For developers whose housing is planned to be connected to a centralized gas supply system, it is extremely important to clearly understand all the subtleties of placing gas equipment in a building. One of the most common problems with this is the ability to install a gas boiler in the bathroom. And although modern heating and hot water supply equipment offers many options for installing devices, it is the bathroom, as the location of the boiler, that is considered the most problematic. And therefore, before planning the placement of devices, it is worthwhile to thoroughly understand this problem.
Is it possible to install gas equipment in the bathroom and toilet
Quite recently, to the question of whether it is possible to install a gas boiler in the bathroom, the answer was unequivocal, and as they say, it was not subject to discussion - "no, you can not." Until 2002, while the previous standard was in effect, it was not possible to install a gas boiler in the bathroom. The document did not stipulate any exclusionary cases and no possibilities in which such an installation would be possible, it was simply that a ban was in effect.
The new documents SNiP SNiP 31-02-2001 and 42-01-2002 "Gas distribution systems" did not add clarity, there are indications that it should not be installed in places of increased danger, and that it is forbidden to lay gas supply pipes through ventilation shafts, but directly, it is not said that it is impossible to place a boiler or a column in a bathroom or toilet no.
This state of affairs allows you to have a certain freedom of action, because if you are guided by the principle "everything that is not prohibited, then it is allowed" theoretically this can be achieved, even on official grounds.
Installation of gas pegs in bathrooms
According to the documentation for working with heating systems, in the section on residential multi-storey buildings there are no clear prohibitions on the installation of this type of equipment.
Thus, a gas water heater in a bathroom is a perfectly suitable way to heat water.
Gas water heater on the bathroom wall
However, according to the accepted state requirements, it is necessary to take into account many nuances when choosing a gas unit when installing such a design. It is imperative to take into account the peculiarities of the layout of the bathroom.
Certain provisions of the Code of Practice of 31.01.2003 provide for the installation of gas equipment with a closed type of chamber in multi-apartment buildings in the absence of connection of such buildings to a central or individual heat supply system.
At the same time, heat sources and natural fuel water heaters are allowed to be connected in some rooms. This is specified in clause 7.3.8. SNiP. In addition, the total thermal power of such devices, according to the rules, is no more than one hundred kilowatts.
Gas boiler diagram
In kitchen blocks, it is allowed to mount such devices, the amount of converted energy by which should not be higher than thirty-five kilowatts.
Such gas equipment can only be installed in a certain type of premises. According to official documents, the room must have a light opening. When calculating the glazing, certain standards must be observed. So, for one cubic meter of a room there should be about 0.03 square meters of glass. It is also necessary to provide an effective ventilation mode.
The total volume of the room must be at least 15 m3. These parameters are related to the safety and comfort of using the heaters and carrying out work on their installation. The height of the room is at least 220 cm.It is necessary that the passageways in the room remain free. Their minimum size should be up to seventy centimeters.
What do you need to know when installing a gas boiler in a bathroom?
To determine whether it is possible to place a gas boiler in the bathroom, you will have to carefully study the current building codes and regulations and assess the existing premises. Here it is recommended that you first decide for yourself whether you need a gas boiler in the bathroom at all. Traditionally, in private houses or cottages for such devices, a special room equipped with forced ventilation and meeting all the conditions for furnaces and boiler rooms. The location of the boiler in the bathroom is a somewhat non-standard option, although in Soviet times it was allowed to combine a bathroom and a furnace in low-rise buildings in the private sector. But this, most likely, was an exception, and later, when replacing old gas equipment with new appliances, gas workers usually refused permission to install a gas boiler in the bathroom in the same place. Today, if we are guided by existing standards, and it is quite possible to fulfill all the technical conditions for this room.
The second no less important point that will have to be taken into account is to pay attention to the requirements of the manufacturers of gas equipment to the installation site. A bathroom, even if all the nuances of ventilation and dimensions are observed in it, will still be a room with high humidity. And high humidity, as you know, is one of the reasons why service centers will reasonably remove the device even with a partial guarantee. Alas, the control boards of gas appliances remain very sensitive to high humidity.
Private traders are more lucky
For owners of private houses, there is an additional option for obtaining permission to install a gas boiler in the bathroom. To do this, you need to draw up documents when creating a project.
