CP thoughts on heating systems for home

[Sample00]

wifey and I are looking at purchasing a home in the country.
we plan on doing some major renovations as some areas of the house are without heat(apparently really well insulated).
anyhow, its one of those reno projects and one of the areas that will require addressing is the heating issues.
the house is a two story with no heating on the second floor. second floor will be turned into two kids bedrooms.
the basement although developed is currently being heating by a gas fireplace. and as nice as that is, its not my method of choice as there is a full suite with two bedrooms, living area, kitchen and bathroom in the basement.
main floor is being heated by the furnace in the basement. seems to work well.
two ideas I am kicking around:
one) to rip the walls apart and put in the duct work for a forced air system throughout the whole house.
wife and kids have allergies so this isnt exactly my first choice as well as that would be major work.
two) I am considering ripping the forced air furnace out of the home and running a boiler with hot water heating. it would be easier to configure throughout the home as well as in areas that dont have heating at the moment.
anyone have any thoughts on this or any other suggestions for heating?

[BlackArcher101]

How about electric baseboard heating? Would just have to add it to rooms that have no heat currently, and wouldn't involve a major reconstruction.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

How about electric baseboard heating? Would just have to add it to rooms that have no heat currently, and wouldn't involve a major reconstruction.

ahh interesting, hadnt thought of that. do you have further thoughts on that or could you explain, installation on something like that?
answered in your edit. thanks

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by Sample00

ahh interesting, hadnt thought of that. do you have further thoughts on that or could you explain, installation on something like that?
answered in your edit. thanks

Watching This Ol' House, it seemed to be a popular heating method in older homes that had rooms without heat. I'm not sure how popular it is around here, but I usually see them in motels/hotels. It's similar to a hot water baseboard heater, but cleaner and easier. I would think the only limiting factor is electrical supply and if an existing circuit could handle it or not.

[Sample00]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

Watching This Ol' House, it seemed to be a popular heating method in older homes that had rooms without heat. I'm not sure how popular it is around here, but I usually see them in motels/hotels. It's similar to a hot water baseboard heater, but cleaner and easier. I would think the only limiting factor is electrical supply and if an existing circuit could handle it or not.

I also wonder about the electrical cost of running such a device.