ideas for hiding furnace/water heater?

[JohnLZ7W]

I'm trying to setup my garage primarily for detailing and some minor maintenance work and I'd like to keep the place looking as clean as possible. Unfortunately I've got the furnace and hot water tank stuffed in the one corner and they're a bit of an eyesore. I was thinking about getting those wooden slat blinds to hang in front of them so they'd still get ventilation but I wouldn't have to look at them. Anyone have some other suggestions on how to hide them? Thanks!

[OI812]

Rip'em out and move them some where else :lol_hitti

[JohnLZ7W]

That's a thought. There is a bathroom on the other side of that wall that I really don't need.

[OI812]

I was just kidding, put up the screen. You want access to service the equipment.

[JohnLZ7W]

I kind of figured that but it is an interesting idea. If I replace the tank with one of those inline water heaters I believe they live outside. I could then shift the furnace over and reclaim some space. I'm thinking that a screen or partition of some sort will be just a bit cheaper tho :)

[sca037]

We decided to enclose off the space around our furnace & water heater (in the RR corner of the basement), mostly to dampen the cacophony of sound coming from the furnace. We framed off a "furnace room", lined it with Quiet Zone insulation, installed drywall & a closet door for access. It is much quieter now, and looks a whole lot better.....for not much money.

Just a thought,
Brian

[428]

I'd consider a screen. Build a tri or quad fold screen and cover the panels with car stuff or maybe cut-outs of a pit crew in action, or maybe your favorite drivers in each panel?
All you need to build one is some 1 x 2's and hinges.

[Wile1Coyote]

How about Garden Trellis, Painted white and with some sort of thin material on the back to completly hide the HVAC. Frame it. Add some hinges etc and you should be pretty close. Not sure what your celing height is there though.

[OI812]

Be careful on the "on demand water heater" that you are thinking about. Know what you are getting into before you do that.

[danski0224]

Tankless water heaters can go outside, but if it freezes where you live, then there is a problem. The selection of the proper unit is not a simple matter, so learn about them first.

However you decide to enclose the mechanical equipment, plan ahead for service. That stuff will have to come out at some point....

[casaleenie]

box them out and paint them to look like a massive pair of Red Husky tool boxes....
Put in a door for access and leave the top open for ventilation....
or something like that...

[OH-MAN]

If you choose to box them in make sure you leave enough opening for the makeup air required for the proper combustion. If the equipment is not able to get the correct amount of air it could be a death trap.
Be carefull!!

[capo72]

If you frame a wall around them, you could cover the studs with peg board and make use of the wasted space. Good luck with whatever you do!

Jeremy

[dodgecharger-fan]

cover the studs with peg board

THAT is an excellent idea!

You get to use the wall space and the equipment still gets air...

[JohnLZ7W]

Lots of good ideas in here. I'm gonna do a Home Depot/Lowes run this weekend and see what I can come up with. Thanks again!

[JohnHenrys48]

I'm gonna do a Home Depot/Lowes run this weekend
John,

Check out the differences in the peg board between Home Depot and Lowes. I purchased some white peg board from Lowes that has a painted finish, and just recently at Home Depot I noticed theirs had what looked like a thin, plastic laminate surface. This might not be the case in all areas, but something to consider. I like the quality of the peg board I purchased and it works fine, but I think a laminate surface would wear better in the long run.

This is a great site. I wish I had found it before I started my garage makeover, lots of great ideas.

Jim

[JohnLZ7W]

Thanks Jim, I will take a look. I don't want to permanently box them in because I'm thinking it'd be better if they had some air circulation and for servicing. I'm thinking I could probably do a temporary partition with the peg board tho.
This is a fantastic site and now that its here I can't believe someone didn't do it sooner :)

[Double Venom]

On demand water heaters, in my opinion are fantastic! Used one for over 20 years, raised a full family with one and NEVER ran out of hot water! I can't believe this country is still useing antique technology on heating and 'storing' hot water. The only mistake I made
(the first one) I bought to small a uinit. I think it was 85,000 BTU. After four years, when we sold, the first thing I did was pull out the 80 gal. water heater from the new house and installed a 129,000 OD wall heater, ( 4,750 sq. ft. home). Still going strong when we sold the place 10 years later.

Talk about cheap to operate! You do NOT pay to heat and store your hot water, it is basically instant on. The newer ones don't even use a pilot light. And talk about small-- about 24' high x 7"s thick, x 18"s wide, hang it on the wall and that's it! Major space saver.

The only thing I would caution about is do not buy to small. Something negative about them I don't know about?
DV

[OH-MAN]

On demand water heaters, in my opinion are fantastic! Used one for over 20 years, raised a full family with one and NEVER ran out of hot water! I can't believe this country is still useing antique technology on heating and 'storing' hot water. The only mistake I made
(the first one) I bought to small a uinit. I think it was 85,000 BTU. After four years, when we sold, the first thing I did was pull out the 80 gal. water heater from the new house and installed a 129,000 OD wall heater, ( 4,750 sq. ft. home). Still going strong when we sold the place 10 years later.

Talk about cheap to operate! You do NOT pay to heat and store your hot water, it is basically instant on. The newer ones don't even use a pilot light. And talk about small-- about 24' high x 7"s thick, x 18"s wide, hang it on the wall and that's it! Major space saver.

The only thing I would caution about is do not buy to small. Something negative about them I don't know about?
DV



Tell me more about this product. Do you use multiple units? Who is the mfg?
Thanks for making me think, It hurts but it's worth it.

[Kevin54]

Just wall it off with some 2 x's and drywall. Use long screws to fasten the drywall to the ceiling and lag it down to the floor using moly anchors and lag bolts. Don't worry about finishing off the inside. Add a louvered door to allow for fresh air intake. Use a factory edge of drywall against the wall, and trim the drywall so it fits tight against the ceiling. Then use a piece of 1/4 round trim at the inside corners so you do not need to compound and tape the inside corners. Paint the trim to match the wall. You can have it made in a days time and it will hide the clutter. By using 3" screws to fasten the 2x's to the ceiling and walls...if you ever want to remove it you can with only a few holes in the ceiling. That is how I did mine in my garage and also at the garage on the house. I am glad I did it that way because when I bought my extended cab truck I had to remove a wall that I had previously put in a few years before that was hiding the sink and refrigerator.

Kevin

[dkn1997]

I cannot stress to you enough how much you need to let that equipment breathe!!! aside from the safety issue, which should be first and foremost in your mind, there is the durability issue.

If you go starving those units for air, they will not last long. You could end up with a situation where you are not getting complete combustion, resulting the aforementioned "death trap" and damaged equipment.

I repair gas swimming pool heaters for a living and I can't tell you how many people take this issure too lightly. I also can't count any more the amount of heat exchangers I have had to de-soot or replace.

Just this past week, I spent several hours at a commmercial indoor pool repairing the gas fired heater because they have been starving it for air for years now. 1" of soot piled up in the bottom, and a severely crudded up heat exchanger, not to mention the sheetmetal box that houses the hot surface ignitor: half of it missing, just rotted away. (3 year old heater, inside)

Sorry for the rant, but very few people can wrap thier minds around this. I guess if you sewed their mouth and one nostril shut, they might get it........