Stupid Homeowner Question #74
I have a dryer gas supply line the sticks out of the wall about 6″ horizontally. Because of this I can get the dryer no closer to the wall then 14″. See attached photo.
I know the contractor should have installed the gas line coming vertically out of the floor. Now the floor finish is in and I don’t want to rip into the floor. Is it OK to cut out a section of drywall at the bottom of the wall and have the gas line hookup recessed into the wall? I’m woundering if Code would allow this?
Replies
I would put a 90 degree elbow before the valve.
Marc
Well that was stoopid wasn't it. Agree with putting a 90 before the valve. be sure you use a different plumber, or you might end up with the gas valve in front of the dryer vent.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Edited 3/1/2006 11:43 pm ET by FastEddie
I've fixed this problem on a few gas stove installations by opening a small space in the bottom of the wall and running the gas line thru the bottom plate. It's a PITA, but it gives you the room you need. Make sure it's OK with your local codes.
You're not allowed to run the flex thru wood anywhere I've worked.
There is probably an elbow inside the wall, with that too-long nipple threaded into it. Turn off the gas, remove the valve and the nipple, and then find the correct shorter nipple and another elbow to keep the line tight against the wall. It might be necessary to put the valve, the nipple, the elbow, and the second nipple all together before threading into the elbow in the wall. Did that make any sense?
I don't run flex thru the wood. If things are close, I like to have the gas line run thru the bottom plate and extend a couple of inches. Then, you can run your shutoff valve and flex line. I usually put in a piece of blocking so a leak doesn't let gas accumulate in the wall cavity.
It's sorta like those in-the-wall washing machine water valves - just lower - lol.
I think the OP's best call (and probably the legal one if he were here) is to run the hard pipe laterally thru the studs one or two bays, and bring it out next to the machine, not behind it. That way the valve is accessible without moving the machine. With many appliances the BI here requires that, but it may only apply to 'built-in' and not something like a freestanding dryer.
I think that Dryerbox makes a recess housing that accommodates the 4" exhaust and the gas line within the wall. I have used them (w/o the gas) to get the exhaust into the wall, and it works like a charm.
Yeah... in fact they say that all models incorporate a gas knockout.
http://dryerbox.com/specifications.htm
I think I'd still rather have the gas beside the machine. It's easy to get the aluma-flax to 'slinky' into the dryerbox, it would be much harder with gas flex and you've have to use a fairly short one.
Instead of opening the wall and going thru the studs, how about replacing the nipple coming out of the wall with one that would allow you to get an ell on there and make the sidways run close to the existing sheetrock? Just measure from the valve to the sheetrock, round down to the next half inch increment, and subtract from the length of the old nipple when you get it out.
With the vent stuff in there, there's plenty of room for the gas pipe to bring the valve clear of the side of the machine. It would save messing with sheetrock at all.
-- J.S.
The difficulty is in turning the pipe when it's that close to the wall. It can be done, but you have to pre-install either an elbow pointing outwards, which requires a certain number of turns, or the valve, which needs handle clearance. It is a lot easier to have the nipple poking out of the wall. Probably easiest of all is to have the pipe pop up thru the bottom of an adjacent cabinet, and avoid the wall altogether.
A different comment.
I can't tell, but it appares to me that the vent flex is plastic. If so get rid of it.
And even if it is AL it needs to be cut down. You want just enough to make the connection.
Actually, for a dryer that is not the case. My Building Inspector told me a couple of weeks ago that while all gas flex lines are normally 24" to 36", the exception is the dryer line which can be up to 6'! The reason is that it needs that length to be pulled away from the wall for access.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Paul,Reread Bill Hartmann's post. He was addressing the 4" diameter vent ducting, not the flexible gas supply.Bill
D'OH!
Yep, I missed the word "vent" next to the word "flex". Thanks for the catch!Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Thanks Guys!The dryer sits right next to the Laundry Room door, so having the gas line to the side of the dryer would not be ideal. I like the dryer box idea. I don't see why I couldn't open up a stud bay and box it out with drywall. I'll seal off the Stud bay with drywall to prevent and code non-compliance.
You can cut a square 6-8" hole in the wall, replace the elbow inside with a shut-off valve, add another elbow if the valve is not positioned right, block/clamp down the pipe and then drywall the sides of the recess opening.
After doing all of this, will still have a problem with the dryer duct. Even with 12" the duct is being pinched to much at its elbows. Look at the picture, the ducts bends reduce the airflow, easily doubling the use of energy
When I remodelled my basement last year, I used a gas outlet box to recess the gas connection. It was similar to: http://kitchen-bath.gillroys.com/Garbage_disposers_water_heaters_and_softeners/Water_heaters/Gas_Outlet_Box-s488682.html
For the dryer vent, I had rigid 4" dryer ducting in the wall with a 90deg elbow at the bottom. The duct was sticking pass the plaster/drywall by about 3-4 inches. When pushing the dryer back, I had to line it up carefully and then just push the dryer into the elbow. This enabled me to have the dryer a couple of inches from the wall.
It worked great.
Mike,
You can also get a vent kit that has 2 elbows and much more tubing which goes up over all of the "stuff" and back down. With the 2 elbows, it was much easier to hook up also. I have a gas pipe sticking out and also have 220 which I use, and fought that pipe trying to hook up vent and not crush to tubing. Going with the kit I bought made it a quick fix.
Pete