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saw house with furnace and water heater in kitchen


Jeannie in NJ
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dh and I went to look at a house for sale yesterday. In the kitchen, there was a shutter door closet and when we opened it expecting to see a pantry, there was the furnace and water heater. It was right in the kitchen and around the corner we opened the coat closet to find the washer and dryer. There is no laundry room or ulility room in this house. There is a attached garage but no basement. We have always had electric heat so no furnace but we are looking at houses that have natural gas. All the other houses have had the funance and water heater either in the laundry room or basement.

 

Dh said that having the furnace in the kitchen which is an open area with the family room and breakfast nook would drive him crazy with the noise of the furnace. Has anyone ever seen this before, that is, having the furnace in the kitchen? If so, did the noise bother you?

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By furnace, do you mean a gas boiler that fires the central heating/hot water for the house? It's common to have that in the kitchen in the UK. The one we have is almost silent - much quieter than any other appliance, including the fridge. It's a very modern version.

 

I would listen to it in action before deciding.

 

Laura

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Laura, all the furnaces that I have heard at my relatives houses, usually in the basement, kick on and off and went they kick on they are quite loud. This one in the house we looked at was a VERY loud humming. It appears that it would be difficult to hear a tv in the adjourning family room.

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I grew up in a house built in the 1920s. We had a small closet in the kitchen where the water heater was (gas). I don't know where a furnace unit would have been... I don't remember anything outside, so it may have been under the house....

 

I didn't like being on a gas line because we kept having gas leaks.

My first earthquake in CA, I thought the heat was going on (we were used to a loud "whoomp" that shook the house).

However, I'd think that was more our house than anything else...

 

We never had problems with the noise from it. You adapt.

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Laura, all the furnaces that I have heard at my relatives houses, usually in the basement, kick on and off and went they kick on they are quite loud. This one in the house we looked at was a VERY loud humming. It appears that it would be difficult to hear a tv in the adjourning family room.

 

That's loud. I just went and put my ear against the boiler, and then against our American-style fridge freezer. The hum is similar in volume. The central heating is on at the moment heating a four-bedroom house.

 

Ours is a modern condensing boiler which has reduced our gas usage by 25% over our previous 15 year old boiler.

 

Laura

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We used to live in a house where the furnace unit was in a closet next to the bedrooms. This was a small, single-story home with the living room in the middle. On one end of the LR was the little hall (with the furnace closet) that led to the dc's bedrooms. The other side of the LR was the MBR. Anyway, whenever the heat or a/c came on it was *loud* and yes, it did bug us. It was a pain to turn the tv volume up or down depending on whether the a/c was running. Most houses in the area were built that way, but our friends were in a new construction house where they put the furnace unit in the attic. (Yes, it was electric.) Their house was so quiet compared to ours. I'm so glad our current house has a basement and that the furnace in the basement. It's still loud enough to hear it kick on but at least we don't get the loud noise from it running, just the blowing air.

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There are 1950s houses in the neighborhood next-over from us which have this setup. Close friends live in one of these houses, and have not worried nor had problems.

 

The weirdest house arrangement I ever had was also in my "love-of-life, cried-to-leave" house (but NOT for this strange feature!): The washer and dryer were in the hall bathroom. Bizarro ! ! !

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Our furnace is in a little cabinet in the wall of our kitchen between the kitchen and the living room. You can hear it when it kicks on but it's mostly just a fan sound and not that loud. We don't need to turn the tv up when it kicks on but you can definitely hear it. The central air is a lot louder.

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I rented an apartment with the washer and dryer in the bathroom. Was better than having no washer and dryer! Actually not the worst place I don't think and better than in the kitchen like we had growing up.

 

 

It's not uncommon here, especially in houses that were built before kitchens had to include space for appliances and where there is no utility room. Our rental in London has the washer in the bathroom.

 

Laura

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Our furnace and hot water heater are in a closet off of DH's studio. Not our living space, but a very sound-sensitive area of our home. DH works from home, has teleconferences and phone/skype meetings daily. He is a musician, and his studio is in that space as well.

 

Not sure if our units are just quieter than others, or if our closet is particularly sound proof, but these have never been an issue.

 

The washer/dryer, on the other hand, are more of a pain. They are new, nice units but I only run those at times when DH does not require silence. Even with the closet doors closed, they are audible.

 

Can you listen to the furnace, etc before buying? Or request a newer model that would be quieter as part of your offer, if you love the house?

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the house was built in 2006 and it is a gas furnace. We have looked at lots of houses (mostly online) in this township and especially in this large development and it is the first house we have encountered that does not have a basement. All the other houses have the furnace and hot water heater in the basement, about half have the washer and dryer also in the basement and the rest have a first floor laundry room. In this particular house that we looked at, it appears that it is the model that normally has furnace, hot water heater , washer and dryer in the basement. Since these owners declined a basement (which is standard, no extra charge unless you want it finished) the coat closet had to be used for the washer and dryer and the kitchen pantry for the furnace

and hot water heater. We are thinking maybe that is why that house has been on the market since 2010 and it could hurt us in the future if we decide to sell.

Also the back yard is very overgrown and has several fallen trees and this house is no cheaper than other houses in the area and they have not reduced the price any since 2010 and it is not a short sale or forclosure. We will probably just keep looking for another house. We did love that the entire first floor has great looking hardwood floors and there is a huge year round sun room but oh well.

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My aunt's house is like this, only the water heater and furnace are in the "mud room" by the back door, directly off the kitchen.

 

I don't recall the furnace or water heater ever being exceptionally noisey when we were sitting in the kitchen. There is no basement in her house.

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