My pre-Civil War farmhouse in northern NY has no central heat. Always was, and still is, heated with woodstoves. Ours are more efficient and cleaner burning, now. It went through a period when it had coal stoves, but they are awful to live with and a serious health hazard so I wouldn't recommend that. You may not need A/C. Unfortunately the easiest route to A/C is also the least attractive sort of heating: forced air. But you already have some investment in the infrastructure for hydronic heating (hot water radiators). I disagree with other posters about the relatviely efficiency of hot water cast iron radiators vs. hot water in baseboards. Love the first, loathe the second. There are very high efficiency gas-fired boilers (to make the hot water for the radiators and your DHW) if you need to replace the boiler. Fracked gas is much cheaper than Venezuelan oil right now. But tightening up your house and some forms of insulation will give immediate rewards now matter what the season. Before you embark on this however, do read a lot about it as what is often recommended for "newer" old houses (post WWII) is not necessarily the right thing to do with really old houses. Really old buildings that are still extant have a different way of handling air infiltration and moisture ventilating. Combining modern standards with the older technology can get you in trouble. Also do not replace deteriorated old windows. In most instances they can be rehabbed to excellent energy efficiency, while retaining a very critical piece of your house's original design. And old windows, if they need re-rehabbing in another 50-75 years can be done, but newer windows will just be on an endless replacment schedule. One thing that you quickly realize when working with a 19th c house is that what most home improvement purveyors think of as loooooooong warranties, (10-25 years), is barely out of "brand new" when looked at in the context of 150-200 years of service. The very best thing you can do for your house at the outset is nothing other than clean it up and study it for 6 months to a year. Paint some walls, if you must put your own stamp on the place. The ideas you have now need to be informed by what you will discover about the house. And that goes double, or treble, if this is your first old building. The most risky thing for old buildings is a new owner whose bank balance wasn't completely depleted in the purchase. Lucky is the house whose owner had to scrape every penny together for the closing. That's a built-in period of early financial rehabbing instead of early building rehabbing. Below is my standard internet "housewarming present " for new owners. It's a set of documents about caring for old buildings from just common old buildings to museum-level buildings. The principles and methods are the same. And it comes from a non-commercial source (The National Park Service) so they're not trying to sell you anything. Two other valuable websites: John Leeke's (particularly good on structural issues, paint, weatherization and windows): www.historichomeworks.com and a forum of very knowledgeable old-house enthusiasts: www.wavyglass.org (there maybe a "e" in wavy, not sure). HTH L. Here is a link that might be useful: National Park Service Series of Preservation Briefs of many aspects of caring for and repairing old buildings

Thanks so much. How much do you think a second-story project would cost (there are so many variables, I know, but sq footage about 900 and including a bathroom)? We have thought of paying a contractor to do the 'heavy duty' stuff that we simply CANNOT do, but we *can* do all the finishing work ourselves (or most of it): drywall, painting, trim, flooring, all bathroom fixture installation, etc. And we'd probably pay to get an architect to draft the plans first, then work on saving for 5-10 years so we could pay mostly or all cash. Such a fun thing to be able to plan! For now, too, any advice on how to make a 'modern' house have more vintage charm would be great. I think when we replace the carpeting (ugh) with hardwoods, I'll also install higher baseboards--mine are pretty short. And I'm thinking of handscraped hardwoods or wide planked, perhaps! Thanks so much. As an aside, I'm happy to report that we went to see the 1912 farmhouse we were obsessed with for 3 days and it's a definite NO---a gorgeous, beautiful house with so much potential,and the most beautiful views I have ever, ever seen from a residence, but *too* much potential for us at this point in our lives. I have always lived in older houses (except for the one we're in now) and I walked out of there, turned to my husband and said "run away NOW!" :-) One day perhaps we'll find the right older home for us, but that one needed an extraordinary amount of rehabilitation! I hope and pray the right buyer finds it--it could be fantastic!

air sealing comes first. have a blower door test done to find house leakage. make sure that you follow the tester around & write down leakage areas. keep a roll of tape handy to stick a piece of tape @ leakage site. if you get 'free' utility audit, you will have to be there and slow it down long enough to get an idea of where the leaks are. to be told that you have an ELA (equivalent leakage area) of a 3'x5' hole in the wall is not telling you where leaks are. find out. step one. heat loss/heat gain is through ceiling. air seal from inside attic at attic floor & from inside by caulking window/door moldings to walls, ceiling moldings at top to ceilings, bottoms to walls, caulk floor moldings to walls & floors. if equip/ductwork is in attic, make changes there before adding insulation. ducts can be tested for leakage also. mastic materials should be the only material used for a long lasting seal of ducts. air seal at attic floor, then add insulation. windows will get you between 7-14% savings. not much for the thousands of replacement costs. air sealing saves you the most then insulation. central hvac is biggest user, followed by water heaters. invest in efficiency. closed cell foam for under floors if on crawlspace. not sure what payback for insulating walls would be. here in my hot humid climate it isn't worth it, but if it is for your area, hire it out. the company can drill holes & pump in insulation. vett insulation companies carefully. is the house balloon framed? if so recommendations change. your house is eating up propane costs because your house is like a leaky box. stop the leaks, insulate & heat will stay inside house instead of escaping through openings. tell us more about hvac system type & location of heating system & ductwork. where are the return air(s)? radiant barrier plywood will provide some savings in summer, if house is in full sun. little to no savings in winter. just fyi best of luck.

Craziest responses I have ever heard !! Don't listen to any of these folks. Houses from your era and my 1890 Victorian were built to last ! Current houses will be lucky to withstand 50 yrs let alone over 100. There is absolutely no truth to how much it will cost or the ability to meet code or extraordinary needs for a stairway etc. Our stairway did have to have " winder" steps as it goes up then turns back on itself. It was never ever a problem. You get used to it and there is banister after all. You can search for a builder who understands old houses first of all. We had a neighbor who took us to visit several attic conversions he had done in our registered historic district. Then he sits down with you after looking at the space and talks to you about what you can and can't expect from the area. We started in late Oct of 2001 and finished in March of 2002. We had only a pull down staircase in the back hall. He made a regular staircase in the front foyer. All the building access was through the back upper upper roof of the house. ( 9 ft of windows were not installed till almost done) The stairs went in last to prevent the migration of " stuff" !! Your attic is WAY more wonderful than ours was LOL !! We had bat guano and coal dust and parts of two old chimneys and....the headroom was LOW!! He removed all the excess rafters and added what was needed to brace upper and lower. When the plywood floor went in we walked the area with chalk and divided the rooms. We gor 1000 sq ft !! 2 bedrooms and the full bath and study area and great room and a storage area under the eves. It was amazing and we loved every minute we lived in the house till Nov 2017. It sold to the first two people that looked at it and they had a bidding war ! All this is to say that you need to do your homework and ignore the naysayers. They have no love for old houses or creativity or ingenuity or possibilities. Please don't give up till you have fully explored all your options. Most important is a good builder who understands old houses. c Pictures that show attic reno in our 1890 home ----13 and 16 are the bedrooms,you can see the great room in the background. The windows in the great room span 9'. 17 is the library in the attic and one of the chimneys that services 2 of the working fireplaces in the downstairs. 19 and 20 are the great room and show the stairway. I am sorry I don't have any other photos as my Photobucket account is all messed up from not using it. But you get the idea. It looked a LOT worse than your current attic . Good Luck !! c https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/414-N-8th-St-Opelika-AL-36801/76021894_zpid/?