Getting rid of a chimney

BigJimmy

I have a rather large chimney in my home running from the basement to the roof. The house was built in 1911 and at some point, there was a furnace that used heating oil as its fuel. Presently, there are two appliances that vent to the chimney: a hot water heater and a boiler (is it even legal to common vent both of these??).

I'm working on the plans for remodeling the first and second floors which will include gutting both common bathrooms. Currently the chimney runs through each bathroom and is adjacent to the toilets in each. Not only is it a skotch too close to both but its location and size presents some challenges to the designs for both baths.

The chimney is made of brick and some time not too long before we bought the house, the original owner had a new liner installed in it. I understand that to remove this monstrosity would be no small task but that aside, what are my options for replacing it? Could I install something else in its place albeit smaller (some sort of round sheet metal duct for instance)? Or, is there any means by which these two appliances could be power-vented laterally out the side walls of the house?

I'm assuming that this question is appropriate for this group. If not, let me know and I'll post it somewhere else.

Thanks in advance!

Jimmy

__________________
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves,"You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." - George Carlin

troubleseeker

The water heater and the furnace should both be able to be vented up "class b" (double walled) vent pipe, Each should have it's own pipe, but they can be installed in a common chase , which would be much smaller than the current masonry chimney. I do not think they can be power vented out the side wall , unless they are high efficiency units designed for such application.

bigMikeB

There is no reason code like or other wise that you would have to vent the two appliances seperately if using B vent to go up vertically. If you look into Tjernlund draft inducers you will find a kit to do furnaces and water heaters vertically also with B vent materials but in this case you may want to do them seperately. Look up side wall vent kits. http://www.tjernlund.com/default.htm

redline

A high efficiency boiler can be vented thru the wall with pvc.
Use a storage tank from the boiler for hot water.

Marlin

It's called a power vent. They aren't any more efficancy then regular boilers as far as I know. You could go this route, they also make power vented hot water heaters.

BigJimmy

Redline and Marlin-The boiler is definitely not high efficiency but is not very old so I'm resisting the urge to replace it. It is currently being used to supply hot water to the heating coils on 2 HVAC units. I'm under the impression that I could install a single hot water heater (or is it boiler?) that would serve as the heat source for potable/non-potable uses (potable through some form of heat exchanger). Again, until either my appliances start dying or the cost of new equipment drops sharply (or I win the lottery in which case I'll just hire one of you guys ), I think I'll stay will what I have.

BigMikeB, it sounds like the B-vent may be a viable option. How do I go about determining its size so that I can see how much space it will take up?

Thanks to all for the input!
Jimmy

__________________
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves,"You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done." - George Carlin

Marlin

Yeah, replacement of the boiler would be the only viable option to get a power vent in there. If it isn't old then their is not point as you said.