The only question I saw was about ceiling fan and you didn't say where you live. If you live where winters are mild enough heat will migrate to second floor for sleeping comfort. You can't pull enough cool air with a ceiling fan to make a difference. I think you should budget for a secound floor hvac system.

We are in a 1 1/2 story bungalow as well and we refinished the attic space last year. Here's what we did and the space is now comfortable on a year round basis. Before this project, we were like you - freezing in winter and blazing hot in summer. Our finished attic is now one large room, used at one end as a guest room with futon, tv, chair etc. The other end is a work area with large table and desk chair.

1. The framing of our roof is 2x4s and the overall peak ceiling height is 84". We wanted to keep maximum ceiling height without raising the roof so knew we could not use bat insulation that would get a high enough R value. It would be too thick and consequently lower the ceiling. So we went with closed cell insulation on the entire roof. We got up to about R-24. The insulation was put in around electrical piping but filling all gaps.

2. We drywalled and made knee walls along both sides. On one side of the house, we put in 2 Runtal radiators. They are thin and flush to the knee wall, operate by a thermostat, and heat very adequately. The other side is a long run of cabinets which an Amish fellow made for us. They had to be custom because of the need to angle the tops to fit along the roofline.

3. A previous owner ran duct work to our attic for a/c. However, before the closed cell insulation, it never adequately cooled. With the closed cell, the a/c definitely takes the most of the edge off the heat. However, we also added a portable, plug in a/c unit made by Haier which we turn on when in the attic.

4. We have 2 skylights in our roof to increase natural light and have put 3M heat resistant film on them - works very well. We considered a ceiling fan, but knew we would lose too much head room if we put it in...so didn't bother. We also installed very skinny flush mount ceiling light fixtures.

I hope these are some ideas to consider. We have to watch our heads as is - I am very glad that we don't have to also watch out for fan blades decapitating us!

We live in western NC, in the mountains. Right now, our heating source is steam heat through radiators and we don't particularly want to change that (especially for how much it will cost!). We have several window a/c units and we can use those if necessary. We've been in the house almost a year, and to be fair 2 or the 3 rooms upstairs have been kept closed off because of pets (and all the stuff that's still in those rooms!) so we may have a bit better circulation when everything is more open. I just remember when we had our home inspection in Feb or March, the tiny little closets upstairs were still so hot even after all winter. When you're about halfway up the stairs, you hit a wall of either heat or cold depending on the time of year and that's why I was wondering about a ceiling fan. To help raise the heat in the winter, however, since this will be a total gut job (we only have knob and tube wiring upstairs and about 3 outlets total!) I'm hoping we can find some solutions. Does anyone have a recommendation for an attic fan?

Thanks for the suggestions as far as insulation and possibly a radiator go. We have 2 steam radiators upstairs (though they take quite a while to warm up!).