Bathroom in the house
Installation of a wall-mounted gas boiler takes place where it was allowed to install it. After that, a bath is mounted close to the device, then a plasterboard partition is arranged around it. But there is one significant drawback. If the homeowner decides to sell the house, BTI specialists will take an inventory only when the wall is dismantled.
Happy owners of a private house, if there is a change house or storage room in the house, when installing a wall-mounted gas boiler or other heating unit, there will be no obstacles. This is because the storage room and the change house are technical rooms and if they meet minor requirements, then the idea of installing a gas boiler in a bathroom in a private house can easily turn into reality.
In any case, the bathroom is a room with high humidity, which contributes to breakdowns of various types of gas water heaters. Is it possible to install a column in the bathroom? Yes, you can, but if the premises are suitable according to the conditions and the appropriate documentation has been drawn up in full. Otherwise, unauthorized placement of a gas water heater can harm health and will take a large amount from the family budget in the form of a fine.
Basic conditions for placing a gas boiler in a private house
So, in order to understand the problem, is it possible to install a gas boiler in the bathroom, you need to compare the provisions of several regulations.
The current building codes do not directly prohibit the installation of such equipment indoors, but at the same time require that the following requirements be met:
- The total area of the premises must be at least 9 square meters;
- The room should have natural ventilation;
- Boiler power should be no more than 35 kW;
- There should be no high humidity in the room.
Regarding the total area of the room, it must be remembered that for a closed combustion chamber, the area is allowed to be 8 square meters, and for an open burner 9 is required.
For boiler rooms and rooms where heating equipment is located, a ventilation system is required. The only catch is that ventilation should be natural, in which air circulation is carried out continuously, without the participation of special devices and devices. The bathroom is usually equipped with a good ventilation system, but often this system is enhanced by additional equipment - an exhaust or supply fan. From the point of view of hygiene, this is good, but from the point of view of the safety of gas equipment, this would be a violation of the technical conditions for the operation of gas installations.
For private houses, it is allowed to install a heating boiler with a capacity of up to 35 kW in a kitchen or other room. For more powerful heating systems, devices must be placed in separate rooms, and this room must meet the requirements of mini boiler rooms, well, not a bathroom.
And of course the issue of humidity. The conditions for laying gas supply pipelines must ensure the integrity of the pipes and protect them from corrosion, which means that in a bathroom, as in a room where high humidity, metal pipes will corrode. So when planning the placement of equipment, the bathroom option is likely to be rejected.
We contact the gas service specialists
Gas boilers are among the units prohibited for installation in enclosed spaces. When contacting a gas service with a question about installing a gas wall-mounted boiler in the bathroom, the probability of getting an undesirable answer is very high.
The service refers to state standards and regulations that prohibit the installation of gas boilers in closed rooms. The standards and norms have been developed under the conditions that a boiler with an open combustion chamber in a closed room with forced ventilation leads to disruption of the combustion process. In turn, disturbed combustion processes accumulate harmful substances that are the cause of poisoning.
Boiler in the bathroom
Any rules have their exceptions and the installation of a wall-mounted gas boiler in the bathroom can be carried out in isolated cases:
- Redevelopment. When redeveloping a room with the corresponding changes in the technical documentation, you can change the status of the bathroom. That is, re-register the bathroom as a change house. Changes in the registration certificate of housing (apartment or private house) will remove barriers and help solve the problem with the refusal of the relevant services to place the boiler in the bathroom. But in cases where there is a bathtub in the newly-made change house, a refusal may follow. If there is one toilet, then there will be no problems with changing the plan and the subsequent installation of the gas boiler.
- Installation of a new gas boiler. When installing a new gas unit, most of the craftsmen agree to its installation. At the same time, there are some requirements for the equipment itself: a special gas boiler with a closed combustion chamber. But in order not to throw money down the drain before buying, you should consult with gas workers.
Removing the pipe from the boiler is a prerequisite
What could be behind the installation of a gas boiler in the bathroom
Despite the fact that there is no direct ban on the placement of a gas heating boiler or water heater in the bathroom, gas workers are reluctant to issue technical specifications for such projects. Most often, they themselves offer not entirely honest schemes, according to which this room was originally intended for the installation of a gas boiler, but then somehow it changed its purpose.This option can really work for some time, but at the first check, it turns out that a redevelopment was made that was not coordinated with the project and the household will be automatically disconnected from the gas supply as it does not meet safety requirements with all the ensuing consequences - a fine, reworking the project, organizing new connection of equipment.
