Water heater in attic, really? (Houston: home builders, buy, inspector)

[pinkgreenmover]

We've recently seen a house that has the HWH in the attic. I've seen this before, but thought it was something home builders used to do. (This home is just a few years old.) What do you think? Shouldn't it be in the garage or on the first floor of the house? In your opinion, is this a deal breaker? How costly is it to relocate a HWH?

[PlanoGirl]

Ours is in the attic too....it's seems strange to me too, but a lot of houses are like that.

[nsumner]

It is very odd I agree but many many builders are putting them in the attic these days.

Naima

[txgolfer130]

Hate it, but up here in N. Texas it seems to be the norm

[ChristieP]

I could see if it was a tankless, but a conventional HWH in the attic sounds weird to me.

[loves2read]

it is not against city code--it has to be vented if it is a NG one and there has to be a capture pan of certain dimensions depending on the size of the WH and a drain for overflow--

YES--it is very expensive to move a water heater--especially if it is gas...

make sure the home inspector checks it for leaks and pressure--get an insulation blanket for it if it does not have one...

[kreeyax]

We have a detached garage, so not sure where else you could put it besides the attic. Just not enough room in the utility room. I guess they could build utility rooms bigger or even have a closet for the water heaters on the first level. It's a little scary because if you read the label on the hot water heater it says something like "all hot water heaters will leak eventually". I guess you just have to hope that pan it's sitting in can handle all the water, and that it drains properly.

[pinkgreenmover]

Thanks, y'all. In our current home we have an HWH closet on first floor. Will def follow through on your tips if we move forward.

[jim prow]

you will be living on borrowed time. water heaters usally rust out at the bottom (without notice) and can flood your house. i know people that have had it happen. it's not pretty.

[debzkidz]

It's definitely the norm in the Houston area. Both our homes there had them in the attic, as does our home here in OKC (well, one's in the attic here). And yes, it is a real pain when one goes out. If you don't relocate it, you can buy an inexpensive alarm at Home Depot or Lowes that will go off if starts to leak. You just place a little sensor in the pan under the hwh. I can tell you from personal experience that they work great.