How much clearance does a furnace need?
30 inches
A general standard is to have at least 30 inches of space between the walls and a furnace’s sides. When you hire a professional HVAC contractor near you, a pro will design the space according to your local area’s codes and ensure that the room maximizes your furnace’s performance and efficiency.
How close to a wall can a furnace be?
30 inches
As a general recommendation, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service experts to comfortably replace it. You also need to check the space has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging furnace with a metal flue.
Can you drywall around furnace?
For the room itself, you can use fire rated drywall. This is usually 5/8″ thick, and contains fiberglass within the wall to keep its structure during a fire. Use this on all walls and ceiling.
What kind of drywall do you use in a furnace room?
Fire Resistant: Fire resistant drywall is made with glass fibers in an extra-thick design. This makes them ideal for use in utility rooms, garages and areas near a furnace or wood stove.
How much room does a furnace breathe?
Let’s start with the assumption that you have a gas furnace, a gas water heater, an electrical panel and a water softener that you wish to enclose. Code will require that you provide space in front of these appliances for folks trying to work on them. Allow three feet in front of the furnace and electrical panel.
Can I enclose my furnace?
Many homeowners intend to use basements or other areas where a furnace may commonly be installed as an additional space. This can be for simple storage, using the space as an entertainment or receiving area or other reasons. The answer is yes, of course you can enclose your furnace.
Can I enclose my furnace and water heater?
Enclosing won’t be a problem, just take into account space to access the units for service and maintenance. A water heater doesn’t need much more than its own footprint, since its connections are on the front and top, though allowing at least 6″ around it will certainly ease any future work necessary.
Can a furnace be installed in a bedroom closet?
It’s not recommended to have a furnace in your bedroom closet due to the toxic fumes that a furnace emits. Keep the furnace as far away from the air you breathe as possible. Furnaces are built to not only heat bedrooms but entire houses.
How small can a furnace room be?
According to the Uniform Building Code, which provides regulatory guidelines for building design and construction, to be safe, even a partially enclosed room with a direct-vent furnace requires a minimum of 50 cubic feet of volume for every 1,000 BTUs of fuel input.
Can you build walls around your furnace?
Moving the furnace can be expensive and impractical — if not impossible — so your best choice is to conceal it from view. This can be done by placing walls around the appliance and hanging a furnace room door to create a dedicated furnace room.
Can you put a gas furnace in a closet?
The heat can safely escape if there is space around the furnace. Do not install your furnace in a storage closet. Any type of flammable material, including insulation, needs to be removed before installing the furnace.
Do you need a louvered door furnace room?
A furnace room needs a louvered vented door. The louvered door allows venting to get combustion air into the furnace room. When the furnace pushes air into the home, it needs an equal amount of air to go back into the furnace room to work efficiently.
Does the door to the furnace room have to be vented?
So how do we prevent this problem? That’s easy: we provide lots of combustion air to the gas appliances. If the furnace is in a small room, then we need ventilation openings in the walls or door of that room to let in plenty of air to make up for the air that the furnace is using.
What kind of door should be on a furnace room?
The kind of door that should be in a furnace room depends on the airflow quality in the room. If you don’t have at least two vents bringing fresh air into the boiler, then you should install a louvered door. Otherwise, a door made of gypsum is generally acceptable.
How big does a furnace room door need to be?
32” x 78”
Furnace/Utility Room
Any door leading to a utility room (furnace, hot water tank or laundry room) must be a minimum 32” x 78” door.
What is code on a door in a furnace room?
Doors to furnace rooms shall be 24″ minimum and be of sufficient size to remove the largest appliance. COMBUSTION AIR: Furnace rooms with fuel-burning appliances must be provided with two permanent openings to adjacent spaces: one within 12″ of the top and one within 12″ from the bottom of the adjoining wall.
What should you not put in a furnace room?
Do not store any cardboard boxes, cleaning materials, or chemicals anywhere in the room. Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Purchase at least one fire extinguisher and make it easy to locate. Do not block the entrance to the room or the areas surrounding the furnace.
