Is this forced air or hot water heat?

The statements you were given sounds a bit like a person who is hoping you'll buy a furnace within a year, and two of them, at that.

I would insulate first correctly and only then think about spending all that money for one or 2 new furnaces. If your thermostat is located on the first floor above the crawl and the crawlspace is large, its serving as a heat sink and you are losing heat thru the floor to the improperly insulated crawlspace below. This would cause im guessing the furnace to run alot longer to reach the desired temp. By the time its done so, its run so long it has overheated the 2nd floor. Where are you located and can you describe the crawlspace? Does it have vents? Crawls generally should only be insulated on the crawl walls and the vents sealed/closed depending on your location. The idea is to keep the cold air out of the crawl in winter instead of washing by some batts up on the floor. Fiberglass batts really lose R value when exposed to "wind washing". Insulate the walls of the crawlspace up to the sill with 2 inch foamboard, tape or foam all seams and put a 6 mill poly vapor barrier on the floor of the crawl. Use full sheets and overlap when needed by 12 to 24 inches and tape all seams. Run the poly up the insulated walls about 12 inches and seal it to the foamboards as well. Total cost: proly 50 to 100 bucks in supplies. Way cheaper than 2 furnaces. Good luck

Hi Braytonak and Doobzz,
My furnace is a forced air one. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area peninsula and so the weather is mild compared to the mid west and east coast: we get fog and the cold Alaskan air air currents, some rain, but no snow (temp range in winter is 60-35F). The crawl space is underneath the first floor and has vents on the side walls. The are some bat insulation held up against the ceiling of the crawl space. It is not a space where it is easy to get into. Since heat rises, I noticed there was no mention of insulating the space between the first and second floors, will insulating this prevent the heat from escaping to the top floor? Thanks.

-Andy

Im betting you will have to insulate all the first floor interior walls in addition to the floors to tamp down the heat and then you still might have the problem due to the crawlspace. If I were you I would start with the cheaper and easier things first. If you have manual dampers on your ducts use them to balance air flow. Try to make more air come to the first floor rather than the 2nd. If you only have vents then manipulate those but dont just start closing them upstairs. Where is your HVAC system located by the way? Make sure all ducts and boots to the registers are intact and that you are recieving equal air flow before you start doing this. If having done this easy thing and you still have problems and your HVAC system is located downstairs I would then think about insulating the crawlspace as i mentioned before with the vents sealed off with foam.

By the way have you checked the attic for any big leaks like plumbing chases top plates of walls etc. Sometimes if you have a big leaky attic the escaping of warm air to there will cause cold air to be drawn into the house making the lower levels uncomfortable. Make sure all leaks or service penetrations are sealed up with caulk or foam.