Safe Installation of Basement Water
Heaters
In the article “Condensing Storage Water
Heaters” (6/09), it appears that the gas-fired unit is
located in a basement, but there is no mention made of safety
issues here. A plumber told me that he would never, ever put a
propane appliance in a basement due to the risk of leakage and
explosion. Any additional thoughts?
Kris Calvin
Earthwood Timber Frame Homes
Sisters, Ore.
Author Jim Lunt responds: The heater is in a basement, but
it uses natural gas, not propane. There are no special venting
requirements for a natural-gas appliance as long as the area in
which it is located has venting to the outside, which this
basement does. If you install a propane appliance, you must be
concerned about proper venting. Propane is heavier than air, so
it settles to the floor. Therefore, the room must have an
exterior vent at its lowest level. If the basement is below
grade, there must be a floor drain that vents to the exterior
by gravity, and the line must be sloped like any drain line so
the propane can flow to the exterior.
Galvanized Pipe Okay for
Gas?
I noticed in Jim Lunt’s article that the water-heater
gas line was being connected using what appears to be
galvanized pipe. Here in the Midwest, I’ve always been
told that “black pipe” should be used for
this application.
Jonathan Klausler
Berwyn, Ill.
Author Jim Lunt responds: The pipe you see is the existing
galvanized pipe supplying gas to the heater. Galvanized pipe is
code-approved for gas in the UPC (1209.5.2). Typically, we will
use black iron pipe inside the building, but in this case, we
simply tied into the existing line.
Painting Old Porch Floors
I was happy to see the article about making old porch
floorboards last (On the Job, 6/09) and have a couple
of comments. The author suggested using a
“high-quality exterior primer” on
floorboards, but I’ve seen that method fail on dozens
of porches over the years. Porch deck enamel often does not
stick well to regular exterior primer. Also, white primer,
shown in the article, should not be used under a colored top
coat because it sticks out like a sore thumb whenever the top
coat wears away.
The directions on porch enamels say to use the same porch
enamel as a primer, either thinned or full strength. To slow
rot and avoid cupping, all four sides of the boards should be
painted before installation. After installation, another coat
or two of porch enamel should be used. Given the beating
porches take from sun and rain, the client should count on
repainting every few years.
Dan Miller
Elgin, Ill.
Author Tom O’Brien responds: In retrospect, I
should have devoted more than half a sentence to the
complicated subject of priming and painting. Mr. Miller is
correct to point out that many floorboard paints are
self-priming. I like these paints for new floors, but when
I’m restoring an existing floor — replacing
rotten boards and blending them in with the old ones —
I prefer to use an epoxy-reinforced floor paint that’s
intended to be applied over previously painted or primed
surfaces. At the point in the article where I casually
mentioned applying a “high-quality exterior
primer” to the floorboards, I should have stressed the
importance of choosing the right primer. If you don’t
use one that’s suitable for floorboards and compatible
with the finish paint, you could have a paint failure such as
Mr. Miller describes.
Corrections
In “Reroofing with Asphalt Shingles” (7/09),
CertainTeed Corp. should have been listed as a manufacturer of
fiberglass-based shingles, not organic-based.
And in “Innovative Products 2009” —
also in July — the price of Interwrap’s
Titanium UDL-30 underlayment was misstated as around $140 per
square. In fact, the cost is around $140 per 10-square roll.
— The Editors