Energy bill a nightmare
Our energy bill has been astronomical this season. It's just that cold. We're thinking about adding a wood stove to help heat the place. How big of a reno is something like that? Do you have any other suggestions for heating the house?
I don't have any experience with something like that, but we have a fake fireplace that works well. Even though it uses electricity, we still spend less than what we were when we turned up the heat.
The biggest step would be venting the wood stove if you don't already have a pipe installed. It's not that hard to do, though. You can do it directly through the wall.
You would need a vent but you also need to make sure you have a safe place for it. You'll need to protect your walls from the heat. You will also need to put stone or something similar on the floor if it's in the main house.
I don't have experience with a wood stove specifically, but growing up, my family used a pellet stove. We didn't use the furnace very much as a result. The downside of the pellet stove was that it made the house super dry. I don't know if a wood stove would have the same problem.
