I am planning on building a separate laundry room in the basement. I am going to install studs ‘n’ drywall to wall this area off from the rest of the basement. What’s a good guideline for minimum clearance that this wall should have with respect to an existing steam boiler? The issue is actually the 6″ flue duct from the boiler to the chimney. Does anyone know what code requires for clearance to a flue?
Another possible complication is that I am also considering replacing the original 1922 gas-converted coal-burning asbestos-covered monster with a modern boiler. So I want to leave enough clearance for demolition of the existing boiler, but since the new boiler will be much smaller, I don’t want to eat up too much of my laundry room by giving lots of clearance to a flue that won’t be there too much longer.
Thanks!
Edited 3/31/2003 7:50:42 AM ET by alecs
Replies
It sounds like you're planning to put the cart before the horse. Why not take care of the boiler replacement first? It sounds like the old unit should've been replaced years ago (if for no other reason than to increase efficiency.) You can then plan your laundry room based on existing (new boiler) conditions, rather than plan a room based on uncertain contingencies.
BTW, I believe the minimum space between flue and combustibles (your new wall) is 6 inches.
Alecs, the code is also specific regarding clearances between the boiler and any wall/door that you may construct around the unit. The total width of the space the unit occupies must be at least 12" wider than the width of the unit; there must be at least 6 " between the combustion chamber and any closed door (assuming the unit is in a room,) the door to the boiler room must be a minimum of 24" wide, and there should be at least 3" minimum clearance to side wall, top and bottom.
(These numbers are from the CodeCheck booklet.)
Thanks for the info. The 6" number is what I was looking for. I am not planning to totally enclose the boiler in a room right now, although that might happen once I replace it. So this wall is only on the one side of the boiler, there will be wide open access on the other side.
Regarding cart before horse, you have a point, but scheduling and the like make it easier for me to build the wall now, I can't do the other stuff just yet.
Edited 3/31/2003 2:30:41 PM ET by alecs