# Combustion air



## DarrenM (Jun 24, 2011)

I did a home inspection last week that had a 'bedroom' in the basement. A closet inside the 'bedroom' had an 80% furnace and a natural draft water heater. The closet had louvered doors into the 'bedroom'.

The seller had a heating contractor come out and advise that louvered doors be installed on the 'bedroom' door so combustion air can come from the rest of the basement.

I told him this is unacceptable; but what's your opinion?

Darren


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## Darren Emery (Jun 24, 2011)

Interesting topic - one that we deal with on a regular basis.  As a code inspector, I have a currently adopted property maintenance code for guidance.  As a home inspector - what standard is your guide?  What, specifcally, does that standard say about using the bedroom as a combustion air source?

BTW - the condition you describe would not be allowed in our jurisdiction.

Coincidentally,

Darren


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## Pcinspector1 (Jun 24, 2011)

Is there a way to get combustion air to the furnace closet (compartment) with a high low vent through the wall or from the outside?

pc1


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## mtlogcabin (Jun 24, 2011)

DarrenM

Thanks for your first post and welcome to the board I hope more home inspectors come on board

You are correct in that this installation as you described does not meet todays code. The code languaqe posted below has been basically the same for decades even in the old Legacy codes CABO, SBCCI Boca and UBC. If the furnance has a date of manufacture on it it will give you a time frame for which code edition you should be looking at.

BTW Good catch, Great call and keep asking the questions.

2006 IRC

M1701.4 Prohibited sources.

Combustion air ducts and openings shall not connect appliance enclosures with space in which the operation of a fan may adversely affect the flow of combustion air. Combustion air shall not be obtained from an area in which flammable vapors present a hazard. Fuel-fired appliances shall not obtain combustion air from any of the following rooms or spaces:

1. Sleeping rooms.

2. Bathrooms.

3. Toilet rooms.

Exception: The following appliances shall be permitted to obtain combustion air from sleeping rooms, bathrooms and toilet rooms:

1. Solid fuel-fired appliances provided that the room is not a confined space and the building is not of unusually tight construction.

2. Appliances installed in an enclosure in which all combustion air is taken from the outdoors and the enclosure is equipped with a solid weatherstripped door and self-closing device.


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## cboboggs (Jun 24, 2011)

First I would like to say welcome to the forum DarrenM. This is indeed a violation.

I will have to echo Darren Emery's comments. As a code enforcement person (almost said professional) I have the mechanical, building, plumbing, and property maintenance codes to address all violations. My question to you is are you working for a municipality doing contract inspections or are you a "home inspector"? If you are a home inspector, what standards are you using?


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## north star (Jun 24, 2011)

*$ $ $ $*

DarrenM,

Welcome to The Building Codes Forum!

As others have already stated, your inspected basement bedroom

appliance is not compliant......As Darren Emery & CBOBoggs has asked,

"What standards [ if any ] are in place in your location?"....If you

need to cite a reference out of the 2006 codes, then use the 2006

International Property Maintenance Code.

*SECTION 603 **MECHANICAL EQUIPMENT*

*603.1 Mechanical appliances.*

All mechanical appliances, fireplaces, solid fuel-burning appliances,

cooking appliances and water heating appliances shall be properly

installed and maintained in a safe working condition, and shall be

capable of performing the intended function,

and

*603.5 Combustion air.*

A supply of air for complete combustion of the fuel and for

ventilation of the space containing the fuel-burning equipment

shall be provided for the fuel-burning equipment.

*& & & &*


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## mtlogcabin (Jun 24, 2011)

As a Home-Inspector he is not required to site any code section for his report although it would bring more credibility and professionalism to his service if he did. He could use the manufactures installation instructions or any number of publications to question the safety of this installtion


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## Darren Emery (Jun 24, 2011)

I would agree - not required to cite sections.  How about the other side - can a home inspector utilize current codes as an inspection standard?