It's another matter when the project is actually agreed with the gas company and officially approved. In this case, you will have to do everything as the documents require - not only to provide a sufficient area of the room, but also to comply with all the recommendations of the gas workers. For example, in order to avoid questions, you will have to install a window in the room, make ventilation holes in the doors, lay a separate ventilation pipe with an outlet to the roof. Only in this case is it possible to obtain permission to install the boiler in the bathroom.
Some of the nuances of installing flow-through gas heaters in the toilet and bathroom
For owners of private cottages, there is another way to obtain official permission to install a boiler or gas heater in the bathroom. First, they draw up official documentation when developing a project.
Install gas equipment in that part of the dwelling where it is allowed. Then, next to the device, plumbing fixtures are installed, for example, a bathtub, and they are equipped around a plasterboard partition. Such an impromptu redevelopment, of course, cannot be called ideal. Subsequently, if the owner wants to sell the house, a number of problems can arise. Specialists from the Bureau of Technical Inventory will be able to conduct an examination only by dismantling the walls.
Officially, the installation of a gas boiler is provided only for technical rooms - storage rooms, change houses. If such rooms meet the requirements accepted for them, the installation of gas-fired water heaters is allowed.
External view of a floor-standing gas boiler
A high level of humidity in the bathroom, temperature fluctuations often lead to breakdowns of gas heaters. Before deciding on installation, it is worth considering all the advantages and disadvantages, assessing the financial feasibility of installing such equipment. It is not easy to obtain official permission from the relevant authorities; it can be done with some legal tricks.
Pros and cons of installing a gas boiler in the bathroom
In order to assess the possibility of equipping a bathroom with a gas boiler, it is worth, among other things, to study all the positive aspects of this project. In a private house, especially if the premises are being redeveloped, the problem of placing new equipment is always very acute. That is why the option of using joint placement of a heating boiler and a bathroom in a bathroom is quite ambitious and has a number of advantages:
- The area inside the house is significantly saved;
- The number of pipelines is reduced;
- Hot water enters the bath faster, there is no large temperature loss;
- In other rooms, noise from operating equipment is inaudible;
- A window will appear in the bathroom.
On the other hand, with such a layout, there are a number of disadvantages that must be taken into account:
- The bathroom will have to be equipped with a separate ventilation system and constantly keep it in good condition;
- High humidity adversely affects equipment, especially electronic components;
- In the bathroom, in addition to the water pipes, additional heating pipes will be added, and this will take up a little more space.
Equipment types
Electric storage heater
In order for a bathroom with a gas water heater to be comfortable, you need to choose and install the device correctly. There are not so many types of equipment:
Choosing a bathroom heater. Types and possibilities of modern heating batteries
- a storage water heater is a boiler in a bathroom, made like a boiler. It has a spacious tank with heating elements inside. When boiling water is consumed, the tank is again filled with water from the water supply system, the heating is monitored by automation, preventing overheating and boiling of water. Automatic machines of this type are floor-standing and wall-mounted;
- a flow-through gas boiler in a bathroom - a design with a heat exchanger that heats water through a gas column in a matter of minutes. Reliability, economy, simplicity - these are the main advantages of this type of product. The automatic ignition system guarantees complete combustion of gas vapors (98%), which is necessary to prevent any trouble.
Advice! It is the flow-through type columns that are very popular with all consumers. Compact dimensions allow installing devices even in small spaces, and the functionality of such structures is large enough to provide water for a family of 3-4 people.
Flow type gas heater for bathroom
When buying a device, it is important to consider the power. The boiler in the bathroom can be:
- low-power (9-11 kW);
- medium-power (17-20 kW);
- extra powerful (23-25 kW and above).
Note! Low-power speakers are not able to provide the kitchen and bathroom with boiling water at the same time. The average device heats 8-9 liters of water per minute, powerful up to 15 liters of cold water. If there are several draw-off points, it is recommended to install 2-3 boilers.
Modern devices allow you to regulate the heating. The control knobs are located on the column panel, in addition, there is a display where all values are indicated. The recommended temperature is no more than 60 degrees. With an increase in heating, the process of salt deposition is accelerated, which can lead to an early breakdown of the structure.
