Our water heater is located in an outdoor closet/attached shed on the side of our house. The closet has quite a bit of vertical space, including ABOVE the water heater. The room is about 7'x7' or so, but it's about 12' high. The water heater sits in the corner, and the exhaust pipe comes from the top of the heater, bends 90 degrees and exits to the outside thru the wall, about 6' or 7' off the floor. This leaves about 5 to 7' of space where I could build a decent sized shelf or loft for storage. My question is: would doing this violate NC Building Code? I'm just wondering if there are any ordinances for minimum clearances around the unit itself.

Thanks in advance for help... I thought there was an existing home improvement thread, but I didn't see one I could use.

12/27/2008 3:23:55 PM

good question. typically, the bottom of the heater is the important area to keep clear. I dont think there are any code problems with building some storage above the heater....just be careful not to damage the duct itself and you should be good to go.

I could be wrong, but code wise I think you are good.

12/27/2008 4:14:57 PM

how about building a deck off of my kitchen in the back yard. do i need a permit for that and does it need to be inspected?

12/27/2008 4:59:36 PM

yes and yes

12/27/2008 6:48:37 PM

if its attached to the house, yes.

I *think* if you make a "free standing" deck you don't need the permit.

12/27/2008 6:49:37 PM

really depends on the exact town and their requirements. if you are putting footings in the ground, they are probably going to want to see something and permit it. it will also depend on the exact town whether or not they will want sealed drawings.

12/27/2008 9:41:10 PM

I should know this... this is basically my dad's job.

12/27/2008 10:14:19 PM

if you need some sealed drawings, holler at me

12/27/2008 10:43:08 PM

^^^ I can't imagine anyone wanting sealed drawings for a deck unless there are some really extreme heights or environmental factors going on. I do sunrooms all throughout the Western half of the state (actually Greensboro to Tennessee) and I've never had to submit anything for our decks. It's pretty rare that I even have to submit it for our floor systems. Has it gotten that bad in the Triangle now? We haven't done a job out there in 10+ years but it was fairly lax then.

12/27/2008 11:54:05 PM

When in doubt talk to the Permits Division in Raleigh:
http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_306_204_0_43/http;/pt03/DIG_Web_Content/dept/public/Inspections/Dept-AboutUs-Inspections-Permit.html

12/28/2008 2:34:09 AM

basically, the attitude in most towns is that if you need to ask if it should be permitted, the answer is probably going to be yes.

in regards to drawings, each town is different.

12/28/2008 3:13:13 PM

^^ that site sucks!!

12/29/2008 11:16:22 AM