I have a 1700 square foot house on a crawl space foundation with the
bedrooms on one end of the house and a living room/dining room/kitchen
on the other. I have propane water and heat.

To make a long story short the living room/dining room/kitchen area
stays colder than the rest of the house. I have had the system looked
at and it is working fine.

I have a fire place "insert" with chimney. The house is about 6 years
old. Wanted to put in a gas log but my gas bill is crazy. I have to
get my tank filled up 3 or 4 times a year.

Debated putting in a wood burning stove as I remember having one when
I was younger and they heated a house up quickly. But someone said i
would probably have to change the chimney pipe ot the "double
insulated kind" Not sure what that means. My chiney is at the end of
my house and outside and covered with vyinle as is the entire house.
Is changing the pipe something I could do myself?

What other options are there for me? I have even debated putting in
those fake electric logs that put out heat but how much heat do they
put out? Would it warm a small living room?

Any help is greatly appreciated!