My furnace is 15" away from the wall instead of 24".?

Question

It's only 9 inches difference and the violation is "accessibilty" for a technician to service the furnace. Had it serviced and they didn't say anything. But the water heater guy says it's a violation. I either move the furnace 9" or rip the bathroom out. I don't have the $ for that! If not done, heat is cut off in 45 days (Nov). Can they do that?

Thanks very much for your advice. I neglected to say that the reason the furnace is only 15" from the wall instead of 24" is that a washroom was installed and the furnace enclosed. The furnace was installed in an unfinished basement 21 years ago. The City of Brampton inspected the basement apt a year ago and are saying that this code doesn't apply for legalizing a basement apt. The TSSA is saying that a technician needs a minimum 24" to work on a furnace. Since I had the house inspected by a certified house inspector before purchase, can I hold the inspector liable for this? Should he not have noted this violation and advised me of it? All answers appreciated. Thanks!

The water heater guy was in to assess if a new water heater was required. It was 21 yrs old, dented and rusty. He is the person who tagged my furnace.

Answer 1

Here is what you need to do. First contact the contractor who installed the unit provided you know who that is, ultimately they are responsible for improper installation.

If the unit was installed before you moved into the home and you don’t know who installed it, you need to contact the local mechanical authority who performs inspections to see if the unit was inspected upon installation. Again, this will lead you to the installer.

If this was a do it yourself job by someone who did not pull a mechanical permit for the installation you will have little recourse. If this is the case and you say money is tight you should look for local community action agencies that receive grant money to help in situations such as yours.

Answer 2

Hi!
You should get advice from the company that is servicing your furnace. They deal with furnaces in your area, they should know about codes and violation of them... If they cannot help, phone your city, after all they're the ones that reign over the ''up to and not up to code'' matters. They will have final say.

The water heater guy has no business in meddling in that! Sometimes these guys have an urge to ''mark their territory'' and will say anything to sound ''experienced''. Been there, done that, the case was that of a plumber but same idea and a lot of trouble for absolutely nothing.

No one can cut the heating in your house, don't worry.

And if someone has a say in the number of inches clearance required or not, it would be your city or your insurance company (should problems arise from the furnace being too close to wall), or yourself and in no way the water heater guy.

If it really is a service acccessibility, no big deal, but if it's for ''fire hazard reasons'' you should get additionnal fireproofing as someone suggested. That is easy to do, not too costly, but will reduce the space by a few more inches so if not needed, don't bother.

Good luck, we had a lot of problems with our plumber wanting to divert and redo ''not up to code'' plumbing in our house that in the end was perfeclty up to code to begin with, according to the city inspector! Lots of money would have been saved if we went to the right people in the first place.

Good luck, and don't worry, you will still be nice and warm come November!

Answer 3

The reason for the 24" clearance in the front of the furnace is actually NOT so that the tech has room to work on the furnace. It is because there are parts in your furnace (such as the blower assembly) that cannot be removed from the furnace for servicing because about 20" of room is required to be able to slide the assembly out of the furnace. Even so, if you stop and think about it, 9" of leeway is somewhat ridiculous. How would you like to have only 9" of room in front of your desk at work? Or have to watch your TV within the space of 9"? Or have 9" of water in which to ski? SOMEBODY tried to put 10 lbs. in a 5 lb. bag and now you are paying the price. Yes, they can make you comply with the code and/or the manufacturer's installation instructions. Don"t know your situation but the only alternative to moving the furnace is to move what's in front of it? Good luck.

Answer 4

All inspectors go by the installation data supplied by the manufacturer for each appliance. If teh data plate states it needs to be 24" from the wall then it has been installed against code & needs to be moved. And yes the appliance can be unsafe tagged any time of year for a violation. If its new it apparently wasn't inspected or else it would not have passed.

Answer 5

Mine is only 10" from the wall, and the home inspection guy said it was fine when we bought the house. And, no, they can't turn your heat off in November, if you live in a snow area. Why was the water heater guy in your house?it sounds kind of fishy to me, did the guy also recommend someone to fix the problem? Call the city inspectors, and ask them to come out and look and give a recomendation.

Answer 6

on condition that it rather is Tony Stewart utilising. he's the suitable at dropping administration and and not wiping out. it is not going to assist in case you hit the wall difficult. yet whilst the driving force is interior some inches he may well be waiting to deflect off the wall without spinning sideways. I doubt if any driving force will use that for the time of their race approach. however the froth center interior the doorways physique panels do help the motor vehicle keep from caving in.

Answer 7

This sounds like a local code issue. I would contact the local authority that intends to turn off your heat and see if there is some appeal process you can go through. If this was an "Existing condition" when you purchased the house, it should be what they refer to as "Grandfathered".

Answer 8

depends on what your state code says
some of these laws are rather new and meant for new construction. older houses exempt... but not in all cases...
it's a simple thing to call the state board and ask if you have to comply.
a side note is by law with winter coming up they cant turn your heat off! and there are a lot of programs to help low to middle income families do needed repairs and pay for expenses

Answer 9

This is a clearance issue. Which is regulated by the UMC "Uniform Mechanical Code" and your local City code.
Since this thing was put in years ago, and the bathroom was added after the fact, it does not look like you have much recourse.

Answer 10

Depends on the city or county you live in for building codes. I would call your local city planning office or if in the county call the county planner. Either one of them will be able to answer the question and or give you advice on your situation with the gas company.