general overview of my 1990 Side Split house, 2000 sq ft in total. The red X marks the spot where my wood stove will be and the yellow line shows the existing chimney leaving the basement and going up the exterior wall. I'm hoping you guys can help me figure out how the wood stove will heat my home with this lay out.
Let me break it down.
Level 1) Unfinished basement - 600 sq ft. Concrete floors, insulated walls and the ceiling is insulated too. Again the X marks where the wood stove will be. A half stair case leads to level 2 and there's a door at the top of these stairs, shutting off the basement.
Level 2) Rec Room, includes small laundry room and a small bath room - 400 sq ft. A half stair case leads to level 3. No door at the top here. This is where we watch TV and relax, spending most of our awake time.
Level 3) Main floor, includes kitchen and living room and a small closed off porch. 600 sq ft and the kitchen/living room are walled off from each other. A small half stair case leads to level 4. No door at the top.
Level 4) a small central hallway with 3 bedrooms and a main bath.
I guess my questions are:
- can a wood stove heat the bulk of this house from the basement?
- if the stove will struggle heating the whole house from there, what can I do to get more out of it? I don't understand the air flow of my home well.
- should I tear down the basement ceiling insulation? Should I cut registers in stairwells or in the living room floor? Where should I have fans running?
- what size stove should I get? (Rated for the entire 2000sq ft of house? Or just the 600 sq ft basement? Somewhere in between?)
Thanks everyone! Any advice on the matter would be appreciated. I'm in Canada if that helps, along the coast of the North Atlantic. We probably see -20C once or twice a winter but it's usually more mild. Severe snow storms frequently knock out our power so I want to be able to heat the house for a few days at least.
