While she may not be able to go out and shovel it clear herself, someone
must then be shovelling her doorway, sidewalk and other access areas, pay a
little extra to have them clear the snow from the vent, it has got to be
cheaper than paying a serviceman $150.00 to shovel the area after freezing
all night.

Also pay attention to the regulator on the gas meter, it should not be
buried under snow or ice as it can cause the pressure regulator to start
allowing the gas pressure to go too high at the appliances. This area needs
to be shovelled clear on a regular basis. Check with your gas company if you
don't believe me. I used to work for one before I retired.

wrote in message
...
I just got a call from one of my relatives. They live quite a
distance from me but I am familiar with their house because I once
lived in it. Back when I lived there, the house had a traditional
natural gas furnace that vented out the chimney. Two years ago they
had a High Efficiency furnace installed.

The furnace vents out thru the sillplate, where the two PVC pipes exit
outside. I know there are less than two courses of concrete block
showing, so that means these pipes are a maximum of 14 inches from the
lawn.

They have had extreme snow this winter and the woman has had to call
in a furnace repairman 3 times, each call costing her around $150, and
each time these pipes were buried under the snow. Each time she has
nearly frozen to death because it always happens at night and she
believes that she can not call during the night and must wait until
morning. The woman is not in good health as it is, and she is unable
to go outdoors, much less shovel snow. She has a caregiver come daily
to help her, but they dont look at things like this. Besides that,
the snow turns to a block of ice from the heat and moisture and
requires lots of chipping to clear it.

Anyhow, she knows that I am handy and have done all sorts of home
repairs. They told me she is really upset because the repair guy told
her she could get carbon monoxide poisoning, and she must dig out the
snow. She said she wishes she would have kept the old furnace that
vented out the chimney.

While I am handy, I have not dealt with these H.E. furnaces, but I do
know how they work and the way they put 2 pipes out the side of the
house for intake air and exhaust.

Immediately after the call I got to thinking about extending the pipes
higher up the house siding. I think they are too low. It would be
easy enough to use a few PVC elbows pointed upware, add 2 or 3 feet of
pipe, strap it to the house, and put some traps on top so the pipes
dont fill with rain or snow.

The question is: Is this legal and acceptable?

If not, is there another solution? Putting an awning of sorts over
the pipes might help keep some of the snow off the pipes, but there
are limits on that due to blowing and drifting.

I'm sure this happens regularly, what are the solutions?