The Historic District

We are preparing to finally install some sort of heating system here to replace the kerosene we've been using for the past 5 winters. We have a largish, rambling house in Eastern TN, so we get 2-3 months of cold- tops. Without thermostatically controlled heat in the rooms that have running water I can't get home owners insurance.
We are considering putting in a gas furnace just for the kitchen and the 2 porches that will eventually be enclosed. I am *not* a fan of forced air, dislike being dependent on electricity to run it etc., but it satisfies the requirements for insurance.
Then, we're thinking about putting in a woodstove to heat the dining and living rooms.
Finally, I'm thinking about an unvented Vermont Castings type gas stove in the parlor. Because of the layout of the house the wood heat wouldn't reach the parlor.

Does this sound like an okay plan?

check you bylaws and insurance company. you may find the rules restrictive or expensive. In some areas they are outlawed but may be grandfathered in. metal heaters, like old stoves do a great job of heating the room. If you use a heater that isn't free burning , in other words somethign like a metal woodburning stove and you are able to control the incoming air or "draft" to control the heat output then you are also creating a situation where you can get more soot buildup than you would with a free burning fire. A cleaning ritual might solve that issue just be aware of it. if you choke the fire, check the chimney buildup.

houses that have the chimney inside the house don't cool the smoke as quickly and stay cleaner than the ones where the chimney is outdoors. also a lot of heat is transferred by the mass of brick within the house. near me they can't build fireplaces into new homes already. If you have one it is grandfathered in and a real bonus and even still, in many houses they pull them out to accommodate for renos.

Ive been having people over a lot and I keep mine going in the living room , everyone I know loves it and most just dont' get this experience. for those who live in the country of course it is more commonplace. If you put an air tight heater you may also need about a meter surrounding it that is non combustible, I'd check that code before you get too far to make sure your project conforms.
some communities consider this pollution and may discontinue allowing people to burn wood in fireplaces , It's worth finding out if rules like this are around the corner in our area.

I'd rather have a small fire that is free and open than to choke the fire and create a lot of soot, but the air tight heaters are able to run all night with a reduced draft and that can be nice. Just be aware of the soot so it doesn't plug up or start a chimney fire.

Sounds like a good plan to me, though I don't think I would want an unvented gas stove - I'd be too worried about a malfunction and CO if it were me.

Do check on your insurance company's requirements for the woodstove. Mine just told me that although my woodstove meets building codes and manufacturers requirements for a heath pad, they require a bigger one. Mentioning the previous two facts and adding that they had inspected the current one twice before and declared everything to be fine, did not help my case at all. They said "we know all that, but we have decided it needs to be bigger"

I almost bought a house with an unvented gas stove. Not knowing better it was a big seling feature and it looked super cool. i hired an inspector who pointed out what mick just said, If it isn't vented it makes CO and that is released into your house and you don't want that danger despite how nice looking some of them are.

Thanks for the feedback. After using kerosene for years I didn't really think the unvented gas could be worse. I will check with the insurance company about their restrictions on wood stoves. The fireplace we're venting it through is not located on an outside wall, is double sided (one side in the kitchen and the other in the dining room). At floor level the fireplace is 5' x 6' and the top of the chimney measures 36" x 52"

Small unvented gas stoves usually aren't a problem if they're kept in good working order. In the '30s and '40s, they were sticking them in bathrooms and kitchens everywhere and many of them are still in service today.

As the others said, check your insurance company's requirements. Some can be finicky about the smallest of details.

Whatever route you go, make sure you have a couple of CO detectors just in case anything goes awry.

Absolutely. Thanks for the reminder about CO detectors!