Reference

[kurt]

I've always reported that you can't have one forced air furnace supplying multiple units. No one's ever questioned it until today.

Honestly, this goes so far back w/me, I don't know what the reference was/is. It was just common sense.

So, I've dug out M1602.2.4 saying no return air from another dwelling unit.

Is there any other reference anyone can think of?

[randynavarro]

I'm out the door right now; no time to look it up, but how's about t-stat location?

[Chris Bernhardt]

Well there's IRC R303.8 Required heating. Every dwelling unit shall be provided with heating facilities capable of maintaining a minimum room temperature of 68 degrees F at a point 3 feet above the floor and 2 feet from exterior walls in all habitable rooms at the design temperature. The installation of one or more portable space heaters shall not be used to achieve compliance with this section.

I would interpret that as meaning each dwelling unit needs its own system but then again when I lived in NY we had radiators in each apartment and the boiler was off in another building so maybe not.

With respect to a forced air system the reference you gave is the only one I know of.

Chris, Oregon

[Richard Moore]

I've seen this a couple of times in existing houses. Both times the basement has been converted to a separate rental unit. I've reported it as "impractical" for the unit without the thermostat. Don't know about actual code but I just don't see how it would work without occasionally freezing or boiling the poor schmucks in the basement unit.

[Darren]

Minimum would require fire dampers in both supply & return lines.

Commercial building allow it all the time.

I'd be more concerned about odor circulating from unit to unit. Is this a two-family or condo/co-op type?

[kurt]

2 family. Can't share air space. 1602.2 is the prohibition. I checked some other sources, and they agreed.

[jodil]

Im so glad you posted this Kurt. A friend of mine (a single mom with twin 2 year olds) lives in a triplex, and shares the furnace with a downstairs apartment. The guys that live down there are always smoking pot, and it filtrates throughout her apartment. She has called everyone, and the city says its fine because it used to be a SFR that was now converted to a triplex. Is there any recourse for her? (I told her, to keep the thermostat in 55 this winter and get some space heaters to freeze them out since shes the master of the controls!)

Jodi

[hausdok]

Tell her to call the local narc squad and invite a plain clothes guy to come over to watch TV or an hour or two one evening. Once he smells it, he'll have PC to follow through. They'll get busted and the landlord will find himself worried about his reputation for not checking out his tenants more thoroughly and will evict them.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Jesse]

What about condo buildings that share forced air heat? How do they skirt this regulation?