David McDonough

Haha I love it, that title would have been better.

Good counter questions, and even if the answer to some is ‘no’ it’s worth it to me to learn. It’s Maryland so a fairly mild climate. Suburban neighborhood with probably average permitting requirements. I wouldn’t know where to begin negotiating with insurance, I’ve never done that. But stay long-term or go, it would be useful to know what this retrofit would take if we move and want to analyze doing it in a new house with similar conditions.

I’m really into learning about this topic! But… I have a normal house in suburban Maryland. Stick frame, basement plus two floors, gas furnace with forced air, etc. I can’t tell how I could ever use a RMH in this building. Can I ask some dumb questions?

1. You can’t just install this on the hardwood floor in the living room, I assume. Can it go on the concrete basement floor?

2. How does the heat get upstairs?

3. If the house has no chimney and never had a wood-burning anything, where do you put one?

4. Is this kind of retrofit even a good idea?

May seem like a silly question, but I cannot get a straight answer by reading the various laws. A good old fashioned mini house over a pit you dig to go in -- are these legal in the state of Maryland?