We recently bought a house in Portland (yay!) and we built a small kitchenette in the basement laundry room and are renting out the basement. The furnace (which is 17+ years old and definitely dying) will need to be replaced in the next year - quotes are coming in around $4000 - youch! It's an eyesore in the kitchenette & takes up a huge amount of space, plus, it only heats a small portion of the house since much of the house has in-floor heating! It feels like a poor investment to replace the furnace and maintain two separate heating systems, but in-floor heating isn't an option everywhere.
I thought the mustachian community would be frugal, creative, and handy enough to come up with some alternatives!
- the only spaces in the house without in-floor heating are the basement laundry room, main floor living & dining room, and main floor bathroom. The living/dining areas have beautiful oak floors and the basement is finished so I don't think in-floor heating is a cost-effective option to install here.
- My ideal situation would have us replacing the furnace with a gas fireplace in the living room to heat the main area, and in-floor heating in the laundry room and bathroom and ditching the furnace all together. Are there any gas fireplaces that can be set to a thermostat temperature and self-regulate?
- Any other ideas/alternatives?
Thanks!