Hello folks! The wife and I are wrapping up the initial build of our garage / barn that I eventually plan on adding an office to the 2nd floor. We both work from home, so having a little separation from the house would be nice. We've heated the house wonderfully w/a woodstock keystone for years and I'd like to put a stove in the office as well. Since it will be part time use, I want to install something that will be extremely easy to maintain. My initial thought with that would be non cat as it's a little less to worry about. But then I think, maybe a blazeking because of the thermostatic control. So looking for some opinions. The barn is 28x38, vaulted ceiling and will have good modern insulation. I also plan on installing a mini split, so I don't need this to be a 24/7 capable unit. More just 'nice to have a fire while we're working'. *Edit we're only planning on heating / cooling the 2nd floor.
If you have high ceilings (pockets where heat can pool), a radiative stove without convection jacket may work better. Do have ceiling fans anyway though. What would the flue height be for a stove on the second floor? Are you going to carry all wood up? How are you getting the stove up there?
My plan was for the 2nd floor to be isolated from the first. At least for sometime, I don't plan on heating / cooling the first floor and it will act only as a 'garage'. The 2nd floor is intended to be an office and fully insulated. I'm 100% for certain going to use a mini split in this space, because I'll need the cooling in the summer, and all of the windows are awning or casements, so window ACs aren't an option. The stove would be more or less because if we're working out there, I'll be able to manage the fire easily. I do need to run it by the insurance company first, but I live in a fairly rural area, and I've seen my fair share of shop installed stoves