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## ICE (Jun 24, 2011)

Hey DarrenM,

Nice to meet you.  The questions asked around here sometimes depend on knowing what codes would apply to a given situation.  By that I mean year and model.  For example, in your case it could be the Residential Code or the Uniform Mechanical Code and what year.  Truth is, I wouldn't expect you to know.  By the same token, I am not familiar with the HI industry or it's practices.  I spend a little time at your HI Forum so over time I will learn a thing or two about HI.

Your question doesn't require that you provide a code or for that matter, what standard you apply as a HI.  Your situation probably violates everybody's code.  Where I am located, the UMC is enforced and I don't know much about the  mechanical portion of the Residential Code.  The answer to your question is that, per the code I deal with, this is a violation for both the source of combustion air [as explained by mtlogcabin] and the door to the closet.  Depending on the applied code when it was installed, it may be a violation to access the furnace/water heater from a bedroom at all or it could be a later edition that allows a specific door. The door I refer to would have a closer and be gasket-ed and shall be a listed assembly. [ie. expensive and probably not attractive]

By the way, the same applies to a ceiling access in a bedroom to a furnace installed in an attic.

I applaud your effort in catching the violation and taking the initiative to research it further.


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## mtlogcabin (Jun 24, 2011)

> can a home inspector utilize current codes as an inspection standard?


Sure reviewed a home Inspector report for a friend when he sold his townhouse. The inspector noted the baulisters openings exceeded 4". Noted as a life safety issue not a code violation. Had a footnote which provided the 9", 6" and 4" requirements and the CABO code editions when they went into effect. Did the same for egress windows.

 A home inspection is not a code inspection and in my area the majority are pretty fair and knowledgable of the requirements.


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## DarrenM (Jun 25, 2011)

Gentlemen;

Thank you for all the replies.

The basic question was what did you think of the heating contractors answer to the problem; "add a louvered door to the bedroom".

I can only guess his thought process is now you are pulling air from the basement area along with the bedroom.

My first thought was to replace the mech room louvered doors with solid, gasket doors with self closers and run high/low ducts from the basement area. That was shot down when I read the code about obtaining outside air.

This is a townhouse so penetrating the exterior walls may be problematic due to the HOA approval.

By the way; I am a licensed HI as well as a licensed building inspector in NJ. I have no problem at all inserting code sections in my HI reports. My opinion is simple; the code is there to protect the public. If a 20 year old house was built according to the code 20 years ago but the code has changed, I tell my clients what today's code is so they have the option of what I call 'updating' their new home.

For instance, the most common code problem I find is the bedroom windows are too small for EE&R. hhere's what i say about that:

[0002]The bedroom windows are NOT large enough for today's fire emergency escape & rescue standards (At least 1 window per bedroom must have a minimum opening that is 24" high and 20" wide with a net opening of at least 5.7 square feet, or 5.0 Square feet if on 1st floor level). This means if a window opening is 24 inches high, it must be 34 1/2 inches wide to meet the 5.7 sq ft. While they probably met standards when the house was constructed, you should consider upgrading to meet today's safety requirements. Now, to make things more confusing, the NJ Re-hab code allows you to replace these windows with the same exact size windows; however, you cannot make them any smaller, and if you make them larger then the existing size, they then must meet the above mentioned requirements.


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## ICE (Jun 25, 2011)

DarrenM,

In your example of the emergency egress window you state the a first floor floor window is only required to provide 5 sq. ft. net opening.  The code says grade floor opening as opposed to first floor opening.  The code provides a definition of a grade floor opening that limits the sill height of the opening to 44" above the finished ground level adjacent to the opening.  That distinction eliminates many first floor windows.


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## Mac (Jun 27, 2011)

Hello Darren, Welcome!

As others have stated, the terms "properly installed" and "maintained safe" cover a lot of potential wrongs relative to the furnace you observed. My advice is to try and find the manufacturers' instructions which will guide you to specific aspects that maybe were done incorrectly or ignored. At least then you have a sound basis for saying something is definitely wrong - or right.

The Property Maintenance Code (the little code with big power) applies in existing homes & structures including this one. The current PM code in NY State also includes a requirement for a carbon monoxide alarm, for the obvious reasons......

Not sure what PM Code is in effect in NJ, or how to get one, but a couple of phone calls could clear that up.

Good luck!

Mac


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