Furnance Room in Attic

Posted by mfabris04 on August 5, 2009, 3:36 am

-------------------------------------

I have my furnance in my attic but the attic feeds from the second floor
all the way down the roof line to the first floor. The attic gets really
hot from the furance and make that area unbarely hot. You can tell alot of
heat is excaping because no snow will stay in that area of the roof, it
just melts and drips down. I can get to the area to insulate but I think
theres a bigger problem with my furnance. Any help would be appreciated.

##-----------------------------------------------##
Delivered via
http://www.thestuccocompany.com/
Building Construction and Maintenance Forum
Web
and RSS access to your favorite newsgroup -
alt.hvac - 28956 messages and
counting!
##-----------------------------------------------##

Posted by Steve on August 5, 2009, 9:17 am

> -------------------------------------
> I have my furnance in my attic but the attic feeds from the second floor
> all the way down the roof line to the first floor. The attic gets really
> hot from the furance and make that area unbarely hot. You can tell alot of
> heat is excaping because no snow will stay in that area of the roof, it
> just melts and drips down. I can get to the area to insulate but I think
> theres a bigger problem with my furnance. Any help would be appreciated.

Get the furnace out of the attic..... Furnaces *DO NOT* belong in attics. It
probably doesn't meet current code anyway.

Is there a light by the furnace?
Is there a 120v receptical within 6ft of the furnace?
Is the furnace on a platform with 36in service access?
Is the furnace correctly vented?
Is the furnace even correctly sized?
Is there a 24in catwalk to the furnace from the attic access?
Is the catwalk lighted?
Is the attic access wide enough and long enough to get the old furnace out
and a new one in?
If the furnace is 90+AFUE, and/or it has A/C, is there an emergency pan
under it?
Is there a safety float switch in the primary drain?
Is the primary drain correctly trapped?
Is there a safety float switch in the emergency pan?

There is no reason for furnaces(or *ANY* mechanical equipment) to be in an
attic or crawl space, other than to save a dozen or so square feet of floor
space. All ofthe places in these parts that have furnaces in attics were
"spec" houses that were thrown together and all the sub-contractors were the
lowest bidders.

Here's what you need to do....

Get the furnace out of the attic, build a closet if you need to, either run
a seperate system for the first floor, or add appropriate zoning in the
ductwork and controls. Once everything else is right with the world, then
add insulation to the attic. No its not gonna be cheap on the front end,
but when its done, you should have a *comfortable* home, with no more than 1
or 1 1/2 degrees temperature difference between any 2 rooms, and much lower
utility bills.

Posted by Lp1331 1p1331 on August 5, 2009, 8:55 pm

The majority of the newer homes here have the a/c in the attic--- real
fun to work on this time of year. They do meet all the requirements
Steve stated. Other than the temp during the summer, I really don't mind
working on them that much. What I really wish they would do is make the
closet doors on upflow units go all the way to the ceiling,so you don't
have to pull the furnace to get the coil out. The other thing that is
common here is putting the water heater in the attic. That, to me, is
the craziest thing I have ever heard of. They are in a pan, but you
better hope the thing just starts dripping when it fails, and doesn't
have a major blowout that either squirts out past the pan, or faster
than the pan can drain. Larry

Posted by Tony Hwang on August 5, 2009, 9:48 pm

Lp1331 1p1331 wrote:

> The majority of the newer homes here have the a/c in the attic--- real
> fun to work on this time of year. They do meet all the requirements
> Steve stated. Other than the temp during the summer, I really don't mind
> working on them that much. What I really wish they would do is make the
> closet doors on upflow units go all the way to the ceiling,so you don't
> have to pull the furnace to get the coil out. The other thing that is
> common here is putting the water heater in the attic. That, to me, is
> the craziest thing I have ever heard of. They are in a pan, but you
> better hope the thing just starts dripping when it fails, and doesn't
> have a major blowout that either squirts out past the pan, or faster
> than the pan can drain. Larry
>

Hi,
I wonder why they don't build houses on a basement foundation unless it
is in swamp. Where I live all houses have a concrete basement which
contains furnace, hot water tank, water softener, etc. in a utility
room. No basement to be cheap?

Posted by Stormin Mormon on August 6, 2009, 8:40 am

Here, I've only seen furnace in the attic once or twice. And
that was a third floor apartment. Never seen a WH in the
attic, either. Houses, here, have cellars. Very few houses,
here, don't have cellars.

You must not be here. You must be there.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

The majority of the newer homes here have the a/c in the
attic--- real
fun to work on this time of year. They do meet all the
requirements
Steve stated. Other than the temp during the summer, I
really don't mind
working on them that much. What I really wish they would do
is make the
closet doors on upflow units go all the way to the
ceiling,so you don't
have to pull the furnace to get the coil out. The other
thing that is
common here is putting the water heater in the attic. That,
to me, is
the craziest thing I have ever heard of. They are in a pan,
but you
better hope the thing just starts dripping when it fails,
and doesn't
have a major blowout that either squirts out past the pan,
or faster
than the pan can drain. Larry

Page 1 of 2 1 2 > last >>

Similar Threads	Posted
The use of JET A for Fuel Oil Furnance?	August 13, 2008, 12:28 pm
Old Lennox AC with New Bryant furnance	September 25, 2007, 9:14 pm
Hanging a residential furnance / condenser	October 4, 2006, 7:02 pm
Computer Room AC	February 11, 2008, 11:22 am
Portable Room A/C	April 25, 2008, 1:40 pm
Room Air Conditioner Odors	July 18, 2006, 12:06 am
best budget ptac for 200 ft-sq room	April 9, 2007, 6:42 pm
Need advice for computer room cooling	July 7, 2006, 5:03 pm
room window air conditioner 7000btu	August 2, 2006, 4:07 pm
Single Room HRV in north america?	October 20, 2006, 11:56 am