Consumer Homes.

Question:

> deep enough for them to fit. Access to the furnace/AC was from a hallway > door

This is very common in many older homes where forced air heating and cooling was retrofited into what was once a coat closet. As the 60’s progressed and forced air cooling became common, you see the coat closet get split, with part of it as the A/C closet and part as a "real" coat closet. It wasn’t until the 70’s that it was common to hang the A/C unit from the rafters in the attic. >  and access to the water heater was through the bedroom closet. I’ve not

This is not common. I’ve seen water heaters in the "coat closet" area (e.g., my mother’s house built in the 1960’s has the water heater in a "coat closet" off of the main hallway), but I suspect that the water heater was originally in the kitchen, and was relocated at some point in time when the kitchen was remodeled. If it’s an electric water heater, this is no issue. If it is a gas water heater, it’s a fire and CO hazard. > seen a lot of houses, but this struck me as odd and my agent suggested that > the inspector he uses probably wouldn’t like the setup (though not

If it’s a gas water heater, indeed he won’t like the setup, gas water heaters aren’t supposed to be in conditioned space.  If it’s an electric water heater, there’s less of an issue. While appliances are supposed to be seperated from sleeping areas by enough space to allow smoke detectors to give sufficient evacuation warning if the appliance catches on fire, I’ve never heard of an electric water heater catching on fire. (And note that a home built in the 60’s was built before any such codes anyhow). > necessarily give a failing grade for it). I’m wondering if anyone else has > experienced a similarly cramped setup and if it’s an indication of any > potential problems (or an indication of a particular building type, such as > modular instead of site-built).

Weird A/C placement is common in older homes. Remember that forced air A/C was not common in homes until the 1960’s, and was often retrofitted into weird places when added to homes not originally designed for A/C (for example, here in the Phoenix area most older homes have all-in-one units perched atop the ROOF, blowing down through what was once the evaporative cooler ductwork). The water heater issue is a bit stranger. I’ve seen weird water heater placement in many older homes, but usually where the water heater is placed in the kitchen or in one of the baths or perhaps in a tacked-on "utility room" when it was retrofitted to a house built before hot water heaters became common. I’ve never seen one accessed via the bedroom (except in old tornado magnets/trailer houses). But that doesn’t mean it’s a real problem. —     GnuPG public key at http://badtux.org/eric/eric.gpg

Response:

>>  and access to the water heater was through the bedroom closet. I’ve not > This is not common. I’ve seen water heaters in the "coat closet" area > (e.g., my mother’s house built in the 1960’s has the water heater in a > "coat closet" off of the main hallway), but I suspect that the water > heater was originally in the kitchen, and was relocated at some point > in time when the kitchen was remodeled. If it’s an electric water > heater, this is no issue. If it is a gas water heater, it’s a fire and > CO hazard.

Thanks for the input, Eric. I didn’t look at the water heater closely on this first go through. The stove was gas so I assumed the water heater would be also since they are more economical to operate. The water heater and stove are exactly opposite each other through the wall separating the kitchen and this utility space. Something I planned to verify before going too far with this prospect anyway. My parents’ house that was built in the mid-1960s in Oklahoma has the furnace and water heater in a utility closet in the attached garage. The AC sits outside the garage. Apparently a more modern home design for the times judging by your description. Assuming it is gas and does present a fire and CO hazard in it’s current location, how costly would it be to relocate it? This house is on a crawl space. Simplest place to go would probably be the garage, which is across the kitchen and utility room (about 25 feet or so, I’d guess) from it’s current location. — Jeff Traigle http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

Response:

>> my agent suggested that the inspector he uses probably wouldn’t > like the setup. > *Never* use a real estate agent’ home inspector.  Find an independent > inspector who has no cozy relationship with an agent or realty company, > and preferably a member of ASHI.

"Never" is a strong word.  I would say that it depends on your relationship with your agent.  I was very careful selecting my agent (buyer’s agent), and ended up going with an agent highly recommended by a friend, who had helped her a year previously. My agent had done such a good job representing my best interests up to that point that I had no qualms accepting her recommendation for a home inspector, though I did check that he was ASHI certified.  Now, two years after I bought the house, I have yet to find any problems with the house that he didn’t identify for me. I’ve gladly recommended my agent and my home inspector to friends who have moved since then.  While I recognize that an agent has an incentive to get you to buy, and some unscrupulous agents recommend bad inspectors that don’t inform you of problems, I disagree that you should therefore never use an agent’s inspector. Ed

Response:

Hi, folks. This looks like the group to ask just about anything house-related so here goes… I’ve just started looking for my first house after a short-lived aborted attempt to start in August. Yesterday, my agent and I looked at six properties that I’d picked from the listings he gave me last week. Three of them looked good enough to be promising prospects for a second showing and serious consideration. My favorite of these is a 1965 3 bedroom ranch on 103X723 feet (1.73 acres) lot. Both the inside and outside indicate a very well maintained home (or, at least, one that was renovated very well). It was raining yesterday so we noticed some drainage problems at one corner of the house. Nothing a redirected downspout on the guttering and some build-up of soil in the spot shouldn’t alleviate. My agent was told by the selling agent that the septic system is to be replaced before the sale. My agent said we need to find out what the issue is with the existing system before we proceed with any inspections or other things that will cost fees since the only reason to replace a septic system is if it has failed for some reason. However, my question doesn’t really involve any of the outside issues. While looking at the inside, we found that the furnace/air conditioner and the water heater were in a small space between the kitchen and one bedroom and the hall and the bedroom’s closet. When I say small, I mean just wide and deep enough for them to fit. Access to the furnace/AC was from a hallway door and access to the water heater was through the bedroom closet. I’ve not seen a lot of houses, but this struck me as odd and my agent suggested that the inspector he uses probably wouldn’t like the setup (though not necessarily give a failing grade for it). I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced a similarly cramped setup and if it’s an indication of any potential problems (or an indication of a particular building type, such as modular instead of site-built). — Jeff Traigle http://www-personal.si.umich.edu/~traigle/

Response:

> *Never* use a real estate agent’ home inspector.  Find an independent > inspector who has no cozy relationship with an agent or realty company, > and preferably a member of ASHI.

For the last already-built house we bought, we found our own inspector, unbeholden to any realty company and ASHI-certified. It still was a waste of his fee. He missed some pretty damn obvious stuff. Go with someone who has a good reputation. For my money, it doesn’t really matter who he (or she) works for.

Response: