Suspend furnace from rafters?
 

May furnace is over 20 years old and I would like to replace it. It is
located in the attic of my single story house. Because the old furnace sits
on the floor joists, a lot of noise and vibration penetrates into the living
areas below.

I keep the fan lubricated and have put rubber-matting underneath the
furnace, but it is still noisy.

Is it approved practice to suspend the furnace from the rafters rather than
having it sit on the joists?
This would probably avoid most noise and vibration.

Thanks for any input

--

Walter
The Happy Iconoclast www.rationality.net
-

Mine is suspended from the rafters and is very quiet.

cm





"Walter R." wrote in message
...
May furnace is over 20 years old and I would like to replace it. It is
located in the attic of my single story house. Because the old furnace
sits on the floor joists, a lot of noise and vibration penetrates into the
living areas below.

I keep the fan lubricated and have put rubber-matting underneath the
furnace, but it is still noisy.

Is it approved practice to suspend the furnace from the rafters rather
than having it sit on the joists?
This would probably avoid most noise and vibration.

Thanks for any input

--

Walter
The Happy Iconoclast www.rationality.net
-

Walter R. wrote:
May furnace is over 20 years old and I would like to replace it. It is
located in the attic of my single story house. Because the old furnace sits
on the floor joists, a lot of noise and vibration penetrates into the living
areas below.

I keep the fan lubricated and have put rubber-matting underneath the
furnace, but it is still noisy.

Is it approved practice to suspend the furnace from the rafters rather than
having it sit on the joists?
This would probably avoid most noise and vibration.

Thanks for any input

Hi,
Furnace at my cabin is suspended from floor joist in the crawl space.
Only thing I feel is warm air when it's on.
Tony

Add another layer of plywood and insulatate underneath. If it just rattles
at startup, look for a pipe that touches it and hits at startup.


"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:N8bpd.324497$%k.229414@pd7tw2no...
Walter R. wrote:
May furnace is over 20 years old and I would like to replace it. It is
located in the attic of my single story house. Because the old furnace
sits on the floor joists, a lot of noise and vibration penetrates into
the living areas below.

I keep the fan lubricated and have put rubber-matting underneath the
furnace, but it is still noisy.

Is it approved practice to suspend the furnace from the rafters rather
than having it sit on the joists?
This would probably avoid most noise and vibration.

Thanks for any input

Hi,
Furnace at my cabin is suspended from floor joist in the crawl space.
Only thing I feel is warm air when it's on.
Tony

ditto
"cm" wrote in message
...
Mine is suspended from the rafters and is very quiet.

cm





"Walter R." wrote in message
...
May furnace is over 20 years old and I would like to replace it. It is
located in the attic of my single story house. Because the old furnace
sits on the floor joists, a lot of noise and vibration penetrates into
the
living areas below.

I keep the fan lubricated and have put rubber-matting underneath the
furnace, but it is still noisy.

Is it approved practice to suspend the furnace from the rafters rather
than having it sit on the joists?
This would probably avoid most noise and vibration.

Thanks for any input

--

Walter
The Happy Iconoclast www.rationality.net
-

"Walter R." wrote in message
...
May furnace is over 20 years old and I would like to replace it. It is
located in the attic of my single story house. Because the old furnace
sits
on the floor joists, a lot of noise and vibration penetrates into the
living
areas below.

I keep the fan lubricated and have put rubber-matting underneath the
furnace, but it is still noisy.

Is it approved practice to suspend the furnace from the rafters rather
than
having it sit on the joists?
This would probably avoid most noise and vibration.

Thanks for any input

--

Walter
The Happy Iconoclast www.rationality.net
-



You can, but done wrong and it will make more noise than it does now.
Make sure you do it right, and not with metal strap...what will you do if a
strap breaks? LOL..its interesting to have one hit from a couple of feet
up...

Build a platform, use a min of 1/2 or larger threaded rod, and have at it.
We have hung many this way, and it works fine, however, if you have metal
duct, you will need to add flex to the unit to do two things: Isolate the
vibration of the unit, and to reconnect your ducting.
Also, make sure your clearances are still within code and to what the unit
is rated at.

Walter,

I'm not sure that your rafters are designed for such a load. A heavy snow
fall could collapse your roof. Try to do a good job of isolating the new
furnace during the installation and be sure it is level.

Good luck,
Dave M.

I'm not sure that your rafters are designed for such a load. A heavy snow
fall could collapse your roof. Try to do a good job of isolating the new
furnace during the installation and be sure it is level.

Why not just clean and balance the fan(s)? Oiling the bearings
isn't going to solve vibration problems.

default,

It's not clear whether you're responding to my post or the original post.
Since the OP is contemplating a new furnace cleaning, lubricating, and
balancing the fans should be unnecessary. The actual question under
discussion is whether suspending the new furnace from the rafters is a good
idea and will decrease the perceived vibration/noise in his living spaces.
I'm not happy with this idea since roof rafters usually aren't meant to
support this weight. 2 courses of shingles and a couple of snow storms could
cause the roof to collapse.

Dave M.

I have seen this done with water heaters and furnaces but they have steel
beams or multiple boards nailed togeting resting on the house frame to
suppor the load resting on the house frame to support the weight.
"David Martel" wrote in message
ink.net...
default,

It's not clear whether you're responding to my post or the original
post. Since the OP is contemplating a new furnace cleaning, lubricating,
and balancing the fans should be unnecessary. The actual question under
discussion is whether suspending the new furnace from the rafters is a
good idea and will decrease the perceived vibration/noise in his living
spaces.
I'm not happy with this idea since roof rafters usually aren't meant to
support this weight. 2 courses of shingles and a couple of snow storms
could cause the roof to collapse.

Dave M.