Advice! If the water pressure from the mixer weakens more and more often, it means that the water entering the column has increased hardness. It is important to prevent breakdowns and clean the inner walls of the boiler in time.
Recommendations for the installation of gas equipment
First of all, it is recommended to carefully select the equipment for installation. For a bathroom, the best option is a double-circuit boiler with a closed combustion chamber. This type of equipment is best suited for small spaces. The wall-mounted boiler can be installed on an external wall, and the exhaust of gases and air intake is organized using one pipe, without large investments.
In order to separate the equipment from splashing water, it is recommended to wall the boiler with a wall, this will ensure the safety of the boiler. During installation, observe electrical safety requirements - the distance from the sink or bathroom must be at least 0.6 meters.
Installation Requirements
What are the requirements for the installation of such equipment?
The most important thing is to install the boiler in a non-residential area. Is it possible to place the heater in kitchens and bathrooms? It all depends on whether it will be possible to organize the removal of combustion products outside the house. If the chimney does not interfere with anything, and at the same time the fire safety rules are observed, then it can be installed.
The boiler room must be equipped with a supply and exhaust ventilation system. In this case, the outflow of air should be made through openings under the ceiling, and the inflow through openings located no higher than 30 centimeters above the floor level.
Usually, gas heating boilers with a capacity of up to 30 kW are used for small houses. Therefore, premises with a volume of 7.5 cubic meters are suitable for them. If such a boiler is installed in a kitchen or bathroom, then the volume of this room should not be less than 21 cubic meters.
How to install a boiler in the bathroom
The ability to install a gas boiler in the bathroom depends on:
- The presence of a window here.
- Boiler version - with an open or closed combustion chamber.
If it is decided to install a unit with a closed combustion chamber, then the window will not be needed. After all, such a device works with the help of a chimney through which oxygen necessary to maintain combustion penetrates into the boiler.
If you use the first option, then you cannot do without a window in the bathroom. And if there is none, then it will have to be cut, whether you like it or not. Otherwise, you will not see permission to connect the boiler to the gas pipe.
Important! When developing a project on your own, it is recommended to involve a specialist from the regulatory authorities in the case. He will agree on your project and issue permission for its implementation.
And the last is the electrical wiring. All modern household boilers are equipped with electronic and automation elements. And they need a reliable and safe wire. Since the bathroom is a humid room, then all the requirements for insulation of wires must be met 100%. And let the master electrician do it.
How to install a boiler in the kitchen
This room is optimal for placing a gas boiler, because:
- First, it meets all the standards and requirements.
- Secondly, it always has a window, and sometimes even several. Moreover, it is equipped with a window, which is important for airing.
- Third, the kitchen usually has ventilation.
- Fourthly, kitchen walls are often finished with non-combustible materials. But even if there are none, then it is enough to finish the installation site of the boiler according to fire safety rules.
Floor standing boiler installation
Boilers and automation Ivar
The heating equipment market offers two types of gas-fired boilers. Their distinguishing feature is the way they are installed. Hence, there are two types - floor and wall.
The easiest installation method is the floor-standing option. It doesn't need complex structures. It is enough to make a small podium out of concrete mortar or metal sheet. The main thing is the strength of the base and its incombustibility. The only thing that is required is more space, since floor-standing gas boilers are quite large.
Experts advise using a separate room for a floor-standing unit. At the same time, the main space will not be cluttered. In addition, you can make a full-fledged boiler room, where all the units of the heating system will be located.
How is such equipment installed? First, the boiler itself is mounted. Then the chimney is connected. Next, the piping of the heating system is made. And the last - they connect it all to a water and gas pipe.
Wall-hung boiler installation
Gas boiler installation
In this case, the reliability and safety of installation will depend on the strength of the fasteners fixed to the wall. The small size and weight of the wall-mounted analogue made it very popular among owners of private houses and cottages.
As in the case of the floor-standing option, safety measures must be observed here. If the house is wooden, it is recommended to cover the wall on which the boiler will be hung with a metal sheet.
By the way, this type is very often installed in kitchens, where it is in perfect harmony with furniture and different designs. In addition, the bulk of wall-mounted gas boilers is a complete small boiler room, where everything is available - automation, shut-off valves, a circulation pump and other units.
