Originally Posted by
Chris Padilla
Nic, I will chat with my HVAC guy (maybe he'll know something?) but you bring up an interesting idea. That would make a bit more space in the laundry area...I may even be able to move the washer or dryer over and make the potential partition even smaller!
Just to pass on what little I know...The water heater for my house is on "my" side of the garage too and it would be great to get that floorspace (actually it is raised, but it would be great for an air compressor). Anyway, for what I've looked into tankless water heaters are the cat's meow except for a couple things...
If you're using natural gas they get pretty expensive if you want the automatic pilot. Going with the 'always on' model is cheaper, but costs a bit more utility bill-wise.
It also seems that you have to go pretty much top-of-the line to be able to handle two major hot water tasks at the same time. It has been awhile, but I seem to recall that only the top model sold at Home Depot (a Bosch) could handle a shower and anything else.
Finally, when a friend looked into installing one he found that to validate the warranty it needed to be installed by a professional and that was going to practically double the cost of getting the unit (this is in Southern California).
Anyway, I'm sure your HVAC guy will give you good info to make your decision.
Dan
There are three ways to get something done: Do it yourself, employ someone, or forbid your children to do it.
-Monta Crane