Heat Pumps and Electric Home Heating - Looking for a Radiant Heating Solution

We have an 88 year old house and are currently exploring ideas on how to improve the home's warmth during the winter months. We will be replacing our furnace, which is in the attic, in the next year or two.

One problem we have is that our furnace and duct work is in the attic and our ceilings are 10 feet tall, so the floors stay cold during the winter months. In addition, the basement is not heated and the temperature often drops in the basement to below 45 degrees during the winter. We have wood floors throughout the house, which sit directly on the floor joists; in other words, the house has no subfloor.

We insulated in between the joists in the basement and that helps a bit, but the floor is still cold.

The other day, a co-worker suggested a radiant heating system for the floors. Here are my questions:

Are there any systems out there that you recommend?
I'm looking for something that I can install under the wood floor between the joists. Can I sandwhich a radiant heating element between the existing wood floor and a "sub-floor" between each joist. The joists are 12" apart.
Electric or ???
What type of cost am I looking at to do 1300 sq ft.
Is this a DIY project (I am very skillfull - I've replaced all the house's plumbing and most of the house's wiring and am in the process of building a new deck)


Thanks so much for the help.

This is very much a DIY project if you do some research first. What works the best is retrofitting polyethylene pipe between the joists and pumping heated water through them. The installation of the pipe is the hardest part. After that, you can hook up any water heating device that you can imagine. Pick your fuel and hook it up. You need approximately 1 leneal foot of pipe per square foot of heated space. Use 1/2 inch pex, keep the loops under 300 feet each and manifold them together. All supplies on one and all returns on another. Oh and that insulation needs to go back up when you are done. Otherwise you will heat the basement also. Good luck. One pipe down the center of each joist pocket should suffice. Be careful not to go under cabinets and the toilet. Ive melted the wax ring on one of those. Two pipes between each will give you a faster response from the system.

Thanks for the info. I will definately look into this option.