We're thinking of installing a wood burning stove to supply heat to the basement, not necessarily to the rest of the house (research indicates heating the other floors is not feasible in this situation without overheating the basement).

I've read there will be tremendous heat loss with a non insulated basement, though my husband argues it's not necessary to insulate if we aren't trying to heat the other floors (1920's house). Agree? Disagree? Why? It just seems like a lot of work to tear down all that paneling, install insulation, reinstall the walls and drop ceiling. Ugh.

We have a functional wood fireplace on our first floor that we intend to continue to use, though more for aesthetics than actual heating purposes. Our furnace, before it was replaced, exhausted into our chimney, whereas the new furnace exhausts directly outside. There are two doors at the base of the chimney in the basement, I don't know what you call them, but these doors provide access to the base of the chimney where you clean out the ash. Since there are two compartments, I'm assuming this is because the one side is a functional fireplace, and the other is a separate compartment where the furnace previously exhausted. ?????? I'm trying to determine if a wood burning stove can exhaust into the fireplace in a separate compartment that bypasses the flue on the first floor? I'm assuming this is why we were able to exhaust the old furnace into the chimney.

Please explain whether I'm understanding this functionality correctly.

Thanks

If you do decide to add a woodstove, be sure to have the chimney cleaned and inspected - there's a chance if your old furnace was gas that the flue is not suitable for solid fuels. Also, definitely install a smoke and CO alarm in the basement. You should also check on local fire codes, permits, etc.