Space under water heater/hvac closet
 

Has anyone opened up the space under the platform that holds your water tank and air conditioner? We have a begonia style home and it looks like there could be a decent amount of storage area under there. Hate to cut the wallboard and find out that there’s pipes and studs that would preclude putting plastic tubs under there. The person I spoke to at the warranty office said there wasn’t much under there but didn’t think there was room for plastic storage containers. Please advise if you’ve actually opened this area up.

Interesting idea. Wonder why they even put these things on a platform now that I am thinking about it.

:ho: Code

For about 20 dollars on Amazon, you can buy a flexible, usb endoscope. Drill a small hole in the platform, and you can inspect the entire area under the platform. I suspect that you will find it to be pretty much empty space, except for some trash and maybe beer cans.

It is the return air area for your a/c. Pull out your filter and you can look down in the area. Ours is fully insulated with insulation. Not sure about yours but just take out the filter and see if the bottom is open. Do not think in this case it would be wise to open up and use for storage.

Due to a clog in the line we recently had occasion to open it up and found a nice pool of water had collected down there.

That is correct for the HVAC system. But, you may have empty space under the water heater. In my house, there is a drain line under the water heater to drain the leakage pan under the water heater, so no usable space.

Pipes from my HVAC go into it. There is also a pan under the water heater with a drain pipe that goes into that space. It also seems like a good idea to keep people from accidentally bumping into their utilities with a vehicle. Another thought is it probably keeps people from storing stuff too close to the furnace and water heater so we don't have to pay overtime to firefighters.

Interesting idea. But, as they would say in Georgia,

"That dog won't hunt".

When it's time replace your water tank with a on demand system and you will have lots of room in that closet.

While I haven't used mine for this purpose a side benefit of that device is you can check yourself for polyps for free. :D

Under ours is the tubing that goes down and into and under the slab to the condenser and also the drain. No water heater stuff under there, that all electric and piped on top, just A/C. Ours is in the garage.

EDIT: Good point. That is also the A/C return so opening it wouldn't be a good idea.

Our furnace is in the laundry room. We bought the home new, I didnt like it being exposed. I had the furnace moved further back onto its platform where it was sitting then installed louver doors over them to allow the for air flow. I confirmed with the people who installed the furnace that this would be ok, and as long as the doors were louver it was ok. I also had the contractor cut out the dead space underneath that area, it was empty. He built me a drawer that slides in and out and I use it for storage.....it works great and looks great.

Storage Unit below water heater area.
 

We had this done at the time of construction of our house in Fenney. The result was a floor to ceiling opening providing room for large storage bins of our Christmas decorations. We only lost about six inches in the back where they enclosed the pipes that ran along the back wall. Well worth it.

leave it alone....

Had to open ours because the condensate pipe on the A/C backed up and soaked the wood in that area. Nothing there to use for storage...it just runs under the house and would be damp all the time even without the overflow incident we had. How do I know this? A couple of years after we fixed the overflow issue the box around the A/C heater separated and we had to have that redone so they opened the space up to do that work. Still damp underneath. Anyone who has ever had a house with a crawl space will likely affirm what I am saying. Skip this as a storage option is my opinion.

Space under water heater
 

We opened ours up years ago. Yes, there is open space but not for large bins.

You cannot open that up for storage. It is your return air box. Any one of the air conditioning vendors will tell you this. This chamber is sealed fir air handling.

If you need that small space for storage and plan on getting on your hands and knees when you need something it’s time to get rid of some stuff

In our patio villa, the space is a plenum for the air returning to the AC.

Gas hot water heaters are elevated to prevent ignition of gasoline fumes that may be emitted from storage of gasoline in the garage. Apparently they are concentrated a foot, or so from the floor and up.

Where was the water coming from?

It used to be code that water heaters with pilot lights had to be elevated in case of gasoline drips from cars, but that has changed. See quote below:

“ Only older gas water heaters located in a garage are required by the International Residential Code (IRC) and Florida Building Code (FBC M1307.3) to be elevated. It is not necessary for electric water heaters or gas water heaters manufactured after mid-2003.

The code states that “appliances having an ignition source shall be elevated not less than 18 inches (457 mm) above the floor in garages,” and the purpose of this stipulation is fire safety. Any gasoline leaking from a car parked in the garage creates flammable fumes that are heavier than air and settle near the floor. An open flame close to the floor, like the pilot light in a water heater, can set off an explosion and subsequent house

But, even with the requirement to elevate any source of ignition up above the floor, numerous house fires continued to be attributed to the gasoline fume ignition in the garage. So the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) mandated that all 30, 40, and 50 gallon gas-fired water heaters manufactured after July 1, 2003, have Flammable Vapor Ignition Resistant (FVIR) technology.”

From: Are water heaters required to be raised off the floor?

There seem to be various designs. In my garage (see photo below), a fan sucks household air through the return duct and the filter on the left, down into that enclosed area, where there is a ductwork box, and it blows it through the heater/air conditioner unit on the right and back through the house. Some houses may have room for storage there, but not all. I agree with the responder who said to pull out your air filter and shine a light inside and see if the ductwork extends down or directly to the side and into the heater/ac.

Thanks Warren. Now I understand the reason for it.

If your water heater is teaching an age where replacement is in sight (5-7 years), I’d recommend replacing it with a tankless water heater. They are wall-mounted and create quite a bit of useable floor space. Plus they’ll reduce your gas bill noticeably.

In many cases the space underneath your hvac system is part of the return. If you open it your hvac system will suck in the air from the garage instead of from the returns inside your house. You can see if this is the case by opening up your system where the filter is. Yes the area underneath is part of your return you should be able to look in there by pulling the filter out.

Water heater
 

5 to 7 years? I am getting ready to replace my gas water heater ( i have not had a problem with it) and it is 19 years old.

Hi I am interested in enclosing my furnace as you described. Can I asked who you used to do that and would you by any chance have any pictures that you could share? My wife really want this done and I am hoping it os something I could do myself. Any assistance would be appreciated Thanks Jon. 716-713-1568

We have a Lantana model with the water heater in a closet in the garage. We lived on a sailboat and every square inch of space, hidden or not, was utilized. Same when we moved here. Husband opened up the space under the platform, built a door for it and uses it to store stuff.

The part of mine under the furnace unit is an air duct that the air travels as it moves up into the unit. It's lined with a coated material, and I've had problems with water building up in it.

i opened ours as i wanted to change the air filter & found the false floor was wet,,, turned out to be poor insulating tape over the furnace openings,,, that 'empty space' acts as a buffering air handler,,, omo, you don't need the 4cf of space it will provide at the expense of more work for the hvac mechanicals

and also a highway for palmetto bugs

I wish my house was wired for electric water heater, much safer and easier to replace.

At 3 times the cost of a tank water heater, would many of us live long enough to pay for that system?

pull out the air filter element and look inside.

When we installed a tankless water heater and removed our water heater tank, I grabbed my sledge hammer and prepared to reclaim the floor space the tank had occupied.... I quickly discovered that there was drywall covering a concrete pedestal! Well DARN! Not quite what I expected.

It would also take some planning and more time to install. It think you may need an electrician and a plumber. When you are out of hot water, you want it back as soon as possible. Often, a tank type water heater can be replaced the same day. I would also be concerned that, if a tankless heater needs to be repaired, are most plumbers going to have the parts needed to do the repair immediately, or will they need to order them? Some things to think about.

Leave it alone its part of the air return system

Thanks for info, guess when our water heater goes it will be replaced by a water heater

Space under water heater
 

We opened up and got a tankless Hot water heater we now have a huge closet there was nothing underneath that space