Foam mattresses are great and can be even more comfortable than cheap innerspring mattresses. To understand this a little better, innerspring coil mattresses have to have a certain amount of foam layering over the coils. The problem is that this foam layering can flatten fairly fast on cheaper mattresses. When this occurs, you start to feel the springs sticking up into your back. High quality foam mattresses, especially the ones made by Otis Bed, are made from 2.0 density high pressurized foam slabs of 14 to 16" thick, compressed down to 8 to 9" thick. What this means is that you get a little bit of a rebound or bounce like you will find in a spring mattress. Foam futon mattresses by Otis Bed are very comfortable and will last for 10 plus years with frequent use and will not bottom out. http://www.urbanfutonbeds.com/Best-Futon-RV-Mattresses-s/158.htm If you are looking for something more simple, natural and organic. Check out the cotton based organic futons. http://www.urbanfutonbeds.com/Organic-Futons-s/191.htm

I live on the West Coast of Canada...I'll do my best to get everything in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. This is our program for the thermostat: Night time (9:45pm - 5am): 18 C = 64.5 F Awake (5am - 8:30am): 19.5 C = 66.5 F "Away" (8:30am - 3pm): 17.5 C = 63.5 F Evening (3pm - 9:45pm): 19.5 C = 66.5 F I've been working with this schedule for 3 weeks (rental) and it appears that the 17.5 C drop needed an extra 30 minutes to get it up to a "comfortable" temperature when my family gets home at 3:45pm. I know from experience living in very cold climates (-40 C = -40 F in the winter) that a programmable thermostat ALWAYS saves money! The colder the climate, the more it saves. Any time you reduce the temp by 1 C (1.8 F) you save money. The extra 30 minutes to get it up to "comfortable" is more than paid for by the 6 hours at a very low temperature. I know that without even checking my old heating bills. The "keeping it even" is for a vehicle motor at cruising speed. This is no longer applicable to todays modern heating systems - nor the modern vehicle engine.

Building codes are revised on a three-year cycle. As such, they tend to lag the state-of-the art of building science knowledge. While venting of a range may not be specifically mandated by a particular current building code, it is nevertheless a good idea because it helps to maintain indoor air quality-- which the current residential building code doesn't address, at least in Virginia. I'm hopeful that future building codes will address indoor air quality. I do not support Fred S.'s assertion that range hood exhaust fans are used to meet ventilation requirements to maintain a healthy indoor air quality, in particular because range hoods are operated sporadically and ventilation systems should be designed to operate either continuously or at established time intervals. While range hoods may not be required by codes in some states, building science certainly supports they are important to maintain indoor air quality by ventilating moisture, odors, and products of combustion (for gas fired appliances.) Range hoods for high capacity ranges and cooktops have high exhaust rates and will require make-up air to avoid depressurizing a home, particularly for "tight" home construction. I can't speak to code requirements other than in the Commonwealth of Virginia. With respect to range hoods, the 2012 Virginia Residential Code requires that: "M1503.4 Makeup air required. Exhaust hood systems capable of exhausting more than 400 cubic feet per minute (0.19 m3/s) shall be provided with makeup air at a rate approximately equal to the exhaust air rate in excess of 400 cubic feet per minute (0.19 m3/s) Such makeup air systems shall be equipped with a means of closure and shall be automatically controlled to start and operate simultaneously with the exhaust system. (Fred S. your claim that there is no allowance in the code to ignore the first 400 cfm is patently false, at least in Virginia. And no, the size of a duct supplying makeup air to meet the code requirements would not be astronomical; the diameter of the duct would be similar to a duct on the supply side of a remote blower--typically about 10" in diameter.) I am not aware of any requirement in the Virginia Residential Code nor any appliance manufacturer's specification that specifies the distance between a make-up air source and range hood. Broan's recommendations for our climate zone is that make-up air be no more than 25% of the capacity of the total air handler flow if introduced into the home's HVAC return air ductwork. Consumers who are interested in how to provide make-up air would be well served to consult a guide published by a manufacturer of make-up air damper systems such as Broan: http://www.bestrangehoods.com/PDF/Catalogs/BEST_Make-Up_Air_Damper_Application_Guide.pdf

The difference between 1 and 2 stage is : 1 stage furnace has one stage output which is always High no matter what the temp is outside or inside. 2 stage operate much more efficiently, most of the time in most climates it runs at around 65% of its full capacity. When the temperature outside changes and the first stage cannot provide enough heat for your home, the second stage kicks in to provide additional heat, so the 2 stage furnace will provide the right amount of heat as needed to efficiently satisfy your and your home needs. Both furnaces can have a split system... What that basically is, your duct work is split between floors, additional thermostat is installed and electronic damper installed to control the airflow. So you have a 2 zone heating with one furnace as I explained before. Your furnace is 11 years old, and they say that the average life expectancy of furnaces today is anywhere between 16 and 20 years. Since you be adding additional living space 750SF would be a good idea to upgrade the existing furnace and they can position it to make it a split system. As one stage or two stage goes, that is up to your budget, if you can spring for a better system that will definitely benefit you in the long run, if you cannot, single stage will do what its suppose to do. Good luck I hope it helps