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If you are finishing your basement and building walls, incorporate a small area to enclose the furnace, AC, and or water heater. These louvered doors provide great ventilation. Another option is to create a set of built-in shelves in the door that don’t even look like a closet.
How do I hide my furnace in an unfinished basement?
Any sort of shelving system or closet makes for appropriate ways to hide your basement furnace. Consider buying a set of bookshelves or an armoire to place between your furnace and the rest of the room.
Is it safe to enclose a furnace?
The answer is yes, of course you can enclose your furnace. Similar to the other reason, this has to be handled carefully, and within strict specifications to be safe and effective.
How can I hide a furnace and water heater?
Perhaps the simplest way to hide your furnace and water heater is to add a sliding curtain as a divider. You will need to measure the wall height to determine proper curtain length, as well as the needed width. Be sure to give a few inches of clearance so the curtain doesn’t touch your heater.
How do you cover exposed ductwork?
If the ducts are easily reachable, consider covering them in flexible, magnetic sheeting. The magnetic sheets are solid, glossy colors that wrap around and conceal the ducts. They are easily removed if you want to change the color or look of the room.
How do you make exposed ductwork look good?
If you don’t want to go through the hassle of covering up your exposed pipes and ducts, but you also don’t want them to draw too much attention, simply paint them the same color as the ceiling or walls that surround them. Painted in a unifying hue, they will blend in and become part of a cohesive background palette.
How much clearance is needed around a furnace?
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.
Does a furnace closet need ventilation?
Ventilating a closet is generally easy to do. Furnaces have their own supply and exhaust vents that need to be installed along with the unit. For safety, you need the required venting, but as long as you extend pipes to the roof or outside walls, you do not need to worry about the closet.
How close can drywall be to a furnace?
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 do I enclose my basement furnace?
If you are finishing your basement and building walls, incorporate a small area to enclose the furnace, AC, and or water heater. These louvered doors provide great ventilation. Another option is to create a set of built-in shelves in the door that don’t even look like a closet.
Can you wall in a 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.
Does furnace room need vented door?
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. If it’s not big enough then it’s called a confined space and we have to provide ventilation openings for more combustion air.
Is it OK to enclose a water heater?
The short answer to whether a water heater can be enclosed is “Yes,” but there are some important things to consider when placing a hot water heater in an enclosed area, whether the unit is gas or electric. Any hot water heater must be installed in such a way as to prevent spills and allow easy access to controls.
How can I hide my hot water system?
Ideas for Hiding a Hot Water Heater Add a Closet. If you have the space, you can hire a contractor to install drywall and a door. Create a Hot Water Cover or Cabinet. Creating a cabinet is a great option if you want something less permanent than a closet. Hang Curtains. Use a Room Divider or Screen.
Can you paint ductwork in basement?
Furnace duct work, whether it is in a basement or elsewhere in a house, can be unsightly. Furnace ducts can be painted, but using the correct kind of paint is necessary for the best results.
Can you put contact paper on ductwork?
Contact Paper Measure and mark the paper on its backing with a permanent marker. Use a utility knife to cut it. Peel back one corner of the paper backing and stick it carefully to the corner of the ductwork. Slowly peel off more of the paper backing as you smooth the contact paper onto the ductwork.
Does exposed ductwork need to be insulated?
A: Depending on the climate and the ducts’ location, it may not be necessary to insulate them. The ducts are exposed to the same cold, heat and humidity that exist on the outside. Insulating them is essential in colder climates, optional in milder ones and necessary in humid climates to prevent condensation.
How do you paint exposed ductwork?
Prime the metal with an acrylic latex metal primer. Brush the primer with a synthetic bristle paintbrush or, if you want to avoid brush marks, spray it using aerosol cans or air spray equipment. If the ducts will get hot, use a primer with a high heat resistance.
Is exposed ductwork cheaper?
Installation. A good exposed duct installation should cost a little more than one that will never be seen above a ceiling. It doesn’t have to cost a lot more, but all of those special design features, shipping strategies and backup plans cost money.
